Shaquille O’Neal Wants His Son at Kentucky

Shaquille O’Neal played at LSU for three years, but his son could be heading to Kentucky.

Shareef O’Neal is a 6-foot-9 power forward from Los Angeles (CA) Windmere who reportedly likes Kentucky, Michigan State and Duke.

“My dad actually wants me to lean towards Kentucky,” the younger O’Neal told Sean Scherer of 247Sports, via Lex18.com.  

Shaq and Kentucky coach John Calipari are friends, his son told the site.

“[Shaq] likes Coach Cal,” one high-major D-1 assistant from another school said.

O’Neal is ranked as the No. 10 power forward and No. 25 overall player in the Class of 2018 by 247Sports. 

“He’s long and athletic and has a chance to be good,” the assistant coach said. “He has to compete against high-level talent to take the next steps to being really good.”

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NShaquille O’Neal played at LSU for three years, but his son could be heading to Kentucky.

Written by Adam Zagoria

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Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.