Rasheed A Wallace (contest posts)

[Dekko1]

Rasheed Abdul Wallace
Date of Birth: September 17, 1974
How he got a Muslim first name and perhaps an answer to the oft asked question of his religion:
His older siblings' father was a Muslim and his mother Jackie planned to convert. So his brothers had been given Muslim names.
By the time 'Sheed was born she had dropped the idea of a religious conversion and had a new guy but she
was boxed in by her prior choice of names.
``When I came along, it wouldn't have sounded right if I had a regular name,
like Mark or something like that,'' Rasheed Wallace



High School...
He was named USA Today High School Player of the Year after the 1992-93 season and was selected first team All America by Basketball Times. Despite limited playing time of just 19 minutes per game, Wallace still managed to average 16 points, 15 rebounds and 7 blocks during his senior year. His team was undefeated. Had 1 only tech in regular HS...
Other interests, Art and Track and field, Running and High Jump
'Sheed was MVP in the Magic Johnson Roundball Classic scoring 30 points...but got tossed from the McDonald's All Star game.. only time that has happened..

UNC
As a sophomore, selected first team All-America by The
Sporting News and the USBWA; second team AP All-American, and member of the
John Wooden 10-man All-America Team.Leading career FG shooter in ACC history
(.635). Helped lead Tar Heels to the 1995 NCAA Final Four. Named to the Final
Four All-Tournament team.Set a UNC single season record for blocked shots
with 93 as a sophomore.Led the ACC in FG shooting percentage (.554) and
ranked third in blocks, ninth in rebounding and 10th in scoring average.
An early entry candidate for the 1995 NBA Draft, he left North Carolina
after two seasons.

UNC mix
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwarHlB0mcw&feature=related

1st round, the 4th pick overall by the Washington Bullets.

NBA All-Star Team, 2000, 2001, 2006, 2008; NBA Championship 2004.

Career basic stats
G GS MPG FG% 3p% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
943 880 34 .474 .341 .717 6.9 1.9 1.0 1.3 1.6 15.2

Only player to average 1 three pointer made, 1 blk and 1 steal in multiple seasons.
Record 41 Ts in a season...including a dozen tantrums and 7 ejections... 2 years later he had 11 Ts.

Rasheed is more the poster boy for "Bad Sportsmanship" and we all witnessed that story..
Likely the most often screamed phrase at TV sets in Portland history is "Shut UP 'Sheed!"



But we know "Ball don't lie"

I am skipping the rest of the NBA typical history to get to the editorial stuff.
Stuff some may not know or have forgotten...and let other team's fans hear some of the less publicized side of Rasheed Wallace.

His foundation does a lot of good work and he is personally involved not just writing checks, the blazers submitted 'Sheed for the community service award many times...but it took the move and the Pistons submission before the league gave it to him.



I shall tell the story from his early NBA years about Rasheed Wallace the father.
Not a typical NBA fatherhood story. Compare to Malone and Kemp....

'Sheed had a child, Ishmiel, with his girlfriend Chiquita Bryant before he had any big contracts. When they broke up he tried to continue to visit and support his son.
It became clear that the mother was not doing a good job, I do not remember
if she was on drugs or alcoholic or what, but also would not let him see his boy despite court ordered visitation rights.
So 'Sheed sued for custody. Hard for any father to win no matter what the
finances, but he did just that after many months in court. He was by then in
a stable relationship with his current wife and their new baby son and her older
son from her first marriage.
When he came to Portland the custody court case was still on-going.
We only heard he was arrested for 'assault' and assumed the usual.
No one got too excited at that time about players off court behavior in Portland but not much was said when the charges were dropped as unfounded. 'Sheed was just blocking a driveway at a daycare with his car. He was just trying to see his kid during the trial, he had not seen him for nearly a year.

