Skiles & Wallace, Bad Blood? <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Blatantly defying coach Scott Skiles' team rule prohibiting headbands, Ben Wallace broke one out to match the Bulls' road uniforms Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. Thirteen games into a four-year contract that will pay him $60 million, Wallace and Skiles are at odds, according to the Chicago Tribune. One night after Wallace played a season-low 19 minutes, 38 seconds, Skiles removed Wallace just 2:02 after tipoff for breaking the team rule. Is Skiles' worried Wallace' insubordination will become an issue? "No," he said after the game. "I don't know why. I'm just not." Skiles wouldn't comment on why his rule is in effect. Wallace wouldn't comment on if he agreed with it. "Man, I don't care about that," Wallace said. "All I know is we got the win." Asked if he understood why he was benched, Wallace looked downward. "Ask [Skiles]," he said. "Coach makes the decisions. I just play." After Wallace was removed, assistant Ron Adams went to talk to him. Fellow assistant Pete Myers, Wallace's closest confidant, subsequently followed suit. Finally, assistant Jim Boylan, Skiles' right-hand man, visited him. And, still, the headband remained. When Wallace finally removed it, during a deadball situation with 2:41 left in the first quarter, Skiles called for him to re-enter. But the turmoil didn't end there. Wallace slipped the headband back on just before the second half was set to start. Skiles immediately sent Malik Allen to the scorer's table before play began. When Wallace again removed the headband during a timeout with 5:46 left in the third, he re-entered just 81 seconds later. At this point, Boylan had taken over as coach after official Tim Donaghy ejected Skiles with two quick technical fouls 56 seconds into the third.</div> Source Ridiculous rule, I dont see why he doesnt want his guys wearing headbands, I for one know how frustrating it can be trying to get a shot off, only to have sweat dripping into your eyes.
Nate had the same rule down in Seattle when he was the coach there. A rule is a rule Ben Wallace choose to break it and thus was punished accordingly. Skiles is a no nonsense guy. I doubt this becomes a problem.
I always wondered why Ben never wore a headband in Chicago, maybe it was his good luck charm... I never knew Skiles had that rule.
I dont see what the rule achieves? Sweatbands can be a very helpful tool (depending on how much you sweat), as I said earlier, it can be very annoying have sweat dripping into your eyes as your trying to get of shots, or watching you man etc.
Frustration Between Wallace and Skiles Brewing Since Training Camp <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The frustration behind Ben Wallace's insubordination Saturday night has been brewing since the first week of training camp. According to league and Bulls sources, Wallace has felt unfairly singled out by team rules that have taken away his pregame music, his headband and his tape-free ankles. General manager John Paxson is to talk Monday after practice about Wallace's breaking a team rule by wearing a headband in Saturday's victory over the Knicks. However, Wallace is expected to miss practice because he needs an MRI on his right wrist and fingers after injuring them in the second quarter in New York. Wallace played after the injury, which neither he nor coach Scott Skiles addressed in New York. Paxson hopes similar solidarity will ensue once this public dispute fades. Sources said Wallace became upset early in training camp when Skiles enforced a team rule to tape ankles. Wallace never taped his ankles when he played for Detroit. Wallace left practice to get his ankles taped and, unaccustomed to being constricted, had trouble running and sat out most of the practice, the sources said. Less than a week later, Wallace hooked his MP3 player into a docking station to play music in the locker room before the first home exhibition game. Asked then if he now allowed pregame music inside the locker room, Skiles said he was unaware any was playing. By the next home exhibition game, Wallace had headphones connected to his MP3 player. The headphones hung from a hook in his locker, with the volume turned up so loudly that music clearly emanated from them throughout the locker room. Several people within the organization, including players, theorized Wallace was marking his turf for what perhaps was an inevitable clash between two strong-willed men. Skiles even addressed such a dynamic during a one-on-one interview earlier this season. He talked about minor clashes he'd had with coaches as a player and, at the time, called such give-and-take "healthy." Skiles acted unconcerned then about a similar scenario happening with Wallace, who hasn't played pregame music loudly since the regular season began. Skiles underscored that calmness late Saturday when he said he isn't concerned this latest issue would have lingering effects. Still, Skiles considered the issue serious enough to conduct a 25-minute team meeting after Saturday's game to stress unity. Wallace didn't apologize for wearing the headband, according to two people present at the meeting. Skiles, who gave his team Sunday off, declined to discuss the reasoning behind the Bulls' no-headband rule. It's not uncommon for professional sports franchises to impose such rules. George Steinbrenner doesn't allow the Yankees to wear facial hair. The Knicks demand players wear suits while traveling. And White Sox and Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, who is believed to be behind the no-headband rule, asked catcher A.J. Pierzynski and Joe Crede to get haircuts during last spring training. What annoyed Wallace, a source close to the player said, is that he wasn't informed of the no-headband rule until after he signed his four-year, $60 million free-agent deal. Bulls management considers itself to have minimal rules. Most just seem to have rubbed Wallace the wrong way, which could be manifesting itself in his uneven play. Despite Skiles' consistent public insistence throughout training camp that Wallace's transition has been seamless, the coaching staff is perplexed by his occasionally listless play. That's why Skiles didn't criticize Wallace going one-on-one against Samuel Dalembert on the Bulls' first two offensive possessions Friday night in Philadelphia, leading to two wild misses. In fact, Wallace might get more touches in an attempt to jump-start his defensive play. Wallace, who is expected to be fined, still talks regularly to his former teammates in Detroit. His history with coaches there isn't great. He clashed last season with Flip Saunders and had a deteriorating relationship with Rick Carlisle before Larry Brown replaced him. Less than three weeks after being hired in 2003, Skiles uttered this classic quote in regard to a standoff with Eddie Robinson: "I've never lost a battle of wills in my life. And I don't plan on doing it now." Wallace, who called himself "stubborn" in the preseason, clearly viewed his decision to wear a headband as payback. With Wallace signed through 2010 and Skiles through 2009, the task is for these two to find compromise or, at least, some common ground. </div> Link
Wallace does seem to be developing a reputation for being uncoachable. He's been at odds with Carlisle, Brown, and Flip Saunders at various times and I suppose this latest development shouldn't come as a surprise.
