some_user86
04-17-2008, 11:21 PM
David Flores: Flashback: Shaq's first arena tilt
Web Posted: 04/17/2008 11:00 PM CDT
David Flores
Express-News Staff Writer
As with any job, some days in the newspaper business are more eventful than others.
Even as stories start to run together with the passage of time and the windmills of our mind start rusting, some assignments stand out from the rest.
Writing about the first game Cole graduate Shaquille O'Neal played against the Spurs in San Antonio 15 years ago ranks as one of those events for yours truly.
With the Suns-Spurs playoff series starting Saturday, now is as good a time as any to recall the night O'Neal's homecoming at HemisFair Arena turned sour.
Has it really been that long since O'Neal, then a rookie with the Orlando Magic, went out for the opening tip on March 19, 1993?
The Spurs beat the Magic 96-93, but what's memorable about the game is that O'Neal was ejected with 6:45 left.
His ejection culminated a wild sequence that began when Darell Garretson called an offensive foul on O'Neal, who was trying to post up David Robinson. Garretson, then the NBA's director of officiating, slapped O'Neal with a technical foul after hearing the big fella make an "unsportsmanlike comment."
Tommy Nunez, another veteran referee, called a second technical on O'Neal as the teams walked to the other end of the court for the free throw by Willie Anderson. To this day, I still can see Nunez pointing O'Neal to the Orlando locker room.
"Both of them were unsportsmanlike comments," Garretson said, referring to the two technicals in a statement released after the game. "I'm not going to repeat them."
The scene that followed the ejection was a story in itself.
As O'Neal walked off the court, the crowd cheered lustily. Meanwhile, Army Sgt. Philip Harrison, O'Neal's stepfather, glared at Garretson and Nunez from his seat near midcourt.
Harrison expressed his displeasure with a few choice words before gathering his family and walking toward the nearest exit. He complained about the officiating so loudly that he drew close scrutiny from police before he left the building. It was ugly.
Unlike his stepfather, O'Neal was calm when he met with the media after the game. The first question came from him, not a reporter.
"How's the sarge doing?" he asked, smiling.
O'Neal, who led Cole to the Class 3A state championship as a senior in 1989, finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds and two blocked shots in 32 minutes.
The Spurs led 81-69 when O'Neal was ejected and went on a 7-0 run before the Magic scored again.
My assignment that Friday was to shadow O'Neal as he went through his gameday routine.
O'Neal, who had turned 21 on March 6, signed a few autographs as he made his way to a news conference before the Magic's shootaround at noon. He smiled when he saw a familiar face and joked with reporters.
For all the hoopla, O'Neal wasn't much different than he was at Cole, where he played for two seasons after his stepfather was transferred to Fort Sam Houston.
Spurs fans always have relished making O'Neal the villain, and truth be told, he's enjoyed playing the role. But O'Neal is not a bad guy.
"He's a big kid at heart," said Cole boys basketball coach Herb More, an assistant to Dave Madura when the Cougars won state. "And he loves kids."
O'Neal donates shoes to the Cole basketball program annually and stays in touch with More and a few others on campus. He even dropped by the school two years ago and gave the Cougars a pregame pep talk.
"We were 3-2 and struggling," More said. "Shaq told the players, 'Three-and-two ain't good enough.'"
The Cougars got the message. Cole beat Poteet that night and wound up in the state tournament, losing in the semifinals.
More will be at Game 1 of the Suns-Spurs series and watch O'Neal closely, just as he did on that night 15 years ago when a rookie destined for greatness got the boot.
"I remember it," he said.
So do a lot of people.
[email protected]
LINK: http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA041808.1D_Flores_column.en.37652ec.html
Web Posted: 04/17/2008 11:00 PM CDT
David Flores
Express-News Staff Writer
As with any job, some days in the newspaper business are more eventful than others.
Even as stories start to run together with the passage of time and the windmills of our mind start rusting, some assignments stand out from the rest.
Writing about the first game Cole graduate Shaquille O'Neal played against the Spurs in San Antonio 15 years ago ranks as one of those events for yours truly.
With the Suns-Spurs playoff series starting Saturday, now is as good a time as any to recall the night O'Neal's homecoming at HemisFair Arena turned sour.
Has it really been that long since O'Neal, then a rookie with the Orlando Magic, went out for the opening tip on March 19, 1993?
The Spurs beat the Magic 96-93, but what's memorable about the game is that O'Neal was ejected with 6:45 left.
His ejection culminated a wild sequence that began when Darell Garretson called an offensive foul on O'Neal, who was trying to post up David Robinson. Garretson, then the NBA's director of officiating, slapped O'Neal with a technical foul after hearing the big fella make an "unsportsmanlike comment."
Tommy Nunez, another veteran referee, called a second technical on O'Neal as the teams walked to the other end of the court for the free throw by Willie Anderson. To this day, I still can see Nunez pointing O'Neal to the Orlando locker room.
"Both of them were unsportsmanlike comments," Garretson said, referring to the two technicals in a statement released after the game. "I'm not going to repeat them."
The scene that followed the ejection was a story in itself.
As O'Neal walked off the court, the crowd cheered lustily. Meanwhile, Army Sgt. Philip Harrison, O'Neal's stepfather, glared at Garretson and Nunez from his seat near midcourt.
Harrison expressed his displeasure with a few choice words before gathering his family and walking toward the nearest exit. He complained about the officiating so loudly that he drew close scrutiny from police before he left the building. It was ugly.
Unlike his stepfather, O'Neal was calm when he met with the media after the game. The first question came from him, not a reporter.
"How's the sarge doing?" he asked, smiling.
O'Neal, who led Cole to the Class 3A state championship as a senior in 1989, finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds and two blocked shots in 32 minutes.
The Spurs led 81-69 when O'Neal was ejected and went on a 7-0 run before the Magic scored again.
My assignment that Friday was to shadow O'Neal as he went through his gameday routine.
O'Neal, who had turned 21 on March 6, signed a few autographs as he made his way to a news conference before the Magic's shootaround at noon. He smiled when he saw a familiar face and joked with reporters.
For all the hoopla, O'Neal wasn't much different than he was at Cole, where he played for two seasons after his stepfather was transferred to Fort Sam Houston.
Spurs fans always have relished making O'Neal the villain, and truth be told, he's enjoyed playing the role. But O'Neal is not a bad guy.
"He's a big kid at heart," said Cole boys basketball coach Herb More, an assistant to Dave Madura when the Cougars won state. "And he loves kids."
O'Neal donates shoes to the Cole basketball program annually and stays in touch with More and a few others on campus. He even dropped by the school two years ago and gave the Cougars a pregame pep talk.
"We were 3-2 and struggling," More said. "Shaq told the players, 'Three-and-two ain't good enough.'"
The Cougars got the message. Cole beat Poteet that night and wound up in the state tournament, losing in the semifinals.
More will be at Game 1 of the Suns-Spurs series and watch O'Neal closely, just as he did on that night 15 years ago when a rookie destined for greatness got the boot.
"I remember it," he said.
So do a lot of people.
[email protected]
LINK: http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA041808.1D_Flores_column.en.37652ec.html