Rasheed Wallace is back in basketball, and back in his collegiate home state.
The former NBA All-Star, who became beloved for his idiosyncratic habits and penchant for drawing technicals as much as for his game, was announced as the new head boys basketball coach at Jordan High School in Durham, N.C. As reported by the News & Observer, and other outlets, it will be Wallace’s first high school position after he served as an NBA assistant for the Pistons in the 2013-14 season.
Wallace takes over Jordan after a rough season for the Falcons. Jordan finished the 2018-19 campaign 7-17 and 1-9 in conference, per the News & Observer.
“The only difference (between playing and coaching) is that I’m not actually out on the floor now, and I’m going to be more and more vocal to try to bring my knowledge to the kids,” Wallace told the News & Observer. “When I was playing I could show my rookies, now I got to do it verbally more.
“I don’t want them to see me as, ‘Oh, we’re getting this coach’ and then they see me screaming at refs and getting techs. I don’t want them to think that they’re getting that coach. They’re going to know me as a person, and that’s all that matters.”
One thing that’s certain: When Jordan takes the court, you can be sure that, “both teams play hard.”
