One of the most successful NBA basketball players of all time, Shaquille O’Neal has six children, and one of them is very talented Shareef O’Neal who by all accounts can make it big in the NBA.
As online sports betting is surging in popularity among basketball and sports fans in general, many are following Shareef O’Neal’s career. Basketball fans wonder could Shaq’s son follow in his footsteps in the NBA.
Shareef O’Neal was born in January of 2000. The twenty-one-year-old currently plays college basketball for the Louisiana State University team. The Louisiana State University Tigers team competes in the SEC (Southeastern Conference).
Before joining the LSU Tiger, Shareef O’Neal attended a private preparatory scoop in Santa Monica, Crossroads School. After graduating from Crossroads School, Shareef joined the UCLA Bruins. He played for the team during the 2019/2020 season before he joined the LSU Tigers.
Early Playing Years
During his early childhood, Shareef was not interested in playing basketball, and instead spent most of his free time skateboarding. After a very disappointing performance at an Amateur Athletic Union match, he decided to prove everybody wrong.
He started training every week at the age of thirteen. After starting high school, Shareef joined Windward School. His first season at Winward School was a valuable learning experience. While he was not given much playing time, he gained the much-needed experience to advance in the future.
In May of 2015, Shareef got a USC scholarship. While he was given the opportunity to play at UCLA, LSU, and Baylor, he decided to stay at Winward School. Shortly after his sophomore year at Windward School, scouts from MaxPreps recognized his potential and approached him with an interesting offer.
Shareef announced his transfer to Santa Monica to join Crossroads School in June of 2016. In a match against Brentwood, Shareef scored fifteen points. In a game against Bol Bol, he scored twenty points.
One year later, he joined the Wildcats teams from Arizona but left abruptly after serious allegations started circulating about the team’s coach Sean Miller signing a player after receiving a big paycheck.
It was not long before he joined the UCLA Bruins team. Unfortunately, he was not able to play during the 2018/2019 season, as he was dealing with a heart condition. He played one game for his team in the summer of 2018 after his surgery.
He debuted for the UCLA basketball team the following season. Against Notre Dame, he scored eight points. That year in January, Shareef announced his departure from the team. In February, he joined his current team, the LSU Tigers.
Will He Follow His Father’s Footsteps?
Over the years, the strongest basketball league had many fathers and sons play. Needless to say, for rising stars, such as Shareef, the pressure is extremely high. The pressure only got higher after he joined the UCLA team.
Unfortunately, he spent thirteen games sitting on the bench and averaged around ten minutes per game. He hopes to get more playing time in his current team.
The start of this season was not the best for young O’Neal who suffered a serious foot injury. While being the son of Shaq has proven very useful for his college basketball recruitment, Shareef must take his own path.
As of 2021, things are not looking good. He joined the LSU Tigers team in order to forget all about the disastrous season he had with the UCLA team. Unfortunately, his performance with the LSU Tigers is very similar to his UCLA season.
At twenty-one years old, Shareef is still a junior, and a lot can change in the two following seasons. If nothing changes, his chances of being drafted into the NBA are slim to none.
