One of my longtime readers believes that I am too harsh on Shaq in general; he also feels that my recent post quoting Shaq's negative comments about Rick Barry is an unfair shot at the Diesel. Normally I would address this in the comments section beneath the post, but I have noticed that posting links in the comments section does not work real well. So, here are a few links to articles discussing Shaq's free throw shooting, his attitude toward improving the weakest part of his game and the disrespect that he showed not only to Barry but also to the venerable Tex Winter. It is very telling that the Shaq-Winter situation never received much attention but that Kobe is often referred to as "uncoachable"--and it tells us a lot more about media coverage than it does about Shaq or Kobe. Phil Jackson mentioned the Shaq-Winter incident in one of his books but pretty much brushed it over to focus on bashing Kobe. Of course, the mainstream media deserves a lot of criticism for completely ignoring this issue and perpetuating the myth that Shaq has such great respect for his coaches (see the third link below for details). Anyone who believes that Shaq's comments to Steven A. Smith about Barry were either meant to be jocular or are actually amusing is sorely mistaken on both counts. I welcome reader comments about whether my original post on this subject seems unfair in light of this additional information.
Shaquille O'Neal's Free Throw Saga
Shaq Should Shoot Underhand (video from Rick Barry's fantasy camp, with Barry talking about free throw shooting)
Who's Not on Tex's All-Winter Team for the NBA's 60th Anniversary
More on Shaq's Free Throw Shooting
