Ben Wallace needed some help backing away from the idea of retirement and two old friends in Detroit were ready to help. The four-time All-Star and former Virginia Union star was ready to walk away from the game when he was bought out by Phoenix in the aftermath of the Shaquille O’Neal trade. Tayshaun Prince and Richard Hamilton, his former teammates with the Pistons, had other ideas.

The Tri-City Summer League All-Star Game was planned as an opportunity to celebrate the Richmond area’s sports legends, but it may have provided fans a legendary experience in itself. For fans hoping to see up-and-coming stars like Tyrese Rice (L.C. Bird, Boston College) play with NBA veterans like Ben Wallace (Virginia Union University), their dreams did come true—but even more important, they saw two teams slug it out through two overtimes before the South wore down the North and eked out a 156-154 victory.

Wallace Express, led by Ben Wallace (above), has won the Tri-City Summer League seven times since 1999. Basketball is back in Richmond, in the crowd-pleasing form of the Tri-City Summer League, which starts Tuesday and runs through July 30. The league will feature eight teams comprised of high school, college and professional stars with connections to the Richmond area. As usual, headlining the league is former Virginia Union star Ben Wallace.

Ben Wallace, the NBA star traded by Cleveland to Phoenix in exchange for Shaquille O’Neal, got at least one thing he wanted last week. The private gym he is building on Westwood Avenue near the Richmond city line was granted final approval for landscaping and outdoor lighting from the Henrico County Planning Commission. When the landscape and lighting plan came before the commission in May, county staff raised security concerns because lights mounted on the building wouldn’t illuminate the edges of the parking area. They recommended lights on poles.

Now that the Cleveland Cavaliers are out of the NBA playoffs, all-star Ben Wallace can turn his attention to building basketball in the Richmond area. His latest project is a private gymnasium under construction on the Henrico County side of Westwood Avenue. The property value is listed as $1.17 million on a county building permit issued April 8 to BCW 45TH LLC and Chanda Wallace, Wallace’s wife.

Cleveland center Ben Wallace, a former Virginia Union star, is considering retirement following the Cavaliers’ elimination from the playoffs. Wallace, a four-time NBA defensive player of the year, said yesterday that a combination of injuries, declining production and a loss of passion for the game has him thinking about quitting. He plans to sit down with his family before deciding his next move.

First, Shaquille O’Neal. Now, Ben Wallace. For the second time this season, Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy has accused one of the NBA’s biggest, baddest players of flopping. On Monday, Van Gundy said he was bothered by the number of times Wallace, a former Virginia Union star, and Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Mo Williams dropped to the floor in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Magic. He said the pair “fell down more than a baby learning to walk.“

HOUSTON—Cleveland Cavaliers forward Ben Wallace will miss four to six weeks after breaking his right leg in Thursday’s 93-74 loss to Houston. Wallace, a former Virginia Union University star, said Yao Ming kicked him as the two were running down the court in the second quarter. The 6-foot-9 Wallace managed to play midway into the third quarter before leaving for good with 6:19 left.

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Ben Wallace needed 14 stitches to close a gash in his right forearm after injuring himself while he was in Richmond during the NBA All-Star break. The team said Wallace sustained lacerations from glass while playing catch with a football. When he got back to Cleveland yesterday, Wallace underwent further evaluation at the Cleveland Clinic and had more pieces of glass removed from his arm today, the Cavs said in a statement.

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Ben Wallace and former NBA standout Charles Oakley are among six former Virginia Union greats who will be honored tonight at halftime of the Virginia UnionLincoln game at Barco-Stevens Hall. In addition, the school’s first NCAA Division II championship team along with former head coach Dave Robbins will be recognized during a reunion ceremony. The 1980 team included current head coach Willard Coker, who replaced Robbins this season.