5 best NBA, NFL and MLB players to ever come from an HBCU

By Dante Pryor | Feb 16, 2022

NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 28: Jerry Rice #80 of the San Francisco 49ers runs with the ball against the Denver Broncos during Super Bowl XXIV on January 28, 1990 at the Super Dome in New Orleans, LA. The 49ers won the Super Bowl 55-10. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

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September 11, 2021; Springfield, MA, USA; Class of 2021 inductee Ben Wallace speaks alongside presenter Larry Brown during the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement at MassMutual Center. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /

5. Ben Wallace, Center — NBA, Detroit Pistons — Virginia Union University

Reflecting on the 1996 draft class, it was one of the best. Allen Iverson was the first pick, and players like Ray Allen, Steve Nash, Marcus Camby and Jermaine O’Neal all combined to make it one of the greatest draft classes in NBA history.

One name that might not immediately come to mind is Ben Wallace. His name won’t come up because it did not appear during the draft. He was eligible but when the White Hall, Alabama native was not drafted, Wallace went back to the gym.

“Once you get over the initial shock and once you get over the fact that everybody have to pay for not taking a chance on you, it’s back to the grind,” said Wallace, at the time a senior from Division II Virginia Union, ready but left waiting. “So I went back to the gym that night.”

That mindset certainly paid off. After a tryout with an Italian league team, Wallace would first land in our nation’s capital with the Washington Wizards. Wallace had three unimpressive seasons with Washington and another with Orlando.

Wallace found a home in Detroit where he would win an NBA title and become one of the fiercest defenders of his generation. Wallace was defensive player of the year four times and NBA All-Defensive team five.

Wallace is proof that hard work certainly pays off.

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