Shaquille O’Neal has often credited his stepfather, Phillip Harrison, for bringing focus and discipline into his life. However, when it was time to leave home and play college basketball, he saw it as an opportunity to escape.
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In his biography ‘Shaq Uncut,’ the Hall of Famer explained that he could have opted to join the University of Texas, the closest massive college program to his home in San Antonio. However, he turned them down.
“The only problem with Texas was it was too close. I needed some space. I needed freedom. I needed to get away from my father.From nine years old to twelve years old, I was in the penitentiary—Sarge’s penitentiary….When I got to be about fifteen and the basketball started working out for me, I was on parole.”
O’Neal desire to escape his stepfather did not supersede his need to stay close to his mother. He wrote,
“I’m a man. I need to strike out on my own. Of course, I was still crazy in love with my mother, so I wasn’t going to go too far.”
Shaq eventually decided to play for Louisiana State University, where he blossomed into one of the most dominant college basketball players in history. He had an average freshman year, but in his sophomore season, he averaged 27.6 points, 14.7 rebounds, and 1.6 assists. He won every major college basketball Player of the Year award. In his junior year with LSU, O’Neal continued from where he left off. He averaged 24.1 points, 14 rebounds, and 1.5 assists. He was named the SEC Player of the Year twice at LSU.
Shaq decided to forgo his final year in college and declared for the 1992 NBA draft, where he was picked first overall by the Orlando Magic. His decision to go as far away from his stepfather as possible worked out perfectly.
Shaquille O’Neal turned down Michael Jordan’s alma mater
Before deciding to join LSU, Shaquille O’Neal visited the University of North Carolina, Michael Jordan‘s alma mater. UNC was twice as far from his home than LSU. He was interested in joining the program, but legendary head coach Dean Smith’s arrogant behavior turned him away. In ‘Shaq Uncut,’ O’Neal wrote:
“Coach Dean Smith kind of rubbed me the wrong way. He sat down with me in his office and basically told me, “I’m Dean Smith. Here’s what I’ve done. I’m pretty great and have you ever heard of Michael Jordan? I coached him.” He was telling me how much he had won, but I already knew all that.”
If Smith’s arrogance about his resume wasn’t bad enough, his parting message to O’Neal ensured he took UNC off his list. O’Neal revealed:
“The last thing Dean Smith told me was, ‘If you come here, you can be like Michael, James Worthy, Sam Perkins.’ I nodded my head politely but I was thinking, ‘No. I’m going some place where I’m going to be the first.’”
The Lakers legend believes Smith wasn’t too keen on landing him because center Matt Wenstrom from Mayde Creek High School in Harris County, Texas, had already committed to playing for UNC. In the end, it was Smith’s loss. O’Neal blossomed into one of the greatest players in NBA history, while Wenstrom played one season in the league. An incredible blunder from the legendary head coach.
