When Royce O'Neale walked through the doors and into the gym at Harker Heights High School in January, there were no heavy emotions, no moments of joyful tears. Instead, there were smiles with laughter aplenty, which match up perfectly with O'Neale's infectious personality.
The gym that genuinely sparked the dream of playing in the NBA for O'Neale, he returned to his alma mater for a special occasion. Harker Heights was honoring the greatest player in the school district by retiring his jersey that night.
"It had been a long time coming, but because of COVID situations, it had to get pushed back," O'Neale said.