'Sheed a few weeks later in May of 97 when a North Carolina judge awarded him full custody of Ishmiel thought it was over.
But the mother then bolted with the boy and disappeared, which was legally a felony noncustodial parent kidnapping at that point, and a warrant was issued for her arrest.
For the rest of the year he searched for his son, hired detectives, flew back east
at every chance to help in the search.
Despite the hell he was going though he did not let it affect his game that I remember.

Except the blurb about blocking the driveway, little of it was public knowledge.
That changed at Xmas time TNT did a story about it during halftime of a game. In the
interview he was clearly distressed not knowing where his son might be or
even if he was safe. Someone who saw the program recognized the mother from the
photos and called the police to tell them where Sheed's kid was. Sort of TNT
most wanted...
The police arrested the mother on Xmas eve and Sheed's mom went to bring 'Sheed's son
home to Philadelphia. Sheed flew in from Portland on Xmas day 1997 to bring his
boy home to Portland. Ishmiel was now 28 months old and 'Sheed had not seen the child since August of 1996.

'Sheed then made bail for the mother, refused to press charges against the
her and had his lawyer work to have the charges dropped. 'Sheed brought her to Portland, got her into rehab for her addiction, found her employment and bought her a house next door to his to be close and share in her son's life.
The tattoo on his arm in Egyptian Motif is the drawing he created of himself and his wife Fatima with their 3 sons.

[Dekko1]

Article from the Detroit press on his art side from not long after he was traded:

April 17, 2004
THE REAL RASHEED: Who is he really? You decide
BY MICHAEL ROSENBERG
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

The Pistons begin the playoffs Sunday with their best championship hopes in
more than a decade. Those hopes hinge largely on Wallace, the team's most
talented player, who has been in Detroit less than two months -- and,
because he will be a free agent, might be gone in July.

Who is Rasheed Wallace?

In a league where players get criticized for shooting too much, Wallace has
been ripped for not shooting enough.

He has been known to spend hours at a time reading to kids, and also to blow
past fans and well-wishers without acknowledging them.

He doesn't like attention, but in a rare one-on-one interview in December,
he unleashed some of the most controversial comments of the NBA season.

He constantly battles officials, but he never criticizes his teammates. He
is the fourth-highest-paid player in the NBA, but loves to practice with the
Pistons' second team. He is a doting father, husband and son, but he prefers
to talk only about basketball.

"It's awfully hard to describe him," said Bill Schonely, the longtime
announcer for the Portland Trail Blazers, Wallace's team for the past 7 1/2
seasons. "He could turn on the charm when he wanted to, but he didn't do it
too often. He just turned everybody off. I've been around athletes all my
life, and I just hate that. He was a blight on the organization. They almost
had a parade downtown when they made that deal."

Darvin Ham: "He's really, really a great guy. With his credentials, he's
really, really humble and grounded. He has a great attitude. A lot of people
that criticize him probably don't have half the moral code that he lives up
to. It's a shame, man."

Rasheed Wallace: "Simple fact: The people who are criticizing me don't know
me."

There were questions. When the Pistons traded for Wallace in late February,
they added one of the league's most volatile players to its most
businesslike team. Would it work?

So far, absolutely. The Pistons have won 20 of their last 24 games, but it
is more than that. Wallace is averaging 13.7 points with Detroit, his fewest
since he was a rookie, but this seems to be the happiest time of his NBA
career. When Wallace missed games because of injuries, he sat on the bench
in full uniform, instead of the usual street clothes, and cheered on his
teammates.

During halftime of one recent game, coach Larry Brown told the players they
had to get the ball to Wallace more. It probably didn't bother Wallace a
bit, Brown said, but it bothered the coach.

In Portland, he was considered the most incorrigible player on the league's
most insufferable team. In Detroit, he is considered the most important cog
on one of the league's most likable teams.

"He's like a chameleon," Ham said. "He blends in with his environment."

Rasheed Abdul Wallace was only in ninth grade, but he clearly had serious
talent. Even then, you could tell he might be one of the best ever to come
through Simon Gratz High School in Philadelphia.

