Shaquille O’Neal made a bold prediction at a Thursday evening news conference on campus. “LSU 49, ULL 3,” the former LSU and current Miami Heat center said. “Of course I wanted to check out the first football game.” O’Neal is in town for his annual Life Skills Golf Classic on Sept. 1 at the Island Golf Course in Plaquemine. His CHAMPS/Life Skills program at LSU helps student athletes to realize the importance of education, graduation and life after college. “I just wanted to come here and talk to the students and touch on some of the important issues – education, responsibility,” O’Neal said. “It’s always good to come back and see old friends and see what the University is up to.” O’Neal said his findings, especially the new Cox Communications Academic Center for Student Athletes and new student housing, show that the University is on its way up. “If any parents have any doubts about sending their kids to LSU, don’t have any doubts because we are still the best university in the state, and we will be forever,” O’Neal said. In his visit to campus, O’Neal said he spoke to LSU center Glen Davis and saw him working on his moves in the gym. “Hopefully [the team] takes their failure and hopefully it motivates them to get back to the Final Four and possibly win the whole thing,” O’Neal said. The LSU alumnus played for the Tigers under former coach Dale Brown and averaged 21.6 points per game in three seasons of play from 1989 to 1992. The 7-foot-1-inch center merited first team-All American honors after his sophomore and junior seasons at LSU. He was also named the Associated Press Player of the Year following his sophomore campaign. “I was very proud of the team and very jealous because they’ve been to a place that I didn’t get to at this level,” O’Neal said. “Hopefully LSU can make it back to the Final Four and win it.” During the summer, O’Neal and the Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks to win the 2006 NBA championship. The title was O’Neal’s fourth in his career and the first in the Heat’s history. After losing the first two games of the series final, O’Neal said Miami Heat coach Pat Riley’s motivation reminded him of Brown’s leadership at LSU. “I can remember after game two, we had three days off and we didn’t practice,” O’Neal said. “[Dallas Mavericks Owner] Mark Cuban had already planned the parade route. Pat Riley read the article, printed the paper, put it up on the board and said, ‘See you at the game.'” In the future, O’Neal said he has four years left on his contract with the Heat but has not made a decision about life after his NBA career. “I would probably like to play out my contract,” O’Neal said. One option O’Neal said he is considering is where he will work as a sheriff following basketball. “There’s an election coming up in 2008, I think here in Baton Rouge and in Orlando and in Miami-Dade county,” O’Neal said. “So I will be a sheriff in one of those counties that I just mentioned.” O’Neal even mentioned the possibly of returning to LSU to receive his doctorate. O’Neal received his masters degree in business administration June 25, 2005, from the University of Phoenix. He also received a degree in general studies from the University on Dec. 15, 2000. “You never really forget where you come from,” O’Neal said. “I’ll probably be in Tiger Town tonight just driving by, hanging out and see what’s going on.”
—–Contact Kyle Whitfield at [email protected]