More about why I love Shaq...

Here's an article I just read... Man, I love Shaq!

Suns' big man stands even taller off the court, friends say
Doug HallerThe Arizona RepublicApr. 18, 2008 12:00 AM

Dale Brown respects the effort. Truly, he does. But if you want the truth, he's just not sure profiling Shaquille O'Neal is possible. There's just too much there, too much to cover, too much to capture."I've known Shaquille since he was 13," said Brown, who coached O'Neal, now 36, for three seasons at Louisiana State University. "Of all that's been written about him - the newspaper stories, the magazines, the books - nobody has totally encompassed his entire personality. Nobody. He's truly one of the most unique people I've ever met."Everyone focuses too much on O'Neal's basketball skills, Brown said. And that's understandable. The Suns acquired the 7-foot-1, 321-pound O'Neal in a somewhat risky trade with the Miami Heat on Feb. 6. Since then, after a rocky transition, he has anchored the Suns' postseason chances not so much with inside presence but with an attitude that, yes, the Suns can prevail, starting with Saturday's Game 1 in San Antonio.


But Brown isn't so interested in such discussions. He would rather hear about Mike Mikan, who walked down to the court while the Suns warmed up before a recent game at US Airways Center. Once he made eye contact with O'Neal, Mikan explained that he was late Hall of Famer George Mikan's son and that he just wanted to thank O'Neal in person for honoring his father by contributing to his funeral costs three years ago. George was the NBA's first dominant big man, winning five titles before retiring in 1956 after nine seasons.O'Neal stopped shooting layups, introduced Mike to O'Neal's mother, then walked to the arena's opposite end to hug Mike's mother, Patricia. "What other superstar would do that?" Mike wondered.

On the court, O'Neal, a 14-time All-Star, is defined by his four championships, his 25.2-career scoring average and his place in history. By O'Neal's count, he is the game's fourth-best center, trailing only Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Hakeem Olajuwon. O'Neal's personality reminds many longtime Suns fans of Charles Barkley's larger-than-life impact on the 1992-93 team. But, off the court, Brown says people are often misled, which is why he phoned Bill Walton after the ESPN analyst criticized O'Neal just after the trade for essentially dogging it during his final days in Miami."I've known Bill a long time," Brown said, "but I told him, 'I'm really disappointed in you. You got Shaquille all wrong. He's not that way at all.' "

A big helping hand

A few weeks after O'Neal arrived in Phoenix, Tom Ambrose, executive director of Phoenix Suns Charities, approached him after practice.Ambrose explained that the team's annual fundraiser, the Suns & Stars Gala, was coming up. For the charity auction, Ambrose had brought in artist Dan Dunn, who planned to paint O'Neal on a 6- by 6-foot sheet of black canvas. "After he's finished, (former Suns star) Tom Chambers is going to start auctioneering the painting, and we'd like you to help," Ambrose said. "Look, you can have as much fun with this as you want. But if you don't feel comfortable doing it, that's fine, too."

On March 14, inside the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa, everything went as planned. Except for one thing: Chambers forgot to introduce O'Neal. Once the bids seemed to stall at $15,000, a Suns staffer told O'Neal just to walk on stage unannounced. About that time, those in the audience heard an unmistakable voice."That's too low, Tom! That's not enough."

Seconds later, O'Neal appeared and launched into a nearly perfect auctioneer's cadence. The crowd went nuts. O'Neal ditched his routine after 10 seconds, but the bids kept coming. By the time O'Neal was finished, the artist had agreed to do two more O'Neal paintings, and each of the three sold for $41,000. "All in all, Shaquille made (Suns Charities) about $100,000 in 10 minutes," Ambrose said.

Big part of his appeal

That's the big man's appeal. Suns reserve Eric Piatkowski noticed it after a couple of road trips. With Steve Nash and Amaré Stoudemire, the Suns always have been a popular attraction. But with O'Neal, "we're a traveling rock band," Piatkowski said. "It's a good thing he has his own security person around because people go crazy for that guy."In public, O'Neal appears comfortable and patient. At a recent Feed the Children event in Mesa, he handed out food boxes, posed for photos and teased children."You're beautiful," he said to a girl. "You must be a model or something."

