Louisiana State University to unveil a bronze statue of superstar Shaquille O'Neal
The Louisiana State University (LSU) will unveil Bronze statue of their superstar Shaquille O'Neal in their new basketball practice facility. The LSU management has confirmed that the plan to install a full-sized bronze statue of Boston Celtics’ O’Neal in their newly built basketball practice facility is in the pipeline.
Talking to the media, LSU’s associate vice chancellor for communications Herb Vincent said.
Vincent said, “It's been discussed for quite a while, He stands out as an iconic figure who is known worldwide. He's always represented LSU well in his athletic career. He's the only athlete we're had that has been national player of the year and the MVP of his professional sport. He carries some unique credentials which made it seem appropriate.”
The bronze statue that weighs around 900 pounds and demonstrates Shaquille O’Neal in a dunking pose, will be placed outside Pete Maravich Assembly Centre. Shaquille O'Neal played for three seasons with LSU from 1989 to 1992. During that tenure, he played tremendously scoring a mammoth 1,941 points. O’Neal’s points stands fifth on LSU’s all time scoring list while his 1,217 rebounds stand as second best on LSU’s all time high rebounds’ list.
O’Neal’s statue has been arranged by private funding worth around $70,000 and its unveiling will be take place after the play-offs. The LSU associate vice chancellor for communications Herb Vincent also said, “We obviously could not do it until the playoffs are over, after the season we'll coordinate a time with Shaq when he can come down and we can erect the statue.”
The 39 year old O’Neal has a career average of 23.7 points per game and currently playing with the Boston Celtics. This year however, O’Neal suffered a worst season of his playing career in the league as his injures barred him from the basketball court. O’Neal played only 37 games in the regular season with an average of 9.2 points per game. Although, he came back in last two games of the second round playoff series against the Miami Heat, but was not so influential on the court with his limited court time. The Miami Heat went on to rout the Boston Celtics and qualified for the next round.
Now, when one of the greatest players in the history of the league, is standing at the crossroads of his career and questions are being raised about his future, this announcement will certainly ease some pressure.
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