TORONTO — Shaquille O’Neal was just 9 years old when his stepfather began teaching him basketball with a plan to dominate like Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Young Shaquille didn’t even know who they were.
Now he’s on the verge of joining them in basketball immortality.
“He told me this day would happen and I never believed him,” O’Neal said of Phillip Harrison, who raised Shaq along with his mother and died in 2013.
O’Neal was chosen Friday as a finalist for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, joining Allen Iverson to highlight the potential class.
Yao Ming could accompany them in Springfield, Massachusetts in September, though he was nominated by the Hall’s International Committee and wasn’t subject to the step O’Neal and Iverson had to clear Friday.
People are also reading…
Former Phoenix Suns point guard Kevin Johnson, college coaches Tom Izzo, Bo Ryan, Lefty Driesell, Eddie Sutton and Muffet McGraw; women’s superstar Sheryl Swoopes, longtime referee Darrel Garretson, high school coaches Leta Andrews and Robert Hughes, 10-time AAU national champion Wayland Baptist University, and John McClendon, the first African-American coach in a professional league, were also chosen as finalists by the North American or Women’s Committees.
The entire class will be unveiled April 4 in Houston.
Bosh reportedly out with a calf injury
Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat will miss Sunday’s All-Star Game with a calf injury and has been replaced on the Eastern Conference roster by Atlanta’s Al Horford.
LaVine propels US past World
Zach LaVine had 30 points and seven rebounds and the United States team beat the World team 157-154 in the Rising Stars Challenge on Friday night to kick off the NBA’s All-Star weekend.
In the game featuring some of the best rookies and sophomores in the league, LaVine geared up to defend his slam dunk title on Saturday night by making 13 of 20 shots to beat Minnesota Timberwolves teammate Andrew Wiggins. LaVine was selected the game MVP.
Kristaps Porzingis scored 30 points, and Emmanuel Mudiay had 30 points and 10 assists for the World team.
Wiggins scored 29 points while playing in front of his hometown fans.
Los Angeles Lakers sophomore Jordan Clarkson added 25 for the Americans.
Faculty concerned about changes to U of A admissions policy
