What does Shaquille O'Neal have in common with Michael Wawrzyniak, Ameer Aziz, Dallas Lee Cothrum, Jeff Theiler and Troy King?
Not much, except that all of them have applied for early entry in the NBA draft.The list, announced Thursday by the NBA, includes former LSU star O'Neal and five other underclassmen who previously announced their intentions to enter the June 24 draft - Jim Jackson of Ohio State, Harold Miner of Southern Cal, Tracy Murray of UCLA, Melvin Robinson of Arizona State and Anthony Cade of Seminole Junior College.
However, the list of 16 players also includes some unfamiliar names and schools such as Aziz of St. Paul's, Cothrum of Austin College, Theiler of the University of La Verne, King of Community College of Beaver County and Wawrzyniak of Cleveland State.
Also applying for early entry were Mark Chappell of Iowa State, Benny Maxwell of Western New Mexico, Tony Scott of Syracuse, John Beauford of Southern Tech and Marcus Webb of Alabama.
To qualify for the draft, underclassmen had to send a letter to the NBA postmarked no later than midnight May 9.
O'Neal, Jackson, Miner and Murray are expected to be picked in the first round of the draft, which will be held in Portland, Ore.