Shareef O’Neal
Height: 6-foot-9
Weight: 205 Pounds
School: UCLA
Father: Shaquille O’Neal
The player on this list with figuratively, and quite possibly literally, the biggest shoes to fill, O’Neal comes into his redshirt freshman at UCLA happy just to be back on the court. The son of Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal was poised to make a significant impact when he arrived in Westwood as a four-star recruit last August. But a heart condition forced O’Neal to undergo surgery in December and miss the entire 2018-2019 season.
The procedure was a success and O’Neal was medically cleared to resume his basketball career in March. If O’Neal is capable of returning to the promising player he was in high school; he’ll be a welcome addition for the Bruins—who are coming off a dismal 17-16 season. While he might not play with the brute force of his “Diesel” dad, O’Neal is a smooth athlete at 6-foot-9 who runs the floor well and finishes above the rim. He also possesses an impressive skill set on the perimeter that could make him an effective floor spacer as he continues to master the fundamentals.
