Black college flava again in NBA Finals
LUT WILLIAMS
BCSP Editor
The Pistons were then known as the "Bad
Boys" for their physical, and some times menacing style
of play which emphasized hard-nosed defense.
Considered perhaps the baddest of the "Bad Boys" was former Hampton Institute (now Hampton University) standout Rick Mahorn, who despite standing just 6-9, did the dirty work down low battling future Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Robert Parish while Piston stars Joe Dumars and Isiah Thomas got the headlines.
Well, the renewal of "Bad Boys" basketball is back in Detroit and it's a hit. The Pistons have fought their way through a tough Eastern Conference and have a 1-0 lead over the West Division champion Los Angeles Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals headed into Tuesday's second game.
Perhaps fueled by Mahorn's return as the team's color analyst on radio, the new version of the Pistons is conjuring up memories of the old. And with Joe Dumars currently at the helm of the organization as general manager, what else would you expect.
Just like the '88-89 team which included Mahorn, the Pistons feature a blue-collar front line, again led by a black college product at center.
But former Virginia Union ('96) standout Ben Wallace has taken Mahorn's role to another level. At least Mahorn was drafted.
Wallace, who two years became the first undrafted player in history to start in the NBA All-Star Game, has become a star, parleying an unbelievable work ethic and a self-effacing public image to become a media darling.
But he's also done the dirty work and looked good doing it.
He's won back-to-back NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards (2002-03), back-to-back rebounding titles in the same years, led the league in blocks in '02, was picked again as an all-star starter this year and was named second team all-NBA. And recently he was picked to play in Athens this summer with the U. S. Olympic team.
Alternating his blow-out afro and cornrows,
the eight-year veteran has become bigger than even
former "Bad Boy" Dennis Rodman, who had to dye his
hair and dress up like a girl to get this much attention.
And Wallace can be seen in commercials for
everything from ESPN to the NBA Finals.
But he's not the only former black college player firing the Pistons' engines.
Former Jackson State standout guard, Lindsey Hunter, who began his 11-year NBA career as a first round draft pick of the Pistons, is back, lending his experience, dead-eye shooting and tough defense to this new version.
Hunter, a former SWAC Player of the Year who averaged over 26 points his senior year at JSU, is looking for his second NBA championship ring facing the team that gave him his first, Los Angeles (2002).
In the NBA, Hunter has career averages of 10.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.35 steals per game. He has played for four teams and started more than 50 percent of his games in the professional league.
But for the Pistons, he has become another defensive stopper, inserted by head coach Larry Brown to pressure their opponents' ball handlers and run the team as a back-up point guard.
Mahorn, Wallace and Hunter give the Pistons and the NBA Finals another shot of black college flava.
© 2004 Azeez Communications, Inc.