Absolutely, Martin Clair said, it was a pleasure to have the kid in art
class.

"He really understood what he was looking at, or what the task was," Clair
said. "He understood that, even in ninth grade. Most kids in ninth grade
were just fumblers. He was as good as anybody. He was artistic."

Not just artistic -- passionate about art. Wallace filled notebooks with
drawings. If he didn't play pro basketball, Wallace said he would almost
certainly have pursued "something in that art field."

But it was clear, even when he was in high school, that Wallace would play
pro basketball. After two years, he was pulled from Clair's class. The class
was considered on a vocational track. It wouldn't help Wallace qualify for
college.

Clair fought to keep Wallace -- "I put up a bitch-and-moan" -- but he lost.

Wallace was such a hoops talent that North Carolina coach Dean Smith, who
holds the record for all-time victories in college basketball, made a
recruiting visit to Philly as soon as his team ended its season.

North Carolina had just won a national championship.

Smith skipped the parade.

In Wallace's senior season, Simon Gratz went undefeated.

Wallace was named USA Today's national player of the year.

But he didn't lead the team in scoring. A kid named Rondell Turner scored
more than he did. Wallace refused to shoot if somebody else had a better
shot -- and, because Wallace was always double-teamed, somebody else almost
always had a better shot. When Simon Gratz built a big lead, Wallace would
turn to coach Bill Ellerbee and ask to come out of the game, so the backups
could play.

Hang on to this portrait of the artist as a young man. Remember it when the
chameleon changes environments.

"I have never, ever seen a selfish bone in his body," Ellerbee said. "When
the ball would come to him down in the post, a lot of times it came right
back out. Some guys need to be the man. He didn't need to be the man. He
didn't want to be -- because he could have been. He could take over if he
wanted to."

There is a mural at Gratz called "Basketball." It was painted a decade ago
by a few Gratz students. Rasheed Wallace was one of them. The mural is
unsigned.

Wallace still loves art, of all kinds. He collects Japanese figurines and
enjoys pop art. (He's on the lookout for old-school Transformers, the toys
he had as a kid.) He loves ancient Egyptian art.

"You know how they put the hieroglyphic pictures on papyrus?" he asked,
referring to the material used by the ancient Egyptians. "I'm trying to get
my hands on a real papyrus if I can -- if it goes with the room."

This is the most volatile player in the NBA?

Wallace still draws -- "I would say it's more doodling; I haven't really
tried to sit down and draw a picture in who knows how long," he said -- and
often goes to art museums on his team's road trips.

"It's all that eye for the art," he said. "I guess if you got it, you got
it. It doesn't necessarily have to be one specific artist or painter . . .
if it fits the room."

They watched, they read, but they didn't understand. Wallace's friends from
Philly and North Carolina heard about this serial boor, this plague upon the
league, and they were stunned.

Rasheed Wallace? Serial boor?

Huh?

"So many times that would pass through my mind," said Pat Sullivan, who
played with Wallace at North Carolina and is now a Pistons assistant coach.
"It would bother me a lot. I knew, deep down, that's not the guy I know."

From most public evidence, it was the guy he had become. He set an NBA
record with 41 technical fouls in one season -- breaking his own record, set
the previous year.

Wallace got so angry with the media, he wouldn't even talk to the Trail
Blazers' broadcasters, who are employed by the team.

The Trail Blazers stockpiled players of questionable character (they earned
the nickname "Jail Blazers"), and Wallace, the team's best player, was
called the biggest problem.

He still had a loyal following. The hip-hop generation has always loved
'Sheed. But among old-school fans, Wallace had one of the worst reputations
in the league. The mere mention of his name caused a visceral reaction.

Fans saw this big, angry, black dude, with a huge tattoo from right elbow to
right shoulder, and a snarling bulldog tattoo on his left biceps, flashing
his temper on the court.

