UNDER THE BANNER
What's Going On In and Around Black College Sports
IT'S BIG BEN, AGAIN: The NBA announced on Monday that Ben Wallace of the Detroit Pistons, out of
Virginia Union, has won the 2005-06 NBA Defensive Player
of the Year Award, marking the fourth time in his career that he has
captured the trophy as the league's best defender. With this year's
honor, Wallace becomes the only player in NBA history to win the award
four times in five years and joins Dikembe Mutombo as the only players to
earn the award in four separate seasons.
The 6-9 center averaged 11.3 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and a career-high 1.8 steals to anchor a defense which ranked third in the league for fewest points allowed per game (90.2). Wallace was the only player in the league to rank in the top 10 in rebounds per game (fourth), blocks per game (ninth) and steals per game (10th). He became only the fifth player in league history to record 100 blocks and 100 steals in six consecutive seasons. Wallace led all NBA centers in rebounding and steals, guiding the Pistons to a Central Division crown and the best record in franchise history (64-18). Wallace collected his 7,000th career rebound this season and became one of only 24 players in league history to record 1,600 blocks. Wallace, the all-time Pistons franchise leader in blocks, has finished in the NBA Top 10 in blocks for six consecutive seasons. Wallace received 420 points, including 58 first-place votes, from a panel of 124 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote received. San Antonio's Bruce Bowen finished second with 308 points and Utah's Andrei Kirilenko finished third with 121 points. Wallace played at VUU from 1994-1996 and still holds the school record with 114 blocks in a single season. He was named to the CIAA 60th Anniversary All-Tournament Team in 2005.
PIERCE TO COACH LIBERIA: Hampton women's track & field coach Maurice Pierce has been selected to be an assistant for the Liberian National Track Team at the upcoming African Championships in Athletics which will be held August 9-13 in Mauritius, Africa. Lady Pirate sprinter Maisha Pinkard, a former MEAC champion and USA Track & Field Indoor Championship participant, will also compete for her native Liberia at the African Championships. "It's a blessing and an honor to be named as an assistant coach for the Liberian National Team," added Pierce who is in his fourth year as head coach at Hampton. "It just goes to show that my work here is being noticed not only within the conference and nationally, but also internationally. As a coach this has to be one of the highest honors I've received, to be asked to assist with an international track team. My next goal is to become the national coach of Liberia heading into the 2008 Olympics." Pierce has quickly established himself as one of the up and coming young track coaches in the country, leading the Lady Pirates to their fourth straight MEAC Indoor Championship in February and the just completed conference outdoor title. Consequently, he was named the Southeast Region Indoor Coach of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
© 2006 Azeez Communications, Inc.