Jermaine O'Neal

Jermaine Lee O'Neal Sr. (born October 13, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player.

By the time he turned 14, the 6ft 4in O'Neal—now a confident guard who could drain three-pointers—entered Eau Claire High School of the Arts as a freshman in 1992.

In his first meeting with basketball coach George Glymph, he made the bold promise to become the best player in the school's history.

While O'Neal's first season was hardly noteworthy (he even played as quarterback for the Eau Claire team) things changed when he grew five inches over the next year and a half, and he was inspired to develop into a defensive powerhouse like his idol, Bill Russell.

Glymph built his team's defense around O'Neal, and Eau Claire featured one of the most imposing frontcourts around.

With O'Neal averaging 18 points, 12 rebounds and 9 blocks a game, Eau Claire captured its third straight 3A state title in 1995.

The following July, the 16-year-old was able to raise his profile yet again.

At an ABCD summer basketball camp, he outplayed Tim Thomas, a rising star at that time.

Before long, recruiting letters from various top colleges came pouring in.

O'Neal, however, also faced great pressure off the court.

That same year, the District Attorney contemplated prosecuting him for rape after he and his 15-year-old girlfriend were found partially nude in bed together by her father.

The DA eventually did not prosecute O'Neal, but as the latter struggled to cope with the pressure on and off the court, Glymph stepped in, introducing discipline to his life and keeping his feet to the ground.

At the same time, O'Neal's mother had met a new man, Abraham Kennedy, who also guided O'Neal along.

In his senior season at Eau Claire, O'Neal's averages of 22.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 5.2 blocks per game ensured that he was voted First Team All-State, South Carolina's Player of the Year and "Mr. Basketball".

Named to USA Today's All-USA Basketball Team, he earned a spot in the McDonald's All-American Game as well.

Despite being one of the nation's top prospects, O'Neal's future in college basketball was uncertain.

He scored poorly on the SATs, and Glymph advised against him making the leap to the NBA.

But it was only a year before that another South Carolinian—future NBA All-Star Kevin Garnett—had made a seamless transition from high school to the NBA, and O'Neal thought he could emulate Garnett.

A center/power forward, he had a successful high school career and declared his eligibility for the 1996 NBA draft straight out of high school.

O'Neal was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers as the 17th pick in the 1996 NBA draft.

The rookie was surrounded by veterans and emerging stars who could show him the ropes in Portland; forming the frontcourt with him were Arvydas Sabonis, Rasheed Wallace and Cliff Robinson.

After missing the first 17 games with a bone contusion in his knee, O'Neal made his debut against the Denver Nuggets in December.

At 18 years, one month and 22 days, he became the youngest player to play in an NBA game (a mark that was later eclipsed by Andrew Bynum).

O'Neal also became the youngest player at 18 years, three months and eleven days to score 20 points in a game on January 22, 1997, against the Seattle SuperSonics.

Portland was mediocre in the first half of the campaign, but came to form as the playoffs approached and managed to finish third in the Pacific Division with a 49–33 win–loss record.

While fans at the Rose Garden harbored thoughts of an upset against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs, the Trail Blazers succumbed in four games.

O'Neal was unable to break into the first team in Portland and was traded to the Indiana Pacers in 2000.

In his eight seasons with the team, he was voted an NBA All-Star six times, made the All-NBA teams three times, and was voted the NBA Most Improved Player in the 2001–02 season.

O'Neal also helped Indiana reach the NBA playoffs six times, including the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2003–04 season.

O'Neal was traded to the Toronto Raptors before the 2008–09 season began, and later played for the Miami Heat, the Boston Celtics and the Phoenix Suns.

O'Neal's final NBA season was the 2013–14 season, which he spent with the Golden State Warriors.

O'Neal was born in Columbia, South Carolina.

He and his older brother, Clifford, were raised by their mother, Angela Ocean.

Ocean worked hard to support her sons and left her children largely to their own devices.

O'Neal found his love for athletics at a young age.

Tall and quick, he enjoyed both American football and basketball, but basketball was his favorite sport.

Two of his basketball heroes are Hakeem Olajuwon and Bill Russell; O'Neal often marveled at Olajuwon's approach to the game, while he loved watching Russell's video highlights of his duels with Wilt Chamberlain.

Each summer, O'Neal would play for an AAU team and impressed onlookers with his athleticism and his ability to handle the ball with both hands.

O'Neal, at just 17 years of age, was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 17th overall pick, and played his first professional game at 18.

At the time, he was the youngest player to ever play an NBA game.