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Following A $100,000 FBI Scandal, Shaquille O’Neal’s Son, Shareef O’Neal, Ditched Arizona State

Samir Mehdi
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Following A $100,000 FBI Scandal, Shaquille O'Neal's Son, Shareef O'Neal, Ditched Arizona State

Shaquille O’Neal dominating the NBA the way that he did led a majority of fans to believe that his son, Shareef O’Neal, would follow suit as he went along his basketball journey. During his days in high school, he was quite the highly touted recruit, being labelled a 4-star recruit by ‘Rivals’. 

Shareef unfortunately, would face a massive roadblock in his journey to the NBA, with him having to get open heart surgery during his freshman campaign at UCLA. He would miss the entirety of his first year as a Bruin and after his sophomore year, would shift universities. 

He would announce in February of 2020 that he was going to be attending his father’s alma mater, Louisiana State University (LSU), for both his junior and senior years of uni. Here, he would average merely 2.9 points a game in his senior year 9.2 minutes per game.

Also read: Shaquille O’Neal, who spent $350,000 to customize a Ferrari, was attacked with a Turkey on the NBA on TNT set

Shareef O’Neal decommitted from Arizona due to an FBI scandal 

At the same time that Shareef O’Neal was deciding on where he would want to play as a freshman, DeAndre Ayton was committing to become an Arizona State Wildcat. What would push Shareef away from Arizona State would be an FBI investigation involving Ayton. 

An FBI wiretap into a phone call between Christian Dawkins and Wildcat head coach Miller revealed that they were looking to secure Ayton with a $100,000 payment. At the time, the NCAA forbade any sort of payments to collegiate level athletes as a way to lure them to their program. 

Shareef was clearly not trying to get anywhere close to this situation as he tweeted out during the time, “Lol don’t want to be involved with that.” He would decommit soon enough and look to be a UCLA Bruin. 

Where is Shareef O’Neal playing as of 2022? 

After quite the lackluster 4 years at the collegiate ball level, Shareef O’Neal went undrafted in 2022. Though, he most certainly has not given up on his professional ball hoop dreams. 

He is currently signed to the G-League Ignite team after having played for the Los Angeles Lakers during Summer League.

Also read: “You are 18 foot, 6 foot 12, n****.”: Katt Williams Once Roasted The Living Daylights out of Shaquille O’Neal

About the author

Samir Mehdi

Samir Mehdi

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Samir Mehdi is a senior strategist for the NBA division at The Sportsrush. Ever since he was 13 years old, he’s been obsessed with the game of basketball. From watching Kobe Bryant’s highlights on YouTube to now, analyzing and breaking down every single game on League Pass, Samir’s passion for the game is unwavering. He's a complete basketball junkie who not only breaks down current games but also keenly watches ones from the 60s’ and 70s’ while also reading comprehensive books on the history of the league. Samir’s life revolves around basketball and he hopes that shows in his work. Aside from work, he loves to spend time in the gym and with his friends at social gatherings.

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