GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A group of Gainesville children who made national headlines after a neighbor complained they were playing basketball too loudly got another surprise this week: a game of ball at Shaquille O'Neal's house.
The children, dubbed the 'Hoops Not Crime' crew, were accompanying Gainesville police officer Bobby White to an interview for an upcoming TV show. Little did they know, it was at Shaq's house in Orlando.
IMAGES: Shaq hosts kids at his house
They had lunch with the basketball star and played ball on his personal court.
Back in January, Officer White responded to a report of disruptive children in the street. Instead of reprimanding them, he joined in and played basketball with them.
His dash camera was rolling and captured their pick-up game. The video was posted on the Gainesville Police Department Facebook page and it quickly went viral.
"Have fun. Glad to see y'all doing this than out there causing problems," Officer White told the group. "You play here every day? Okay, I'm going to try to bring some back-up out here tomorrow and we'll get a game going."
Officer White made good on his promise.
Shaq heard about the story and traveled to Gainesville to surprise the children with Officer White's help.
Since then, Officer White created the Basketball Cop foundation and hosted its first-ever high school all-star game. White has also given the kids their own basketball court.
"These kids are really good kids come in they do really good in school there well behaved and this is what they do every day,” White said. “This is their pleasure every day after school when they come home."
White also visited the Volusia County Sheriff's Office to deliver a new basketball hoop in DeLand.
He is currently working to donate new or lightly used basketball hoops in neighborhoods where kids need them.