Rasheed

A man strolls into a sporting-goods store and buys a Rasheed Wallace-replica jersey. As he gives the jersey to his wide-eyed son, does that man have the right to expect over the next few weeks, months or even years that Wallace will not have his name splashed across newspapers for something negative? "You never know what can happen out there," said Wallace, the Portland Trail Blazers' frontcourt star out of Simon Gratz High. "Who's to say whether or not I'll get arrested someday?

Whether Rasheed Wallace will play pro basketball in his hometown will be decided Wednesday. Today's question is, would he benefit from playing here? Draft experts and NBA scouts agree that Wallace, as talented as he is, could have used one more college season to fully prepare himself physically and emotionally for the demands of the NBA. For now, the Sixers are enamored with North Carolina's Jerry Stackhouse and they say they would complete their top three, unless they're blowing smoke, with Maryland's Joe Smith and Alabama's Antonio McDyess.

Rasheed, 12, belongs to a sports club for boys and girls. He's really happy to be a part of this group, and he'll say, "Here's my uniform. Don't I look good?" He likes to tackle and get up to bat, and he has won trophies in softball. He even goes to practice with a smile, and when pictures are being taken he stands tall and proud. "I'm somebody," his expression says. "They want me. I'm somebody, too. " During recess at school, he jumps rope, climbs the monkey bars and plays hide and seek.

For the winner, the best thing about a fierce neighborhood rivalry is being able to brag at full volume. For the loser, the worst thing is trying to find a suitable place to hide. Perhaps forever. Darnell Ransom, a 6-foot junior point guard, has seen the Germantown-Martin Luther King battles from both sides now. His 1990 experiences were much more pleasurable than 1989's, thank you. "I sold out in this game last year," Ransom said. "All this week, I'd see the King guys and they'd keep reminding me. They were talking a whole lot of trash.

It was standard basketball strategy. Unionville, after trading leads all night with host Garnet Valley, found itself trailing by three in the waning minutes of its Southern Chester County League game on Friday. So it put the Jaguars on the foul line. What wasn't so commonplace was the outcome. Garnet Valley hit six straight free throws down the stretch to ice a 52-46 win over the Indians. It was the second time the Jaguars (7-9, 5-3) had beaten Unionville (5-14, 3-6) this year.

Beulah Brokenborough calls her grandson Rasheed "one in a million. " Her assessment has nothing to do with his budding ability on the basketball court. Rasheed grew up in a section of West Philadelphia called The Bottom. His father was never a part of his life. His mother had many personal problems. The only parent he really had was his grandmother. She is his rock. "She was there for me, all the time," said Brokenborough, a Temple sophomore guard from University City High School.

Sometimes a little dab will do you. That's true at least for Evolution, with its new paint job and new tag, Club Evolution 2, at the northern end of Delaware Avenue. In the darkest corner of clubland, this members-only after-hours dance space held a reputation for debauchery and glorious decay. (Often this was more image and chatter than actuality.) Now, there's a purity at work. The simplicity of new white walls seems almost heavenly. The dancers are glowing as they stomp to the sweet sounds of resident DJs Michael Myers and Rob Lee. Dag, even the disco ball burns brighter.

For Rasheed Wallace and Jerry Stackhouse, it sure seemed as if someone had sucked the air out of the "green room" where they sat feeling their collars get tighter as the first few picks of the NBA draft unfolded at SkyDome. They could handle Maryland's Joe Smith going No. 1 just fine. Their Atlantic Coast Conference competitor was the expected choice of Golden State. It was the No. 2 pick that almost did them in. They were not, as convention would suggest, hoping to hear their names attached to the pick of the Los Angeles Clippers.

As soon as social worker Juanita Wright climbs the stairs of the tiny two- story apartment in the projects, past the nearly bare living room and the sparsely stocked cupboard, the children swarm around, grinning and chattering at her. "Well, look at you. Look how big you are!" says Wright. She listens as Tishea, 5, bright barrettes bobbing, tells kindergarten tales. She admires the two little boys' Halloween masks. Then, Wright smiles at their mother, Tamika Littlejohn, a small woman with big glasses and a big belly - again.

This is not an easy time to be a basketball player for Murrell Dobbins Tech. The opposition, it appears, is more beloved than the Mustangs. Take junior Ronald Davis, a 5-7, 115-pound power forward. (Just kidding. Of course he's a guard.) Yesterday, li'l Ronnie barely had a chance to eat his much-needed lunch because he was so busy responding to busting from schoolmates. "Everybody was saying they were coming to the game to see 'Reece,' " Davis said, referring to star sophomore Maureece Rice, of Strawberry Mansion.

