Jermaine O’Neal Growing Up: Columbia, SC Great

Jermaine O’Neal was born on October 13, 1978, in Columbia, South Carolina. His mother, Angela Ocean, already had one son, Clifford. The boys were the only two men in the house. Their father was out of the picture from the time Jermaine entered the world.

Life in Columbia—a city of more than 100,000 located in the center of the state—wasn’t easy for Jermaine and his family. Angela worked around the clock to support her sons, cleaning hotel rooms as a maid during the day and taking phone calls as a customer service rep for a bank at night. Her crushing workload often left Jermaine and Clifford to their own devices. The boys found their fair share of trouble. But Clifford also looked out for his little brother. During high school, he got a job to help Jermaine buy a pair of sneakers.

But Jermaine also discovered the joys of athletics. Tall and lanky, he was fast and quick, but not particularly strong. Jermaine liked football, but basketball was his favorite sport. One of his heroes was Hakeem Olajuwon, the Houston Rockets’ All-Star center who possessed skills that Jermaine likened to his own. He also marveled at the way Olajuwon approached the game, never barking at an opponent or taunting him.

Jermaine was fascinated by Bill Russell, too. He read books about the Boston Celtics great, and studied video of his most famous games. Nothing thrilled Jermaine more than highlights of the Hall of Fame center blocking and controlling a shot, firing an outlet pass, then out-hustling his man down the court to finish the fastbreak. He also loved watching the legendary battles between Russell and Wilt Chamberlain.

Jermaine played hoops every chance he got. Each summer, he suited up for an AAU team, and wowed onlookers with his athleticism. The youngster’s leaping ability was impossible to miss. Just as intriguing was the fact he was ambidextrous. A natural southpaw, Jermaine learned to use his right hand after breaking his left wrist in elementary school. Angela instructed him to write with his opposite hand, and he soon began doing everything that way.

By his 14th birthday, Jermaine stood 6-4, and was ready to take the basketball world by storm. A self-assured guard who liked to bomb away from beyond the 3-point line, he entered Eau Claire High School of the Arts as a freshman in the fall of 1992. Upon his first meeting with varsity basketball coach George Glymph, he pledged to become the best player in school history.

Glymph was skeptical of Jermaine’s boast. In 20+ years on the sideline, he had built Eau Claire into a powerhouse. Underclassmen didn’t normally make a big impact on the varsity. Jermaine learned that lesson his frosh season, spending the entire campaign on the JV.

Over the next year and a half, the skinny teenager grew five inches, and began to see basketball in a different light. With visions of Russell stamped on his brain, he became a monster in the paint. Glymph jokingly called his defensive system, “Hey, Jermaine.” Whenever a Eau Claire player got beat off the dribble, he’d yell to Jermaine, who would swoop across the lane to protect the hoop.

When Glymph teamed the junior with 6-10 Leonard “Bud” Johnson, Eau Claire featured the most imposing frontcourt in the South Carolina. On offense, Johnson bullied his way to the hoop, while Jermaine ran the break and kept opponents honest with his outside jumper. In the spring of 1995, behind the unstoppable duo, Eau Claire captured its third straight 3A state title. Jermaine averaged 18 points, 12 rebounds and nearly nine blocks a game.

The following July, the 16-year-old raised his profile even higher. At an ABCD summer basketball camp, he out-played Tim Thomas, the nation’s consensus #1 prep star. Before long, recruiting letters were pouring in to Jermaine. Kentucky, North Carolina, Maryland, Clemson and South Carolina topped the list.

Jermaine also faced intense scrutiny away from the court. In the fall of 1995, he and his 15-year-old girlfriend were found in bed together. Her father pressed charges, and the D.A. weighed the merits of prosecuting Jermaine for rape. Fortunately for the teenager, the public rallied in support of him. The D.A. eventually dropped the case.

As the intensity of the spotlight increased, Jermaine leaned more heavily on Glymph. He was embarassed by the rape charges, and dealing with the pressure of deciding his future was difficult. Glymph became a father figure to the teen, introducing discipline to his life and making sure his head didn’t swell. Jermaine also benefitted from the advice of a new man his mother was dating. His name was Abraham Kennedy, and he worked as a baggage handler at Columbia Metropolitan Airport. Angela got to know him thanks to all trips she made to and from the airport dropping off and picking up Jermaine for road trips with his AAU team. The two eventually married.

In his senior season at Eau Claire, Jermaine put up big numbers again (22.4 ppg, 12.4 rpg and 5.2 bpg), and was voted First Team All-State, as well as South Carolina’s Player of the Year and “Mr. Basketball.” Named to USA Today’s All-USA Basketball Team, he also earned a spot in the McDonald’s All-America Game.

Jermaine remained one of the nation’s top recruits, but his future in college ball was uncertain at best. An indifferent student, he forfeited his academic eligibility because of dismal scores on the SATs. Though only 18, he began to think that his next address would be the NBA. Glymph was one of many who counseled him not to make the jump, but Jermaine increasingly saw the pros as his best option. A year earlier Kevin Garnett, a fellow South Carolinian, had skipped school for the NBA. Jermaine had competed against him more than once, and always held his own. If Garnett could handle the transition to the pros, he felt he could, too.

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