Shaquille O’Neal gave Ashton King and other young athletes life lessons from his Hall of Fame NBA career in Paradise this week. MICAH MCCARTNEY/WCMESSENGER
NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal is known for his 7-foot-1 stature, his dominance on the court and his larger-than-life personality. In Paradise last week, O’Neal and organizers of the Collins Skills Basketball Camp showcased the value of having a Shaq-sized heart, injecting joy, a helping hand and life lessons to the community hit by the tragic losses of two elementary students last year.
O’Neal — the 2000 MVP with the Los Angeles Lakers and current sports analyst on TNT’s Inside the NBA — was the special speaker at the camp June 26-28 at Paradise High School. The camp was sponsored by Kingdom Hoops, an organization ran by Mandrae Collins.
“It’s fun to get out there and play with the kids,” O’Neal said. “I actually grew up in a school about this size. A lot of these camps are put on in the bigger cities like Dallas, Austin and Houston, so we’re trying to spread it around. I’ve been involved with [Collins] for two years now. He and his wife handle the logistics, and it’s been very successful. I’m really surprised that kids still know who I am, even though I haven’t played in 10-15 years — that really amazes me.”
O’Neal said he and Collins were moved to bring the camp to Wise County after hearing about the deaths of two Paradise Elementary School students, Athena Strand and Kennedy Handley, last year. They were both 7.
“[Collins] told me the news, and we wanted to come and try to spread a little bit of joy,” he said. “I just couldn’t imagine when I heard about it. I really feel for the families. Of course, we’ve all had tragedies, but I’ve only had elderly tragedies like my father and grandfather passing away. I don’t know how I’d handle it if something like that happened to my kid.”
Shaq was the special speaker at the Collins Skills Basketball Camp June 26-28 at Paradise High School. The camp was sponsored by Kingdom Hoops, an organization ran by former Harlem Globetrotter Mandrae Collins. MICAH MCCARTNEY/WCMESSENGER
The camp also paid respect to the families of Strand and Handley. O’Neal and Kingdom Hoops announced a pledge to donate $10,000 to each family’s foundation in the girls’ honor.
Jesse Woskowicz, organizer of the camp, believes the camp brought a sense of healing to the community.
“Our community has been through so much with the passing of those two beautiful souls,” Woskowicz said. “For two men of this caliber to come and uplift the community, and teach us to keep going, keep fighting and keep giving glory to God, it’s definitely made an impact this week. They motivated and inspired the kids and the adults at the camp. There are no words to describe how grateful we are that they chose Paradise.”
In addition to the donations to the families, O’Neal also announced he was purchasing 100 Chromebook laptops for the district.
“I walked into the library, and the first thing I asked was, ‘Where are the computers at?’,” he said. “I knew I had to do something for them. Back in my day, we had to go to the library and borrow a book. But now, the kids have access to everything on their phones and computers. I didn’t want any kid to be left behind because they didn’t have the right tools for their education.”
Paradise superintendent Will Brewer estimated the cost of the computers will total around $30,000.
“I certainly didn’t wake up this morning thinking that a Hall of Fame NBA player would be donating computers to our school district,” Brewer said. “It’s definitely a blessing, and I think it really shows just what kind of person Shaq is — he’s real personable, and he’s all about the kids. He’s got a big heart, and a donation of that magnitude will definitely make an impact on the educational experience here at Paradise ISD.”
According to Collins, the camp drew an attendance of 180 athletes from second through ninth grades.
“It’s been absolutely incredible — there’s no other word to describe this week,” Collins said. “Everything we wanted to do this week, we accomplished our goal. Our focus was to come in and impact the community in a tangible way, and to have each and every one of these campers walk away not only as better basketball players, but also better people.”
Shaq shakes hands with Paradise’s Andrew Messenger Wednesday at the Collins Skills Basketball Camp in Paradise. MICAH MCCARTNEY/WCMESSENGER
The three-year former Globetrotter spoke highly about the level of skill and ability of Wise County’s young players.
“There’s a lot of solid candidates with really good talent,” he said. “There were a lot of dogs on both sides, both boys and girls. Every one of these kids hustled and got after it, with great attitudes. We talked about not being that player that’s a coach’s nightmare, but being a coach’s dream player. There’s definitely some future stars in this community.”
According to Collins, the camp has already received positive feedback from local families.
“We’ve heard a lot from people who told us how grateful they were that we could be the kids’ role models for a few days,” he said. “We tried to instill character principles that will go with them for the rest of their lives — respect, integrity, responsibility, accountability, sportsmanship and servant leadership. And now, it’s up to them to continue practicing those principles in their everyday lives. There comes a time when the ball stops bouncing, but that character will still remain.”
About Shaq:
O’Neal has four NBA championship rings from his time on the Lakers and Miami Heat, also winning three consecutive NBA Finals MVP awards (2000-2002),15 All-Star nods and three All Star MVPs. He was drafted No. 1 overall by the Orlando Magic in the 1993 NBA Draft, and claimed the league’s top rookie honor that season. O’Neal also played for the Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics.
Playing for San Antonio Cole, O’Neal’s team went 68-1 in his final two seasons, and claimed the 1989 3A championship in his senior campaign, defeating Clarksville 66-60. He went to play college basketball at LSU, where he was a two-time SEC Player of the Year and the Associated Press 1991 National Player of the Year.
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