Detroit — The Pistons had a few distinguished guests at the first day of training camp Tuesday: newly inducted Hall of Fame center Ben Wallace and Michigan coach Juwan Howard.
Wallace, who is becoming more of a presence around the Pistons practice facility and the organization, took some time to work with second-year center Isaiah Stewart.
“It’s huge, just showing (Stewart) tricks of the trade in post defense. Ben is going to be with us this week in training camp, helping our big guys with post defense and showing them tricks of the trade there,” coach Dwane Casey said. “It’s good to have Ben around, and having him as an example for Luka (Garza) and Isaiah and Kelly (Olynyk) is so important, just because of his experience and what he’s done, and what he means to this franchise.
“For him to be a part of our organization and working with the guys and he’s going to do some scouting, we’re really excited.”
When Wallace was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame this month, most of the Pistons organization was present for the ceremony in Springfield, Massachusetts. It looks to be a harbinger of a strengthening relationship between Wallace and the team where he spent most of his career.
Stewart has been compared to a smaller version of Wallace in the style that he plays and the effort and intensity that he shows when he’s on the court. It’s not a direct correlation from Wallace’s game to Stewart’s, but the technical aspects are important.
“I feel like he can teach me a lot, just because of the guys he guarded back then, and the guys I’m going up against. He went against monsters down in the post,” Stewart said. “Today was probably the most I ever talked to him. I took the time to ask him as many questions as I could but I’m hearing that he’s going to around more and I’m definitely going to be picking his brain every day — and hopefully, he doesn’t get tired of that.”
Howard wasn’t just checking up on rookie Isaiah Livers and his predecessor as Michigan coach, John Beilein, who is an assistant coach and director of player development. Casey invited Howard, along with some other college coaches in the area, who could drop in during training camp.
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