In this environment, the chameleon couldn't witness a bad call without
snapping at the officials.

How do you think he would handle being called a serial boor?

"I'm not like a whole bunch of these young boys out here and get captivated
into the league," Wallace told the Oregonian in December. "No. I see behind
the lines. I see behind the false screens. . . .

"In my opinion, they just want to draft n**gers who are dumb and dumber --
straight out of high school."

The critics were appalled, but not shocked.

"By the time that article came out, that didn't surprise me one bit," said
Schonely, the longtime Portland broadcaster. "That was typical Rasheed."

In a statement released through the Trail Blazers, Wallace apologized for
the "street language" but not for the message. The apology was dismissed,
but think about it for a second. Many young black men use the n-word freely,
and that's why Wallace used it. Without the "street language," would
Wallace's comments have caused such a stir?

"It's part of everyday vernacular for me," Wallace said. "Some people were
upset by what I said, and some weren't. But there again: If it's on my mind,
I'm going to say it. I ain't scared to say what I'm thinking."

Oh, and about those tattoos: The bulldog on the left biceps is for Simon
Gratz -- the school mascot is a bulldog.

And the big one on his right arm? He designed it himself, based on the
Egyptian art he enjoys. It's a depiction of his immediate family.

His wife, Fatima, recently gave birth to a daughter, which means another
tattoo is coming.

"I'm gonna get one more -- something to represent my daughter," said
Wallace, 29. "I gotta make it all fit, though. I don't want it to be just
another tattoo. I would somehow incorporate it into the hieroglyphics. I
want it all to fit."

It has to all fit. This is how Wallace sees basketball, too. He has no
interest -- none -- in leading the league in scoring. That irritated many
Portland fans, who thought he was teasing them with his talent.

"Some real basketball fans knew what I brought to the table, knew I was
going out there every night, being unselfish, and wanted to win," he said.
"The other half wanted that star to put up the points."

This much is clear: Rasheed Wallace and the city of Portland were deep into
a dysfunctional relationship, and he was ill-equipped to dig himself out.

He wouldn't even try.

"There were always enough times for autographs, and he'd just blow them
off," Schonely said. "He was just blatant about it. 'Get away from me! I'm
not signing anything!' You can't sign 'em all, but you could sign some."

Once, the team asked him to help distribute Christmas trees to needy
families. According to Sports Illustrated, he spent the whole time on his
cell phone and checking his pager.

Another time, he and teammate Damon Stoudamire were arrested for having
marijuana in their car.

This was Portland's picture of Rasheed Wallace: biggest hoodlum on a team of
hoodlums -- the chameleon had become his environment.

But wait. Change the environment, just a bit, and . . .

"Too many people don't know that Rasheed is in many ways an outstanding
individual," Nash said. "He was very cooperative in community affairs. He
would be the cheerleader of the Read to Achieve program. He loved visiting
the Head Start program. He didn't just show up. He was emotionally involved
in it."

Why the disparity? Is it because when he helped kids with their reading, he
thought he was a nice guy helping kids, but when he was surrounded by
autograph seekers, he thought he had to be a star?

Maybe, when viewed from the proper angle, he was still the kid from Simon
Gratz. On road trips, the Gratz bus would pull in, and it seemed like the
whole town would stop with word that the great Rasheed Wallace was here, and
. . .

"I can remember Rasheed signing autographs for 3 1/2 hours," Ellerbee said.
"I had to drag him away. I'm serious: 3 1/2 hours. He wanted to please
everybody, and he just seemed to enjoy it."

In four years at Simon Gratz, Wallace received only one technical foul. It
happened when he was a freshman. Wallace missed a dunk, and he knew he would
get pulled from the game because Ellerbee had told him if he ever missed a
dunk he would sit on the bench. In anger, Wallace punched the mat on the
basket support.

"The idiot referee said he was trying to show him up," Ellerbee said.

