Rasheed Wallace Says There’s More Passion in College Basketball Than the NBA

When Rasheed Wallace walked away from the NBA in 2010, he no longer enjoyed the product, and spent much of his brief retirement watching college ball instead. Wallace – who is currently struggling to get in shape during the New York Knicks training camp – claims that college players exhibit more passion and hunger for the game. The NY Post has more: “Wallace — who won the NBA title with the Pistons in 2004 when [Mike] Woodson was an assistant coach — did not hesitate when asked why he came back. ‘Passion, just sitting watching the way some of the guys you call great post players not playing in the post,’ Wallace said. ‘It’s the passion to come back and show y’all how post players really need to play — old-school basketball. Y’all are used to all this new, young stuff, high-flying and dunking. That’s not basketball. Terrible footwork by a lot of young guys out here. Let’s go back to old-school basics.’ […] The lack of passion and hunger Wallace perceived in many of younger players turned him off the NBA during his retirement, so he watched college basketball instead. ‘I turned from the BS that they show, with a whole lot of the stuff that’s going on out here,’ he said. ‘I was more interested in college. To me it seemed in college ball, guys are more hungry. It’s for a different circumstance when you’re talking about playing for money and playing for heart. Not saying that guys in the NBA don’t play for heart, but once you get that money, you’re under a different mindset. But when you’re trying to get there and get on this level, you’re more hungry.'”