Nearly three decades later, the O’Neals are back on the Bayou. Two of them.
First, Shareef O’Neal, the oldest son of basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal, transferred to LSU. And now his daughter Amirah is headed there, too, picking the Tigers as her college choice.
Their father was a star at LSU, winning a pair of SEC Player of the Year awards before embarking on a Hall of Fame NBA career that began with the Orlando Magic and included four NBA titles, three with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The 6-foot-2 Amirah was a star at Crossroads High School in Santa Monica, Calif., averaging 17.2 points per game. She was an All-Division 3 Second Team selection by Max Preps as a junior.
“One of the most difficult decisions for a person my age to make, is the jump from high school to college,” she wrote Friday on Instagram in announcing her decision. “Although I don’t fully know what’s ahead of me, I am ready for the challenge. I never imagined myself saying this, but I am excited to say that I have decided to commit to being a student athlete at LSU along side my brother Shareef O’Neal. I am Sooooo grateful to spend my next 4 years as a Tiger.”
Shareef, a 6-foot-9 forward, was a highly regarded, four-star, top-40 prospect out of high school before signing with UCLA. A heart problem that required surgery cost him his entire freshman season, and he didn’t play much this past season, appearing in 13 games and averaging 2.2 points and 2.9 rebounds before opting to transfer. He officially joined LSU on Wednesday.
“THE BROTHER SISTER DUO! Congrats to my sister on committing to LSU,” Shareef tweeted.