12/29/2017 basketball Edit

2018 five-star Shareef O'Neal still set on Arizona

Krysten Peek • Basketball Recruiting

Staff

Krysten is a former DII basketball player but sometimes tells top recruits she played at UConn to see the look on their face. She's also completed a marathon on every continent (yes, even Antarctica).

SAN DIEGO - Arizona has been through its share of drama since one of its assistant coaches was named in the FBI probe and they lost the commitment of five-star point guard Jahvon Quinerly. Through it all, five-star forward Shareef O'Neal maintains he's still committed to the Wildcats even with new rumors that seem to circulate every other week.

"I’m definitely still committed to Arizona," O'Neal said. "Everyone keeps asking me about this scenario or that scenario and I don’t really know how to answer them. In the end I’m going to do what’s best for me and my future obviously but as it stands right now I'm happy with my commitment."

O'Neal was recently on Arizona's campus for the Alabama game and he had nothing but great things to say about the game and the team this year. "I went to the Arizona versus Alabama game not too long ago and that was a great atmosphere and game to watch," O'Neal told Rivals.com.

"That was my second time seeing Collin Sexton and he always puts on a show but I think our guys Allonzo (Trier) and DeAndre (Ayton) and Ira (Lee) in the lane, did a good job on him."

Arizona freshman Ira Lee played with Shareef last year on his high school team and O'Neal talks to Lee frequently about the team and college life at Arizona. "Me and Ira were high school teammates so just talking to him about the team has been a good resource for me," O'Neal said.

"He's way bigger and stronger then last year. He loves it and says it’s a lot of hard work but the team is great and the coaches are doing a good job getting them to where they need to be. I can’t wait for us to team up again next year."

As far as Arizona's current recruiting class, it's just O'Neal and four-star guard Brandon Williams. "Me and Brandon are just sticking together. He’s a really good friend of mine and a great guard. We talk all the time so it’s good to have him in the same recruiting class," O'Neal said.

Shareef is making the most of his senior year and preparing for the next level by adding the outside threat to his game. His step-back three looks much better from the summer and his corner shot is more consistent.

"The way the college game is going, I know I have to be a threat on the perimeter so my three point shot has totally been something I’ve been working on since the summer. I feel like I need to learn to play inside and outside to become more of a threat at the next level," O'Neal said.

He continues to use his dad Shaquille O'Neal as a mentor in the post and works out with him when he can..

"Having the resources I have for my inside game, like working with my dad, is something I can continue to build and work on once he’s done with his responsibilities at TNT. He's always showing me new stuff and pushing me to get better," O'Neal added.

Assuming he holds firm to his commitment to Arizona, Sean Miller and staff will be getting a nice addition to their offense with his inside-outside game. I don't fault Shareef and his family at all for their caution on the current situation but for someone who has been committed to a school since April, he sure is getting asked a lot if he's still committed or not. It looks like for now, all signs still point to Arizona for the five-star forward.