Twenty-eight months after leaving Simon Gratz, Wallace played his first NBA
game, for the Washington Bullets. He got two technicals in 10 minutes and
was ejected. In his second game, he got a technical for firing the ball at
another player. And these were exhibition games.

North Carolina's Smith had counseled Wallace on "referee maintenance." It
didn't take. When Wallace thought he got a raw deal from an official, he
couldn't just let it go -- and when he thought a teammate was wronged, he
was even more adamant.

The more Wallace spouted off, the more officials clearly held him to a
higher standard -- or maybe it's the other way around. Wallace has received
technicals for, among other things, making a double-dribble motion with his
hands, staring at an official, and saying something from the bench.

Wallace's relationship with officials got so bad that he allegedly
threatened referee Tim Donaghy on the loading dock of Portland's Rose Garden
arena. He was suspended for seven games, the longest suspension in league
history that didn't involve drugs or violence.

"It's a two-way street," Wallace said. "They say I got an attitude, this and
that. But more than half of them cats, they already come to the game upset.
I don't know if they got problems at home or what, but more than half of
them come to the game upset already. A lot of them cats are felonious, man.
. . .

"I'm not gonna just lie down and take it. Nah. (Bleep) that. If I think
there's a wrong been committed, I'm going to express that. I'm not just
going to sit down and shut up.

"On the other hand, if I'm in the wrong with something, I got no problem
with apologizing. But with some of them cats, it's like an ego thing, I
guess. They'll try to say one thing, or blame it on another ref. Just say
you made a mistake. Ain't nothing wrong with it. We're all human. I make
mistakes, too."

His mistakes -- real and perceived -- are so public, sometimes they seem
like all we see.

The world doesn't see the Wallace who defers to any coach he respected, like
former North Carolina assistant Dave Hanners, even when the two worked for
different NBA teams.

"He looks up to me, in a way I think is strange, because I'm not really a
prominent NBA coach," said Hanners, now a Pistons assistant.

The world doesn't see the guy who fought, for years, to get custody of his
son Ishmiel. Ishmiel's mother, Chiquita Bryant, disappeared with him soon
after he was born in 1995. Wallace finally went on TNT to plead for help.

Bryant was found, and Ishmiel now lives with Wallace, Wallace's wife,
Fatima, and their three other children.

The world didn't see Wallace warm up to a rookie from another team named
Darvin Ham. Ham was a friend of a friend, which was good enough for Wallace.

"He is so not today's athlete," said Ham, who has known Wallace for eight
years. "He's more excited about his children than trying to go out and score
30 points. Guys are so egotistical these days in our business. It's hard to
deal with some guys. He's been a pleasure to be around."

Is it that simple? Rasheed Wallace, chameleon?

The environment changed again two months ago, when Wallace was traded --
first to Atlanta, for a game, and then to Detroit. With the Pistons, Wallace
appears to have found his most comfortable environment in the NBA.

His defense, his passing, his rebounding, his understanding of the movement
and flow of the ultimate team sport -- everything works with the Pistons.

He fits the room.

It's like the old days, back at Simon Gratz High. . . .

Back when his team was undefeated, and he could cheer from the bench without
reservations.

Back when he knew he wouldn't get traded, and nobody complained that he had
it too good.

Back when his bedroom was laid out like a basketball court, with lines drawn
on the floor, so the game was the last thing he saw when he fell asleep, the
first thing he saw when he got up.

Back when he was the second-leading scorer on his team, and that was
considered a good thing.

Maybe he just wants to be a chameleon. As hard as it is for the world to
understand, the 6-foot-11 athlete out there with incredible physical gifts,
eye-grabbing tattoos and a penchant for technical fouls . . . he just wants
to be one of the guys.

And yet, the more he tries to blend in, the more he stands out.

