Shareef O’Neal, son of NBA Hall of Famer Shaq, Commits to Arizona

Another day, another big-time commit for the Arizona Basketball team. On early Wednesday morning, Shareef O’Neal, class of 2018 committed to Arizona.

The recruiting class of 2018 is already taking form for Sean Miller and the Arizona Wildcats, with the highly touted Emmanuel Akot already committed, Arizona adds another big-time piece in Shareef O’Neal.

Southern California resident and son of former NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, Shareef becomes the second commit in the class of 2018, and he’s a big one. Name aside; the young O’Neal is an excellent basketball player.

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Standing at 6-feet-9-inches and 200 pounds according to Scout.com, O’Neal comes in as one of the best power forwards in the Class of 2018. Shareef played this past season at Crossroads School in Santa Monica, CA, which was also home to 2017 Arizona commit, Ira Lee.

Together, the two dominated Southern California, helping guide the Roadrunners to a 20-12 record according to Maxpreps, and making the CIF Playoffs. As a junior, the young O’Neal averaged 14 points and seven rebounds, while Lee averaged just over 19 points and nine rebounds.

Quite the dynamic duo to have! Now those two will most likely reunite in 2018, and that could be a very good thing for the Wildcats.

News of his commitment came via social media from O’Neals AAU team (California Supreme, DeAndre Ayton‘s team) in the wee hours Wednesday morning, and it certainly gave Wildcats fans some great news just as they were waking up.

Just a few hours later, O’Neal would also make it official via social media as well.

https://twitter.com/cynreef/status/854712790904221696

Shareef has indeed shown his admiration for Arizona and ultimately picked the Arizona Wildcats over UCLA, USC, Kentucky and LSU (dad’s alma mater). It was believed Arizona was doing well in this recruitment, and perhaps the hire of Lorenzo Romar helped seal the deal.

Here is an interview Zona Zealots and In The Front Row had with Shareef a few months back, where he admitted Arizona was one of his top schools!

As we said, the addition of O’Neal is a big get for Miller, and he joins Akot in the class of 2018. It will be fascinating to see what Arizona does from here on out, as they are still targeting some top big men in the class of 2018.

As it stands, the Wildcats also have offered Taeshon Cherry, Miles Norris and Marvin Bagley III (the presumed No. 1 player in the class of 2018).

O’Neal is a skilled, athletic big man, who projects more as a power forward than a center like his dad was. Unlike Shaq, Shareef possesses some range and can shoot fairly well. He’s also a better free throw shooter than dad was/ is.

Just from his film, O’Neal is talented, and could really help himself this summer as he gets ready for AAU ball, and returns to high school for his senior season without Ira Lee. He has an excellent opportunity to take the lead and showcase his abilities.

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At Zona Zealots, this is a great commitment. O’Neal is a good player, that likely isn’t a one-and-done, and will provide the Wildcats with some size inside. Plus, it’ll be great to see dad in the stands sometimes. Bear Down, Shareef and welcome to A Players Program!