Shaunie and Shaquille O’Neal’s son Shareef will be following in his famous father’s footsteps, as the lad just committed to playing for the Arizona Wildcats after graduating high school.
O’Neal is ranked 31st in the Class of 2018, according to 247Sports. The 6-foot-9 forward reportedly turned down offers from UCLA, Cal, USC, and his father’s alma mater, LSU.
Check out the highlight reel below of Shareef in action on the court.
California Supreme Basketball would like to congratulation @cynreef on committing to The University of Arizona #TheProcess #FiveStars pic.twitter.com/Z66J3L68hX
— California Supreme (@CalSupremeBball) April 19, 2017
Shareef explained on TNT’s postgame coverage of the NBA Playoffs why he chose the Wildcats.
“Arizona, I love the school, the staff treats me like family,” Shareef told the TNT panel which included Shaq, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson. “I went on a visit with my dad and … I loved it once I got there. The campus is beautiful and the program was awesome.”
Blessed to say that I have committed to The university of Arizona🔴🔵🐻⬇️ #Beardown pic.twitter.com/ytBuBm7JbO
— Shareef O’Neal (@cynreef) April 19, 2017
Arizona’s style of play was also of notable interest to Shareef.
“The good thing about it was how the bigs get to play like guards and I think that’s a big part of my game today,” he said. “So I feel like I fit in there really well.”
Last year, Shaq bragged to TMZ that both Shareef and his 13-year-old son Shaqir are destined to be great NBA players. But when the gossip site caught up with Shaunie, she said the boys were taken aback by Shaq’s prediction.
“[Shaqir] loves basketball, don’t get me wrong. But at 13, he’s chasing girls instead of thinking about going to the NBA.”
She also noted that the boys are never pressured by their famous father to pursue the baller life.
“One thing about Shaquille and I, we don’t pressure the boys to play ball. They don’t ever have to dribble a ball in their life if they don’t want to. But he knows that both of them love the game and wanna play.”
Remember when Shareef and Shaqir trained together on Shaunie’s Home Court? Peep the clip below:
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