When Shaquille O’Neal was a teenage army brat honing his basketball skills on military training grounds, he established a clear path to LSU. That very connection would keep him on the right track for the NBA. That connection is otherwise known as Dale Brown, the most illustrious coach in LSU history. He recruited Shaq straight off the US Army base in Germany where Shaq’s (step)father, Sgt. Philip Harrison was serving. That connection is highlighted in Beyond the Spotlight.

It’s a lesser-known story in Shaq-lore that the big man nearly followed his father’s footsteps to the army. That decision stemmed from the need to take care of his family. But Coach Brown was not letting that raw basketball talent go to waste. He wrote a letter, the contents of which he recounted verbatim on the show.

“I tried the following and it worked for me and I bet it’ll work for you and it’s fairly simple,” Brown narrated. “If you always sincerely try to do your very best and never give up under any conditions sooner or later, God will take care of everything else.”

Coach Brown was as tough on Shaq as his own father. O’Neal narrated many instances of advice the Tigers Head Coach gave him during their lifelong friendship. This one could’ve been the biggest as Shaq demonstrated he was very close to going to the army because he didn’t believe in himself as much as his coach did.

“I saw that letter, it just… ‘Alright, no more army. You going to the NBA no matter what,'” he recalled. To the NBA he did go as the first overall draft pick of 1992 and picked up every rookie honor he could get. From being raised by a single mom, Lucille, to his stepfather trying his best for the entire family, Shaq had the urgency to take care of them. Once in the NBA, he splurged on houses and cars for them. You can thank Coach Brown for that.

The start of Shaq and Dale Brown’s friendship

This player-coach friendship is epic for a lot of reasons. It began when Shaq was 13 but was already a giant by then. Brown was on a European scouting tour in the ’80s and Sgt. Harrison decided to take Shaq to meet the coach to bolster his chances at a scholarship to LSU. Shaq was a few years away from college but Brown thought the 6’6″ ‘man’ was an adult and asked, “What rank are you, soldier?” 

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Shaq graciously informed his age and that because a funny story among them. Brown brought Shaq to LSU where he became a household name and set the stage for a grand NBA start.

His friendship with Brown remains intact. We can see more of it on Beyond the Spotlight special about Shaquille O’Neal.

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