According to ESPN the rule is in place because some former Bulls (in my opinion Curry, Crawford, Eddie Robinson) looked lax on the court when head bands were allowed and more concerned with look then their play.
I don't like Skiles position on this. Him and Paxson recruited Ben Wallace to join, knowing in advance Wallace likes to play with a certain look, the headband, the fro, or the red goggles. If Skiles was upfront during the recruiting process, this would never have been an issue. I'm sure Skiles never even brought it up because he didn't want to upset Ben from considering the Bulls. If you spend that much money on Ben Wallace, you have to be ready to get the full Ben Wallace package, headband included. Now the Bulls have an unhappy player making $16Million a season and this has become an unnecessary distraction. I wouldn't be surprised if the locker room is becoming divided at this point, and once Skiles loses the respect of his players he's done as a coach.
Hey guys, I found this on SI.COM and thought it was hilarious that the Bulls are paying $16 Million a year for Ben Wallace when there's another guy way down the list who is scoring exactly twice as much as Wallace is, grabbing 1.5 more rebounds and has 1.3 more blocks per game for less than 2 million a season. He's making 1/8th of what Wallace makes! *NOTE* It goes: MPG, PPG, RPG, BPG Ben Wallace, Bulls 34.2 5.6 9.4 1.57 $16 million Samuel Dalembert, 76ers 26.6 7.9 7.6 1.79 $9.46 million Drew Gooden, Cavaliers 26.8 12.1 9.6 .50 $6.64 million Jeff Foster, Pacers 20.9 4.7 7.0 .87 $5.5 million Reggie Evans, Nuggets 18.5 7.2 8.2 .10 $4 million Shelden Williams, Hawks 23.0 7.0 6.8 .58 $2.95 million Andris Biedrins, Warriors 30.3 11.2 10.1 2.87 $1.98 million David Lee, Knicks 25.7 10.1 9.3 .31 $926,040 Paul Millsap, Jazz 16.3 6.7 4.5 .93 $625,000
Skiles doesn't like them wearing it because it is mostly worn as a fashion trend by NBA players. Only Cliff Robinson originally wore it for the actual purpose. I thought many of you knew of that?
<div class="quote_poster">M Two One Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Skiles doesn't like them wearing it because it is mostly worn as a fashion trend by NBA players. Only Cliff Robinson originally wore it for the actual purpose. I thought many of you knew of that?</div> It is worn more for fashion, but what's the big deal about wanting a unique look on the court? If Skiles was so adament about the headband and conforming to the look he wants, he should have made it clear before the Bulls signed Big Ben. He's made it an issue after the fact and ultimately it's his own fault. EDIT: Here's a perfect quote from a Seattle Times writer, Steve Kelley, discussing Bob Hill airing out his dirty laundry with Earl Watson to the public. The same criteria applies to the Skiles-Wallace feud. I know Wallace has agreed not to wear the headband, but this should have never made the headlines because it causes a rift. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">It is a player's league and, unless you're one of the elite coaches with championship rings and a fat long-term contract in your portfolio, the players will quit on you if go after them in public. They will dog you until you're gone.</div> Source
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Wallace might feel he's justified in being upset about the way the Bulls informed him of the rule. Skiles told him just before his news conference on the day he signed in what Skiles said was an effort to keep Wallace from being blindsided by questions about a rule that eventually was going to affect him.</div> This is a reference from ESPN Insider, dirty pool on Skiles part.
Most guys with big foreheads wear these to hide a bad hairline. Sheed, Wallace, Rip, Jason terry, baron davis, Bron.......... Brad miller is the only guy with a normal hairline who wears head bands that I can think of off the top of my head.
This definitely seems like an ego trip by Skiles. Why would you enforce a rule on a guy after the fact? It seems hypocritical that he can be so adamant about a rule that he was willing to sacrifice during the negotiating process.
There is coaching with an IRON FIST, and then there is ridiculous policies like this just to flex muscle. Skiles is wrong on this one
<div class="quote_poster">shapecity Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">It is worn more for fashion, but what's the big deal about wanting a unique look on the court? If Skiles was so adament about the headband and conforming to the look he wants, he should have made it clear before the Bulls signed Big Ben. He's made it an issue after the fact and ultimately it's his own fault.</div> I don't have anything against wearing the headbands actually. I'm not sure what the big deal is with Skiles either, but I always thought the trend was really corny. I suppose he's just tight assed.
As much as I like Skiles, I'm with Ben. I wear a head band because sweat gets in my eyes, they become all bloodshot and tears even start to come down. Of course, every person is different. But I can't see why something potentially helpful should be banned.
