There were so many other nicknames, from the Diesel to the Big Aristotle to the Big Shamrock.
But to me, from the time I met him in the late summer of 1989, Shaquille O’Neal was always “The Big Kid,” a lovable, good-humored, really nice guy who happened to be one of the biggest and best athletes on the planet.

I’ve always joked that I knew Shaq from the time he was only 6-11 and that I taught him how to do interviews. But more on that later.

In the meantime, it’s pretty safe to say that no other LSU athlete ever had a more impressive post-LSU career than Shaq, who announced his retirement Wednesday. There was a time, probably during his heyday with the Lakers, when O’Neal was the most well-known and most popular athlete in the world.

And, as funny as this might sound coming from the only reporter who saw him play every game in college, I only saw him twice in person in the pros, during his second NBA season and then his last.
We were headed to Orlando during the 1993-94 season and former LSU player Dennis Tracey, who at the time was Shaq’s right-hand man, left us tickets. But a big bonus was getting to hang out with another Tiger with whom I’ve remained close all these years, Magic rookie Geert Hammink.

After the game, we hooked up with Hammink, who was ready to go to dinner. No, I told him, I had to see Shaq, who, Hammink pointed out, would be last out of the shower and then surrounded by reporters.

The reporters were none too happy when, many minutes later, as they were all waiting on deadline for the big guy when he popped out of the shower, looked over their heads and exclaimed, “Lee Feinswog!” and came over to visit with me. I had mixed feelings as a non-working reporter that night, thrilled that I was getting to talk with Shaq but knowing that all those guys on deadline were pissed that I was keeping him from them.

Anyway, we went to dinner and I got Geert to pick up the check, even though he, too, was less than thrilled about having to wait so long for me.

Through the years, I would see Shaq now and then when he would return to LSU for various functions, not the least of which was his annual golf tournament that benefits LSU’s Shaquille O’Neal Lifeskills Programs. It was always fun and when we did interviews they were filled with laughs and teasing and even bets on swimming races (you have to go to sports225.com and see the video, but please know that even at 17 years older I would smoke him in a 50-yard sprint).

Finally, last December on a trip to Boston, I got to see him play again. We visited in the locker room before and after the game, one in which he played 21 minutes, had 9 points and 6 rebounds and looked like what he told me last summer would hold up, that he would play two more years after this one.

But the end was nearer than we both realized. Putting 300-plus pounds on late-30s legs takes its toll and, at age 39, that was that.

And so on Wednesday he told the world and minutes later Baton Rouge radio host Matt Moscona told me, giving me a call and asking me to come on his show in a couple of hours to talk about Shaq. As I hit the pool for a 2,000-yard swim, I spent the time with my head in the water not worrying about the swim but thinking about those days from 1989-92 when, as the LSU basketball beat writer the The Advocate, it seemed like it was all Shaq all the time. He was the 1992 national player of the year who told me when he got the award at the Final Four in Indianapolis that he thought of turning pro but, frankly, didn’t know what he would do with the money.

The next year, after his junior season, he left, becoming the No. 1 pick in the draft by the Magic.

His NBA career is well documented, from the titles to the awards to the all-time rankings. But to me in many ways he’ll always be “The Big Kid” from LSU. During that time, especially in 1991-92, so many reporters – many of whom I met for the first time then but have remained friends with – from around the nation came to Baton Rouge to meet and write about O’Neal.  There was a documentary about LSU’s team, mainly focusing on him.

On the road it was like traveling with a rock star.

All of which was a far cry from our first meeting 22 years ago.

He was a 17-year-old incoming freshman who had won a state title in Texas, albeit in a small classification, and he was relatively skinny and very soft-spoken.

We sat together in the bleachers of an empty Assembly Center and his answers were pretty much “Yeah,” “Uh-huh,” “No,” “Sort of.”

I said that he obviously didn’t enjoy these kinds of things and he agreed.  I told him that at the worst he had to put up with me and do better, since I was at every practice and every game and would be interviewing him all the time. And, I pointed out, I figured he might be pretty good and that other media types would interview him and he might as well embrace it.

Which he did like no one ever had.

At LSU, he never hit a game-winning shot. He only won two NCAA Tournament games in his three seasons, although in his final game, a defeat to Indiana in the second round in Boise, Shaq went 12-for-12 from the free-throw line. That was long before Hack-a-Shaq.

He never forgot his roots. He has said many times coming back to LSU and hanging out and being here is still his refuge. He has undying loyalty and devotion to Dale Brown, his coach at LSU. His sense of humor is the best.

He remains larger than life, and not just because he grew to 7-1 by the time he left LSU.

Now you can rest assured that Shaq will rule the entertainment world.

If you haven’t seen the comedy shows he produces, well, they’re freakin’ hilarious but not for the politically correct feint of heart.  The guess here is that he’ll also produce movies, figures out new ways to make social media do wonderful things and have more fun than anyone can imagine while doing it.

Shaq will be back here soon enough and I look forward to seeing him and congratulating him and once again thanking him for the memories.
 
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Sportswriter Lee Feinswog has covered LSU athletics since moving to Baton Rouge in 1984. He is the host of the TV shows Sports Monday and Sports 225, which features a weekly interview with BBI’s Derek Ponamsky. Feinswog has written three books, including Tales From The LSU Sidelines and What It Means To Be A Tiger. Contact him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (225) 926-3256.