Shareef O’Neal commits to Arizona

Five-star junior Shareef O’Neal, the son of NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, committed to Arizona early Wednesday morning.

O’Neal, a 6-foot-8 power forward from Crossroads School in Santa Monica, California, is ranked No. 19 in the ESPN 60 for the class of 2018. UCLA, USC and Kentucky were also involved, and his father’s alma mater, LSU, was recruiting him prior to its recent coaching change.

Pretty big get here from Sean Miller and the Arizona Wildcats as they now add a second five star recruit to their 2018 class.

O’Neal joins Emmanuel Akot, the 21st overall ranked prospect according ESPN top 60 as the Wildcats continue to reload.

O’Neal is a hybrid big at 6’8 capable of playing the 3 and the 4. O’Neal still needs to fill in his body and add more strength but features a tremendous amount of upside and ability.

Sean Miller has done an excellent job of bringing in top recruits in years past. Miller’s recruiting classes have been top 10 in the country as he constantly brings top talent to the desert.

This has been a good week for Arizona basketball as they recently received the news that wing Allonzo Trier was bypassing the NBA draft to return for his junior season.

Arizona has been to the Elite 8 in three of the past four seasons and that first Final Four berth still alludes Sean Miller.

With a loaded 2017 class already on the way that features a potential top three pick in DeAndre Ayton, the Wildcats should be a preseason top five team and favorite as a title contender. ‘

Even if they come up short, the additions of O’Neal and Akot for 2018 will keep the Wildcats as a perennial contender in the PAC-12 and a top 10 team in the NCAA.