Shaquille O’Neal’s high school coach once planned to shun the 4x NBA champion but failed hilariously: “I had my walkman and my princess girlfriend”

Shaquille O’Neal is one of the most dominant players to ever play in the NBA. Standing at 7-foot-1 and weighing over 320 pounds, Shaq was nearly unstoppable during his impressive professional career.

Before he was drafted by the Orlando Magic in 1992, O'Neal played basketball in high school and college, earning nationwide recognition. However, he's had to overcome some obstacles, including his ego inflation.

In his book, "Shaq Uncut: Tall Tales and Untold Stories," the basketball legend discussed when his high school coach tried to ostracize him from other students.

"It was kind of lonely, but I had my Walkman and my princess girlfriend, so it could have been worse,” O'Neal revealed in his book.

While this did not affect Shaq at first, he eventually learned a valuable lesson from it.

---

Shaquille O’Neal was ignored by other students in his high school

Shaq's childhood was very unusual. Due to his stepfather's military career, O'Neal had to move to Germany at some point, where he played basketball at Fulda American High School.

After Germany, Shaquille and his family moved to San Antonio, Texas. This is where Shaq attended Robert G. Cole High School and where he became one of the most talented basketball players in the nation.

Shaq had a humbling experience at Robert G. Cole High School (Image via Getty Images)

During his high school days, O'Neal became one of the main stars on his team. However, he had issues with his ego, which is why his head coach tried to humble him.

“So one day I get to school and I’m walking down the left side of the hall and I notice everyone else is walking on the right," Shaq wrote in his book. "When I sit down at lunch, everyone gets up the minute I put down my tray."

You may be interested in reading: When Shaquille O'Neal took a dump in LA Lakers rookie's shoes for forgetting to bring donuts, revealed by Tyronn Lue: "His foot slides right in"

His coach knew that Shaquille O’Neal was getting too big, which is why he's decided to humble him. At first, Shaq wasn't bothered by this since he was bound for LSU. However, he eventually realized that the coach was right.

---

Shaquille O'Neal turned into a superstar

Shaquille O’Neal mentioned that his teammate Joe Cavallero played a big part in the plan to humble him.

"He [Joe] thought I was forgetting about the team and focusing too much on myself, and he was right," O'Neal said. "I had to humble myself."

Shaquille O’Neal eventually joined the LSU and became a superstar (Image via Getty Images)

Shaq eventually learned a lesson and it's helped him grow as a player. Thanks to it, O'Neal dominated college basketball while playing for LSU.

You may be interested in reading: When Shaquille O'Neal opened up on favorite athletes/rappers in NBA

The 7-foot-1 center was the first overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft. His professional basketball career was incredible as he ended up winning four championship rings and making the basketball Hall of Fame.