<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Save for a brief photo opportunity on Monday's Media Night, Ben Wallace's signature headband has yet to make an appearance this season. "I might bust it out [Sunday] at the United Center for the [fan-friendly] scrimmage," Wallace said. "I think the fans might like that."</p> Wallace will, too, once he starts wearing his favored fabric regularly. He says he isn't sure if he will sport one every game, but merely knowing that he can pleases him. All parties said and did the right things after Wallace's blatant act of insubordination last Nov. 25 in Madison Square Garden, when he openly defied a team rule banning headbands and coach Scott Skiles benched him. But in his most expansive comments since the incident, he admits publicly what he shared privately with close friends and ex-teammates. "Sometimes last year, I know it might not have been said, but it felt like a tug-of-war," Wallace said. "So this means a lot. It definitely helps me to relax a little bit more knowing I have my coaching staff and organization and teammates behind me. It just makes you want to go the extra mile and do whatever you can do to help the organization." Maybe it's symbolic, like the preferential treatment on the no-headband rule. Sometimes, it's subtle, like Wallace calling the Bulls "we" instead of "they," as he did last training camp. But even though he insisted he fit in last season, it certainly feels as if Wallace has reached a higher comfort level this October. He knows his teammates. He knows his coaches. He knows his rules—and his role. This comfort level shows in instances like him cracking up hysterically after slipping and falling on a defensive drill, allowing Andres Nocioni to blow by him and Skiles and teammates to blow him up with taunts. It shows in him pulling aside second-year forward Tyrus Thomas and rookie Joakim Noah for pointers, as he did during a recent practice. Despite his reputation as the poster child for some great Pistons teams, Wallace never has been very vocal. He still isn't, but he also knows when to pick his spots. "I know these guys now, know what makes them tick," Wallace said. "I can pick up the phone and call a couple of guys and ask, 'Did you see this? Did you see that?' It makes it easier for you once you feel that comfort level with these guys to where you can communicate with them both on and off the court."</div></p> LINK</p> And perhaps the most important quote from the article, at the very end:</p> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>"It really doesn't matter if I feel I belong," Wallace said. "It's whether we feel we belong with the league's best. And we do."</div></p>