Karlos Dansby paid close attention. A mutual friend had called O'Neal and asked if he would help the Cardinals linebacker get involved. The next day, Dansby met O'Neal for the first time at the Biltmore, and the two drove together to Mesa, joining Stoudemire as the event's featured guests. O'Neal told reporters that his parents taught him generosity at a young age. His stepfather used to take clothes to the Salvation Army. His mother helped battered women.

When he finished, O'Neal urged media members to interview Dansby, who looked just as happy as the children."It's time to show my face and give the community some respect," Dansby said. "This is my first big event; I'm just trying to take some pointers."Said O'Neal: "I've been doing this since 1992, a lot of stuff seen, even more stuff unseen. . . . My thing is, if I can just put a smile on a person's face, I'm happy."

A force in locker room

So, how does O'Neal's personality affect an NBA locker room? Ask former teammates, and their first response is laughter. Oh, the stories they could tell.O'Neal doesn't try to hide his reputation. "I'm a prankster," he said, emphasizing the importance of "keeping things loose." It's a role he has coveted while playing in Orlando, Los Angeles and Miami. In 2003, Lakers guard Brian Shaw was in the final season of a 14-year career. At 36, his age was starting to show both in his game and appearance. He had to shave his head every few days because hair no longer grew on top. But one day, Shaw lost a bet, forcing him to let his hair grow out, bald spot and all.

After a few weeks, Shaw looked ridiculous. Back then, the Lakers always started practice by meeting at midcourt. But one day, O'Neal didn't show. A few minutes later, everyone heard that booming voice. "WHO AM I?" Out walked O'Neal, wearing socks, high tops and a towel over his head - nothing else."We think that's the joke, this 7-foot, 320-pound guy walking out naked," Shaw said. "But when Shaq got to midcourt, he takes off the towel, and he has his head shaved down the middle, trying to look like me. It was so funny."

The Suns are more protective of O'Neal's shenanigans. Stories of naked bear hugs and Brazilian dancing have surfaced, but when asked for confirmation, guard Raja Bell smiled and walked away." There's a lot of stuff he does to keep everybody loose and keep everyone on guard," assistant coach Alvin Gentry said. "I'll leave it at that."

Personal problems

O'Neal's style is refreshing, but he has problems like everyone else. He filed for divorce in September from Shaunie, his wife of five years. The two have four children and two more from previous relationships. The petition filed by O'Neal's lawyer stated, "(T)he marriage between the parties is irretrievably broken," but as of Thursday, the case was pending with no court date in place. Asked by The Republic if reconciliation was possible, O'Neal said he doesn't talk publicly about private matters, a sound policy, but one he hasn't always applied to basketball.

O'Neal, who will earn $21 million for each of the next two seasons, has never shied from criticizing teammates and coaches during his 16-year career. He wasn't always complimentary about former Orlando star Anfernee Hardaway. His feud with Laker Kobe Bryant made headlines for years. More recently, he argued with Miami Heat coach Pat Riley through the media."Shaq's accustomed to things being at a high level," said Shaw, a Lakers assistant coach. "When things don't fall in line, yeah, he can be a little ornery, but I think that's the case for a lot of people. His track record speaks for itself, but it's also pretty evident that when he leaves, there's bad blood. I think that's just his way of severing ties. He gets mad and uses it as motivation."

Indeed, O'Neal warned the league about upsetting him at his introductory news conference in Phoenix. "When I'm upset," he said, "I'm known to do certain things - like win championships."

The Suns, seeking their first, relish such an edge. It's something they've lacked in previous postseasons, which means the man coach Brown considers too complex to summarize might be praised in the end for something very simple:Keeping the Suns focused."

Knowing Shaquille like I know him," Brown said, "if he's healthy, Phoenix will be in the NBA Finals. I don't have any doubt about that."

Source: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0418shaq0418.html