Rasheed Wallace, who was known on the national level since his freshman basketball season at Philadelphia's Simon Gratz High, has retired for the second time in his NBA career. Slow to recover from a broken left foot, Wallace, 38, retired Wednesday from the New York Knicks. Wallace first retired after the 2010 NBA Finals following his appearance with the Boston Celtics, who lost in seven games to the Los Angeles Lakers. He returned to the NBA this season and appeared in 21 games for the Knicks.

RASHEED WALLACE delivered a hard whack to Luis Scola, then some hard words to the referees. These New York Knicks won't let anybody have it easy at Madison Square Garden, not even the officials. Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points and the Knicks ran their best home start in 20 years to 7-0, withstanding Wallace's ejection after a mere 1:25 of playing time to beat the Phoenix Suns, 106-99, on Sunday. Phoenix had won its last two at MSG but the Knicks have finally figured out under coach Mike Woodson that home-court games are not to be wasted.

Veteran forward Rasheed Wallace has informed the New York Knicks that he will come out of retirement to play for the team this season, according to a league source. The 38-year-old, a former star at Simon Gratz, retired two years ago after a disappointing season with the Celtics. "I don't know if he signed yet, but he has looked good from the time he has been with us," Knicks center Amar'e Stoudemire said. Wallace likely will back up power forward Stoudemire. Widely known for his penchant for technical fouls, the 6-foot-11 Wallace is also a strong post defender and can knock down the perimeter shot.

In an emotionally agonizing afternoon for the families of victim and murderer, the Philadelphia jury considering the death penalty for admitted police killer Rasheed Scrugs said it was deadlocked Friday, but, after getting terse instructions from the judge, decided to try again Monday. Common Pleas Court Judge Renee Cardwell Hughes had taken the unusual step of handing each juror a piece of paper on which to write, privately, "what the court could do to facilitate your deliberations.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers told a Boston radio station that center Rasheed Wallace has said he probably will retire. On Monday, Rivers told WEEI-AM that Wallace said before Game 7 of the NBA Finals that the player believed it would be the last game of his career. The 35-year-old graduate of Simon Gratz High would finish with 15,860 points and 7,321 rebounds in a 15-year career. The volatile big man also was ejected 30 times, the most since such records started being kept in 1992.

An alleged Camden drug-trade enforcer who authorities said had a "huge reputation" in the city died yesterday morning at Cooper University Hospital after being shot last week in an apparent ambush. Rasheed "R.A. " Land, 30, wasn't the leader of a drug ring, but he provided muscle for several operations, according to a law enforcement source familiar with Camden's drug underground. Land is a cousin and housemate of former NBA player Dajuan Wagner, Land's mother, Bernadette, said yesterday.

The Boston Celtics have offered forward Rasheed Wallace a contract as part of a major push to land the forward, the Boston Globe reported yesterday. The Simon Gratz High graduate was offered the deal Thursday during a three-hour meeting in Detroit. Celtics stars Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce joined general manager Danny Ainge and managing partner Wyc Grousbeck at the meeting. Wallace's agent, Bill Strickland, told the Globe in a text message that it was a "very good meeting; some contractual terms discussed, nothing agreed to. " He also said Wallace, 35, will meet with other teams next week.

As he went around the table, embracing his mother and brothers, Tyreke Evans showed it all in his eyes: The jubilation. The relief. The fulfillment. For the 6-foot-5 guard out of Memphis, this moment was 12 years in the making. It all paid off last night at Madison Square Garden. Evans will play for the Sacramento Kings after being chosen with the fourth pick in the NBA draft. "This is crazy," said Evans, who is expected to earn a rookie salary of $3,610,080. "This is a dream I had since I was 7 years old. Watching plenty of NBA games, I was a fan of Penny Hardaway.

A municipal court judge yesterday branded the accused killer of Officer John Pawlowski as "a domestic urban terrorist" who "ambushed" police officers responding to a call. In a courtroom nearly filled with police officers and friends and relatives of Pawlowski, who was slain Feb. 13, Judge Patrick Dugan then ordered Rasheed Scrugs held for trial, which he scheduled for April 16. Scrugs, 33, is charged with murder, attempted murder, robbery and related charges in connection with the death of Pawlowski, 25, who was shot when he intervened in an attempted robbery.