Now, however you see him -- as a reluctant superstar, as a foul-mouthed
miscreant, as an independent spirit staying true to himself, fighting the
powers-that-be -- it is impossible to look away. When fans around the
country watch the Pistons in these playoffs, they will have an immediate
reaction to No. 30. And if the fan in the next seat has a different
reaction, which is highly possible, it will open up the question:

Who is Rasheed Wallace?

Perhaps the answer is not an answer at all. Maybe the question is its own
answer, and merely asking it is the point.

Think of what artists say, when they are asked, "What does it mean?"

What do you think it means?

Basketball took Rasheed Wallace out of Martin Clair's Art class, but his career
will serve as his controversial masterpiece.

"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see," said the French
impressionist Edgar Degas.

Rasheed Wallace: "Everybody is not going to like you. Everybody is not going
to like what you do. Fifty percent like you, 50 percent hate you. You just
gotta keep walking that straight path."

[Dekko1]

Quotes and other fun stuff... some from the unofficial elevator man website's 100 reasons we love Rasheed:
http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Loge/7346/:

"Wallace is a riddle wrapped in a mystery, wrapped in a headband."
-- L.Jon Wertheim, Sports Illustrated

"Rasheed was a joy to coach, and I was impressed by his knowledge of the
game. If anything, he could be too unselfish. -- Dean Smith


Vitale on Wallace: "Look out. He's the elevator man...oh my!!!"

'Sheed told a professor several weeks following Arkansas Final Four loss
that the reason he had not been attending class was that he was embarrassed
to be seen on campus.

Dean E. Smith on 'Sheed's Ts
"We had some phantom technical fouls called when we had Rasheed. I know
that. He'd just scream, he was so happy with a dunk and the next thing you
know it's a technical foul. If I ever dunked, I would have screamed. If I'd
go up and sky and dunk one, I'd scream too."

"Some people say I'm mean and this and that. On one hand that's cool. That
keeps away all the riffraff and all the bugaboos." -- R. Wallace

Showed up at his first press conference in Portland with a t-shirt that read
"F*ck What Ya Heard."

Ra on his fine for wearing his shorts too long: "I like to wear big baggy
clothes, and that's the way I like it when I am playing. We're the ones out
there playing. They're up in some office. If we're comfortable with it,
leave us alone ...

Sloan sent an end of bench player to bang on 'Sheed to try to get 'Sheed pissed and tossed...Jerry thought when they shoved off each other 'Sheed threw a punch....Sloan ran out on the floor during live play to 'break up the fight' to everyone's amazement... and got himself tossed instead. Sloan really needed to sic a ref on 'Sheed instead of a player if he wanted 'Sheed to get upset...



"Although they initially denied possessing, smoking, or having knowledge of
Marijuana in the vehicle, Stoudamire, Wallace, and Smith were polite and
respectful during the entire contact." -- Arrest report by Trooper Dorsey,

Maurice Cheeks was talking with reporters when Wallace strolled past and had
this exchange with Cheeks while continuing to walk toward the locker room:
Wallace: "Say something!"
Cheeks: "They're trying to get you to say something."
Wallace: "They already know what I'm going to say. It's already etched in
their reporters' manual."
Cheeks: "What? 'Just ballin?' "
Wallace: "No . . . Good game. Both teams played hard."


On MTV Cribs where it was learned that the bathroom next to the master suite
includes a urinal.

"Every time he took a shot he said `Don't worry young fella, I get paid for
this. I get paid for doing this to you'," - Kwame Brown

Brian Grant getting interviewed by the Miami Herald's Dan Lebatard: The
question was who has the most expensive and least expensive wardrobes in the
NBA...Brian says "Alonzo Mourning has to have one of the most expensive.
I've never seen him in the same suit. Rasheed Wallace has to have the least
expensive. I've seen him at suit-and-tie functions in sweatsuits. That's
just Rasheed. He never changes, and I mean that in a positive way."

