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Article: Being Ben: Wallace's path takes him many places.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- April 19, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Mitch Albom
DETROIT _ When we begin this story, Ben Wallace is just a teenager. A poor kid from a huge family, he has saved the money he has earned from picking pecans and cutting hair in his small town of White Hall, Ala., and he has paid to attend a basketball camp hosted by Charles Oakley of the New York Knicks. There are lots of kids _ rambunctious, big-dreaming kids _ and they're making noise and their attention span is short. And Oakley, who is trying to address them, is exasperated.
Finally he bellows, ``OK, if y'all think you know it all, who's gonna step up and play me one-on-one?''
Wallace, who was quiet the whole time, looks ...