Big surnames come with enormous responsibility. Shareef O’Neal is now experiencing this firsthand. Being Shaq’s son, one of the greatest basketball players of all time, is difficult when you also want to play basketball. But Shareef hopes to play basketball for a new program and try to establish himself as an NBA draftee in the future.

New Beginnings

Shareef originally was not passionate about basketball and preferred skateboarding. His love for the game began after a disappointing AAU game. At age 13, O’Neal began training regularly and could dunk. He started playing as a forward for his teams. After decommitting from Arizona because of the recruiting scandal, he signed with UCLA and remained in state. But his UCLA career was short-lived as because of heart concerns, he had to sit out the 2018-19 season.

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The Journey forward

After not getting enough time in the 2019-20 season for UCLA, Shareef entered the transfer portal and went to his dad’s alma mater, LSU. There he suffered a foot injury before the season started, which resulted in him missing the starting games of the season. He again missed 10 games of the 2020-21 season, and played 14 games, averaging 2.9 points and 2.1 rebounds while playing an average of 9.4 minutes per game.

But after the season, Shareef entered the transfer portal again.

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Shareef plans to not give up on his basketball goals and still hasn’t decided his new school yet. In an interview he said,’ I ain’t going say too much right now. But people going to see.” 

There will always be expectations thrust upon a player when his father was a giant of the sport, literally. But Shareef wants to continue his basketball journey despite recent setbacks and the enormous pressure. Although the future seems uncertain for the young player, he still seems optimistic and ready for the challenges up ahead. Do you think he’ll rise up to the expectations? Let us know your thoughts.