Video...philly cheesesteaks in Portland
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/news/2000/02/05/wallace_45sec/


Spotted at the Durham Wal-Mart in the summer of '97, with dribble bib
resting on right shoulder, kissing and coddling a baby no bigger than his
pinky, while sitting on top of a checkout counter, wearing a non-descript
No. 14 jersey and blue jeans.


The picture I would like to see:
Rashida at 2 years old, the couple's only
daughter, gets her daddy to sit down for tea parties. Fatima loves watching Wallace trying to
delicately hold the tiny teacup by the handle with his big fingers.

blazers sheed's dunks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXrrNzmZLVw&search=rasheed%20wallace

How abpout his Hawks stats?
1 game 42 min a record for a 1 game stint with a team 20 pts, 6 rbs, 5 blks 2 asts and a steal
Had a team meeting to tell them they could make the playoffs scaring the **** out of the tanking Hawks GM...traded to the pistons..



On the Pistons:
"They were good before I got here. That's what I try to tell the local media
and fans. They say to me, 'Thanks for coming to the Pistons. You made us
better.' I say, 'Ain't no way in hell I made y'all better. Y'all were
already one of the top-echelon teams in the East.' I'm still mystified by
that one a little bit." -- R. Wallace

Pippen on 'Sheed's talent
He just has so much talent, it's funny
sometimes. You know, when we're in practice and things, if he would just put
a little more effort into perfecting a few things it would change his whole
game and make him a much better player."
"He's still a great player as he is. He has so many tools, he can do so many
things. If he worked at it, it would make him just that much better. None of
his talents are so overwhelming that he doesn't have to work on them. If he
worked at them, he could be one of the best players in the game."

"But I'm not sure if 'Sheed wants that. He doesn't even want to be an
all-star, but hey, he's an all-star. He doesn't care. He's just that kind of
a person. He's more concerned about the Portland Trail Blazers than the NBA
All-Star team. He knows that he's a talented player, and that the league
jacks him around because of the way he handles himself. He's not going to
change his image for no all-star game."

Asked if Rasheed putting the team first is a good thing:

"That's a great thing. Y'all want to drop him off the all-star team? I'd
like to see him get a full five days' rest. Come back fresh. Let them pick
up another Laker all-star."


Once voted by players and coached most versatile player. Started at SF for a season then
he went to Dunleavy and volunteered to come off the bench the next season if it
would help the team. And did so.

Warm up, left and right handed half court shots
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTkT9C-05NI


"Politics":

After a regular season game a reporter asked Rasheed what he thought about a
trussle involving Argentinian Carlos Delfino and an opponent. Ra
thoughtfully responded: "Carlos ain't no punk, they kidnap people where he's
from."

On what he might say to Bush on his White House visit:
"I don't have **** to say to him. I didn't vote for him. It's
just something we have to do."

RAW on Game 7 pressure: "Pressure?" he said, spitting the
question back. "This isn't pressure and this is not pain. Afghanistan, Iraq
and that other place, Croatia and Bosnia - now, that is pressure. This ain't
nothing but a little hoops.

The league has informed the Blazers
that Wallace and the team will be fined the next
time Wallace ignores his responsibilities
to speak to members of the media.
Wallace was unavailable to comment.


End of Tome...

"I'm all right," Wallace said. "I'll be ready to go. Don't send me to the
glue factory yet."

[Walton'sBeard!]

I never heard about Sheed's saga with his son. Even though I hate the guy, I have a new respect for him.

[taufblazers33]

Rasheed Wallace is and will always be my favorite blazer

[BiggieSmalls]

I never heard about Sheed's saga with his son. Even though I hate the guy, I have a new respect for him.

That is exactly how i feel, i hate rasheed....alot, but after reading this i actually have some respect for the guy.

[The Emcee]

Man, I don't know if ANYONE else in the NBA would go to such lengths for his ex-wife like that.

I noticed in the police report it listed Sheed, Stoudamire, and "Smith" for the marijuana incident. Was Steve Smith there too?

