Lakers Great Shaquille O’Neal is Raising His Son to be a Leader

Nov 18, 2016; Tucson, AZ, USA; Former NBA player and current television analyst Shaquille O'Neal watches the Arizona Wildcats play the Sacred Heart Pioneers next to his son Shareef O'Neal during the second half at McKale Center. Arizona won 95-65. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 18, 2016; Tucson, AZ, USA; Former NBA player and current television analyst Shaquille O'Neal watches the Arizona Wildcats play the Sacred Heart Pioneers next to his son Shareef O'Neal during the second half at McKale Center. Arizona won 95-65. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

Lakers fans may not be aware, but there is an up and coming forward being heavily recruited to play NCAA basketball, and his name is Shareef O’Neal.

Lakers legend like Shaquille O’Neal‘s son Shareef O’Neal, a class of 2018 four-star recruit, has just wrapped up his junior year at Crossroads High School in Santa Monica, California. The Lake Show Life caught up with him after a long post-game locker room discussion with his team.

O’Neal plays on a young team that is trying to come back to the Byron Davis days, Shareef will become the player who leads his team back to prominence in the “Open” division in the state of California. This season the Crossroads Roadrunners bowed out early in the CIF divisional and Open Division playoffs, but that is only more motivation for Shaq’s son.

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O’Neal is just 17 years old, but when you speak to him, you would think he is in his 20’s. This is going to bode well for the young phenom. At first glance, the 6-foot-9 204 lb. Forward is a natural athlete. He incredibly well-spoken, he performs textbook moves under the basket, his teammates try to find him on the court, and he is a huge presence in the room.

On top of it all, he is just plain loveable, which reminds me of his father, a Laker that brought us a billion fond memories. Shareef shares his big smile, and at 17 years old is still growing.

O’Neal is being recruited by powerhouse schools such as the No. 11 Kentucky Wildcats, the No. 6 UCLA Bruins, the No. 4 Arizona Wildcats and of course his dad’s school LSU.

Shareef not only wants to be a leader like his dad is mentoring him to be, but he also wants to be loved. The Arizona Wildcats have shown him a ton of love, and he talks about that and more in this exclusive interview.

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Make no mistake about it, Shareef O’Neal is being groomed to be a future NBA player, “I’d be glad to be drafted to Lakers! LA is my home!” Oh, the possibilities! This Lakers fan is excited about the possibilities.

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