Shaquille O’Neal, also known as Diesel or Shaw, is a retired basketball player who is considered one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA. O’Neal attended Robert G. Cole High School in San Antonio, Texas, where he played basketball for the school’s team. He was an exceptional talent who led the school to a 35-1 record and the state championship.
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His success as a high school player made him one of the most desired college prospects. Every school in America was vying to get him. That is when Dean Smith, the legendary coach who kick-started Michael Jordan’s career, tried getting the 7ft 1″ center to play for Tar Heels.
However, Shaquille O’Neal did not appreciate Dean Smith’s recruiting technique. In his book Shaq Uncut, O’Neal wrote about the interaction that would sour his dreams of playing for North Carolina.
Shaquille O’Neal couldn’t handle Dean Smith’s bragging
In his 2011 biography, O’Neal was highly critical of the celebrated University of North Carolina coach. Shaq, who was usually aloof, observed how Smith was still basking in the glory of his former talent.
While recruiting Shaq, he made the mistake of talking about Michael Jordan, James Worthy, and Sam Perking. O’Neal, who wanted to carve a unique path for himself, was disappointed by Dean Smith’s pitch.
In his book Shaq Uncut, he 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. I also knew something else—Dean Smith liked this other seven-footer from Texas more than he liked me. He had just signed this kid named Matt Wenstrom, and I was UNC’s backup choice. 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.”
Diesel went on to play for LSU
LSU’s coach Brown and Shaquille O’Neal had shared a cordial relation even before Shaq’s rise as a high school talent. In fact, the two wrote letters to each other and Brown helped O’Neal develop. But when he reached LSU, Dale Brown told Shaq he might not start.
Despite knowing this, O’Neal was immediately swept off his feet by the campus and the crowd. He wanted to play for Dale and he wanted to represent LSU, the rest is history.
