Jermaine O'Neal
Jermaine O'Neal
Jermaine Lee O'Nealis an American former professional basketball player. The 6 ft 11 in, 255 lbforward-center had a successful high school career and declared his eligibility for the 1996 NBA draft straight out of high school. He was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 17th overall pick, but O'Neal was unable to break into the first team in Portland and was traded to the Indiana Pacers in 2000. In his eight seasons with the club, he was voted an NBA...
ProfessionBasketball Player
Date of Birth13 October 1978
CityColumbia, SC
I want to be in the best winning situation. I don't want to be around anybody who's just interested in playing out the season and then going home for the summer.
I'm a very emotional player. I use emotion because my team feeds off it.
If we win, I don't care if I get 20 boards or five boards.
I think if I had one year of college, I'd have done better with the mental part [of the NBA].
To represent the United States in international competition is special recognition that not many players receive and I am really looking forward to helping USA Basketball regain its status in international basketball.
My reward is just to be a better man. You're so close to losing a loved one ... the ultimate goal is to be a better daddy, a better son, a better teammate.
If I can go to the U.S. Army and fight the war at 18 why can't you play basketball for 48 minutes?
We shouldn't even get paid for this game. I'm not trying to take anything away from the Bobcats, they played a heck of a game, but we feel like we are at another level. I felt like we were the expansion team tonight. I'm thoroughly embarrassed.
It's a huge, huge pressure that so many people depend on you. The type of player I am and people look at me to come out and perform a certain way. Not being able to play on the biggest stage of the season, it's frustrating. One thing I wanted to do was not be frustrated about it and figure out what I can do to change and better myself on the court.
Austin had a concussion tonight. That's the way it goes for us. We get one back, we lose one. Or lose two. We've had the most difficult time the last two years just keeping a full roster. Hopefully at some point at the end of the tunnel some good things can happen for the Indiana Pacers.
We are a terrible defensive team right now. We're not putting forth the maximum effort that we need to put forth, especially in our position. You'd think that we'd put forth that maximum effort to not only win the game, but to get a good rhythm to get into the playoffs.
We can't wait around for Superman to come in here and save the town, save the team. It's up to us to get it done.
We showed a lot of composure from start to finish.
We sure have had enough bad luck for a year. I'm really, really concerned. I heard it pop. Hopefully, I won't need surgery.