Rasheed Wallace named boys basketball coach at a North Carolina high school
A high school in Durham, North Carolina, named former University of North Carolina and NBA star Rasheed Wallace as its next boys basketball coach Friday.
Wallace, 44, will coach at Jordan High School, which is coming off a 7-17 season, and takes over for former coach Kim Annas. He said at the news conference the timing was right and he knew the area as well as the school since his nephew attended recently.
“I was familiar with coming over here,” he said in a video shot by HighSchoolOT.com. “It’s also my neighborhood school. I’m in the neighborhood, I’m in the community so that’s why it’s also going to be important for me and the gentleman to do community work.”
Wallace, a 6-foot-10, 225-pound center, retired after the 2013 season, closing a 16-year career that included the 2004 NBA title with Detroit Pistons and four All-Star selections. He played primarily with the Pistons and Portland Trail Blazers, accumulating 16,006 career points in 1,109 games. He was with the Pistons during the 2004 “Malice at the Palace” brawl with the Indiana Pacers.
He won the Wilt Chamberlain Community Service Award in 2005 and the NBA Assist Award in 2006, both of which were cited by Jordan officials.
A Philadelphia native, Wallace said he moved his mother down to North Carolina after playing for two years with North Carolina and Dean Smith. The Tar Heels won the 1994 ACC title and followed it with a run to the Final Four the next year.
Wallace, the fourth overall pick in the 1995 draft, said he likes the “overall family atmosphere” and knew a local reverend.
“He felt as though this would be a good look for me and I said the same thing,” Wallace said. “It’s involving with our young men here and trying to get them to be better people.”
The JHS Athletics Twitter page teased a “huge announcement” 15 minutes before the news conference. The school’s baseball account showed its excitement after the announcement.
That Jordan baseball hat looks great on Sheed!! Looking forward to seeing the boys in action on the court next year. https://t.co/kJ75qIORgV
— Jordan Baseball (@DiamondFalcons) March 8, 2019
Wallace served as an assistant coach for the Pistons, but has not coached a high school team. He joins Donald Williams of Wakefield (Wake Forest) High School as the two members of UNC’s 1995 Final Four team to coach in North Carolina, according to The Wilson Times. Fellow Tar Heels alum David Noel also coaches in Durham at Southern Durham.
"It is not every day that you can add someone with as rich of a background in basketball, mentorship and volunteerism as Rasheed Wallace," Director of Athletics Shelba Levins said, per the Wilson Times. "I am thrilled to welcome him to Jordan and the Falcon family."
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