o'neal. abc's yunji de nies reports. >> reporter: in a sea of caps and gowns, he's hard to miss. and as shaquille o'neal walked across that stage he showed his enthusiasm as only someone over 7 feet tall can do. the four-time nba champion is an academic all-star. after leaving lsu early for the nba, shaq went back and got his bachelors, then a masters and now a doctorate in education. >> kick your feet up and just lounge on an island for the rest of your life. why this passion for education? >> three reasons why. i promised my parents i would. two, i wanted to continue my education. and, three, i wanted to challenge myself. the hardest part was getting back into high school mode. you know, the high school teacher said you're going to read six chapters over the weekend.