O'Neal was born in Dallas, Texas and starred at Polytechnic High School in Fort Worth.

During his time, he was named first team All-Southwest Conference all three seasons and received national recognition as an All-American each year as well (honorable mention as a sophomore and junior and third team honors as a senior).

However, he never played in the league, instead opting for dental school at Baylor University and a long career in the private sector as a dentist, orthodontist and school administrator.

O'Neal was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1985.

[2] In 2010, he became the first player in TCU basketball history to have his jersey honored by the school.