COLLEGE BASKETBALL : O’Neal Will Enter NBA Draft : Basketball: LSU center says the college game simply isn’t fun anymore. He might become the first $5-million rookie.

Seven-foot-one Shaquille O’Neal, saying he had as much fun as he could in college basketball, announced Friday he would forgo his senior season at Louisiana State to enter the NBA draft.

“I feel that in my heart it’s time for a change and it’s time for me to move on,” said O’Neal, who might become the first rookie to earn $5 million in his first season. “I think the experience was very much needed, but now I’m ready to take what I have learned on with me to the NBA.”

He said he would leave LSU next week but intends to pursue his business administration degree during his off-seasons.

With family members at his side, O’Neal spoke at a news conference at Ft. Sam Houston, the Army post where his father is stationed. He said he made the decision Sunday after talking it over with his family and LSU Coach Dale Brown.

A few weeks ago, Brown reportedly advised O’Neal to turn pro because of what Brown perceived as the unfair punishment O’Neal received from opposing teams, which often triple-teamed him. But Brown said he remained neutral during Sunday’s meeting with O’Neal.

O’Neal said triple- and quadruple-teaming often prevented him from showing all of his basketball talents, but he added that that wasn’t the main reason for his decision to turn pro.

“I’m not making this decision out of anger or frustration, but everyone who saw the SEC tournament, they know that an injustice was done,” O’Neal said. “The main factor was if I go back to school next year, will I have fun? And this year, I didn’t have that much fun.

“My dad told me at a young age, ‘If you’re not having fun at what you’re doing, it’s time to do something else.’ And I made my decision.”

During his junior season, O’Neal averaged 24.1 points, 14 rebounds and 5.2 blocked shots for the Tigers, who lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament to Indiana.

“If I don’t dominate my first year, in my latter part of the NBA I will be a force to be reckoned with,” he said. “I’m just going to go in and take things slow.”

O’Neal said he also would leave open other basketball possibilities, including playing for a foreign team.

In the next couple of months, he said, he plans to attend a “big man’s” basketball camp on the West Coast in addition to working out on his own.