O’Neal’s son commits to UCLA
Shareef O’Neal, a 6-10 senior at Santa Monica Crossroads, had planned to attend Arizona.
Shareef O’Neal, a 6-foot-10 senior at Santa Monica Crossroads and the son of Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, has committed to UCLA, his coach, Anthony Davis, said Tuesday.
O’Neal was previously committed to Arizona. But he announced Monday that he had opened up his recruiting after an ESPN report that Arizona coach Sean Miller allegedly discussed a $100,000 payment for center Wildcats center Deandre Ayton on an FBI wiretap.
Arizona also lost one of its top assistants in January. Emanuel “Book” Richardson was among four major-college assistant coaches fired after they were arrested and charged in a bribery and corruption case in college basketball. O’Neal is known for his long-range shooting and improving rebounding skills. He has helped lead Crossroads into the Southern Section 2AA championship game against Brentwood on Saturday at Azusa Pacific. O’Neal is averaging 26.4 points, 16.7 rebounds and 6.8 assists.
He adds to a highly rated UCLA recruiting class that includes guard David Singleton (Bishop Montgomery), wing Jules Bernard (Windward), center Kenneth Nwuba (Huntington Prep), guard Tyger Campbell (La Lumiere, Ind.) and center Moses Brown (Archbishop Molloy). O’Neal also will be reunited with Bernard, his former Windward teammate.