[Dekko1]

Man, I don't know if ANYONE else in the NBA would go to such lengths for his ex-wife like that.

I noticed in the police report it listed Sheed, Stoudamire, and "Smith" for the marijuana incident. Was Steve Smith there too?

Not our Smitty. This Smith was a hired driver... an employee of Damon's... that took his hummer to Seattle to pick them up after a sonics game. They had been excused from riding back on the team bus since the team had been given a couple of days off.

'Sheed was arguing a call... announcer Mike Barrett
asked 'who got a T earlier?' and was told Mo Cheeks:
"It's OK then, 'Sheed has one to give"...

[BlackMamba]

how can anyone hate rasheed?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

[87BlazerMan]

I do love Sheed! One of my favorites of all time. I love his approach to the game, and how he treats basketball the way it should be treated . . . like a game. The NBA needs more Rasheeds and less LeBrons. I sincerely wish he would be a target in 09 for this team. His game (and his attitude) would fit perfectly behind Aldridge and Oden.

[Fitz303]

I got to actually meet and talk to Sheed a few years ago and he really was a jerk. I love his game. When he's on that court, I want him on my team every day, but as a person hes not the kind of guy I would go out of my way for.

[Dekko1]

I do love Sheed! One of my favorites of all time. I love his approach to the game, and how he treats basketball the way it should be treated . . . like a game. The NBA needs more Rasheeds and less LeBrons. I sincerely wish he would be a target in 09 for this team. His game (and his attitude) would fit perfectly behind Aldridge and Oden.

Well both sides burned the bridges and he likely would not want to return for his family's sake even if the Blazers could sell the idea to the half of the fans that hate him.
They did offer an extension and he turned them down, which was why they looked for a trade before the deadline.
Before he was traded that night Allen called 'Sheed and asked again if he would sign an extension. Part of the reason he said he would walk as a FA that summer was that his children were being harassed at school. He said that was his biggest regret about his behavior and reputation, that it afected his family even if he did not care.

He planned to take the Knicks mid-level because his wife wanted to live there, and he might still want to move to NYC.

'Sheed loves mentoring the young big men, on his team or not. He has even been helping Dwight Howard.
Dumars has talked to 'Sheed about signing him as an assistant coach when he does retire.

Rumor has it he plans to retire after next season...not a great source...Steven A Smith said 'Sheed tole him that at the all-star game...could be made up or 'Sheed just screwing with smith. I somehow doubt he would talk to a reporter about his plans, let alone that one.

Layden on Sloan:
"Nobody fights with Jerry because you
know the price would be too high.
You might come out the winner,
at his age, you might even lick him,
but you'd lose an eye, an arm …
your testicles in the process
everything would be gone.

[d-train]

I usually avoid reading posts longer than a paragraph because I hate reading and most aren't worth the effort. However, I read all your posts here Dekko1 and really enjoyed them.

[Deity Allah]

I meet Sheed a couple of years ago in Atlanta and drove him to restuarant from the hotel I was working at. It was like me and him for 20 minutes and we talked about an array of topics from NBA Lifestyle, college his family and his future. He cares about his career, but doesn't hold it in high regard as us from the outside world would except an NBA to do so. The man is all about family and enjoying the things that are of true importance. He stated that he didn't want to play for much longer due to the wear and tear the game has put on his body as well as all the traveling and things that go with the life. I honestly think the only reason why he continues to play is because of the commaradary he has with his teams more so than anything else. Out of all the professional athletes that I have met, he is hands down the most straight forward, geniune one I have come across. He's a real dude!

[kinch]

I ran into him twice while he was playing in Portland, weird circumstances both, and he was self-deprecating, funny, and just struck me as a straight-up cool guy. I believe those who had different experiences with him, but I really like 'Sheed and still root for him. He's just not cut out for the modern sports marketing machine, and that's both good and bad.