‘Teenage’ Shaquille O’Neal’s Cockiness After Getting Girls’ Attention Led to Being Ostracized in High School: “Eat By Yourself”

Shaquille O’Neal, one of the most dominant players the NBA ever saw, went to Lousiana State University from 1989 to 1992. O’Neal, destined to light up the NBA after being selected as the number 1 pick of the 1992 draft, was already a big star at the Robert G. Cole High School in San Antonio. The LA Lakers legend revealed that his sudden popularity with girls led to him becoming cocky. In his book, “Shaq Uncut,” Shaquille O’Neal revealed that he grew up without attention from the opposite gender. However, the sudden cockiness he showed led to him being ostracized by his friends, who forced him to eat alone.

As a teenager, every boy finds the thrill of being attracted to the opposite gender. When it is also reciprocated, the thrill is even greater. But for Shaq, that reciprocation came way later. As a teenager, his success in high school led to women finally paying the 7ft 1″ some attention.

Shaquille O’Neal reveals hilarious high-school fight with friends due to his cockiness

Considering Kobe Bryant once claimed O’Neal had enough talent to become the best ever in the NBA, Shaq was obviously on track to living a life of popularity. His celebrity status, however, was new to him in high school, back in San Antonio.

Shaq revealed in his book that he ended up actually getting cocky due to the attention that he received. Not only did he start believing the media reports about him, he also started getting fan mail, and was suddenly a hit among girls.

This was new to Shaq, who ended up getting cocky due to this extra attention. O’Neal claimed that this led to his friends getting angry, who ended up forcing him to eat alone:

“After that, I was in the San Antonio paper every day. I actually got cocky, believing my own press. I was getting fan mail, and the girls were beginning to come around. But once I got to high school, my friends were like, “All right, you gonna act like you’re big-time, eat by yourself, practice by yourself.”

Shaquille O’Neal only temporarily got into trouble due to his cockiness

While O’Neal was only beginning to garner attention from the media and his peers at his high school, things changes at Louisiana State University, where he went to college. By the end of his first college year, Shaq was already a household name and was considered to be on track to a high NBA draft pick.

O’Neal’s obvious talent, coupled with his tenacity and physical attributes meant that he had all the tools necessary to be a top NBA star. Shaq obviously proved his supporters right and has always spoken about his time at LSU with fondness.

Hence, while he did get into some trouble with his friends in high school, this was not true in college. He was already a big star by then, and his cocky nature only helped him attain the heights that he eventually did, in the NBA.