re: Shareef O’Neal to LSU

Hi, my Tiger friends....
I am a UCLA Bruin and was reading through this thread and thought I'd give you a little objective opinion from the other side on what you can expect with Shareef. Pardon the length of the post, but I have a bit to say.

I am a long time UCLA season ticket holder and have followed recruiting for a long time as well.

First thing to know is that Shareef is nothing like Shaq. He's several inches shorter, has a much slighter build (and not the sort of bone structure where he will add much weight). So, he is not a center--and never will be one. More of a combo forward--and really needs to add weight and muscle if he wants to play PF.

He had a very good senior year in high school, leading his team to a state title...but he was also on a very good team...and few high school teams really had a match for him in terms of size and quickness. We had some great hopes for him coming into UCLA. Then, it was discovered that he had a heart defect that had previously gone undetected. The doctors at UCLA literally saved his life...and then he had to sit out a year while recovering--but, towards the latter part of that recovery, he was cleared to play and had been working out and playing in a very competitive summer league.

Yes, there was a coaching change since he was first recruited--but Alford has been gone well over a year now--he was terminated New Years 2019. Shareef's decision to transfer really had little to do with Alford's departure. Traditionally, he would need to sit out another year AFTER transferring to LSU (and, as far as I know, he is actually still enrolled at UCLA). But the NCAA has become more lenient with the transfer rule of late--and they may take some pity in this case being that he's already redshirted a full year due to the cardiac condition.

Don't get too excited about Shaq paying his way or about Shaq being around the program much. Shaq did NOT pay his way at UCLA and he rarely showed up at games here--kept a very low profile.

As far as Shareef not getting playing time, basically, he didn't earn any. Cronin has three other freshmen along with Shareef. He inherited all of them...they were all recruited and signed by his predecessors. Tyger Campbell, who also sat out last year injured, came in and earned the starting PG spot immediately and has never been pulled from the starting lineup. Jaime Jaquez was inserted into a game early in the season and took over--aggressive on both offense AND defense, showed incredible basketball IQ, was placed into the starting lineup and has never looked back. Jake Kyman was given sparing minutes in a few games, played with intensity, took and made some big shots and has since been at least in the rotation. So, Cronin has had no problem starting and playing freshmen.

Shareef, like Jaquez and Kyman, was give some minutes early on...but really failed to prove himself (those Notre Dame stats are fairly misleading). Shareef often looked lost out there, played very lazy defense. Generally, he did little that would cause a coach to want to give him more playing time. And this is on a team that lacks depth in the front court. Jaylen Hill clearly earned the center spot...but Cody Riley has been disappointing at times (except this past Thursday) and had lost his starting spot at center (supplanted by Hill). But, past that, the only real front court player is Alex Olesinski, a fifth year senior who has always clearly been a reserve player. The other front court guy, Kenneth Nwuba, made the decision early to redshirt this year. So, Shareef had a clear path to the rotation--since there are only three other post players on the team and he's clearly more talented than one of them. But, Olesinski at least makes few mistakes and plays good defense.

What happened, instead of Shareef stepping up and claiming the minutes, is that Jaquez turned into a star and took over the "3" spot--moving Chris Smith (really a wing who played PG in high school) to the 4 spot--essentially creating a four guard starting lineup. When they take someone out, Jules Bernard , Prince Ali or Jake Kyman--one of three shooting guards--comes in and they go even shorter.

So, Shareef had ample opportunity to earn minutes...and just didn't.

What does that mean for Shareef at LSU? First, clearly he has decent size for a college level (not NBA) PF. He does have very good quickness and athleticism. He shot well in high school, though not at UCLA, so you'd think he could regain his stroke with a little confidence. Perhaps a new beginning and new surroundings will wake him up a bit.

He does need a little humility and a better attitude. He needs to realize that he's got to earn his playing time, it's not just given to him because he's Shaq's son. He needs to understand that defense is an important part of the game...and that he can defer to his team mates on offense--that he is not the focal point of the team and that passing to the open man is better than just looking for his own shots. Hopefully, for you guys, he'll learn a little of that. If not, you'll not have fun watching him mope on the bench. He has a lot of potential...but a lot of work to do to reach it...he's not ready yet--and that's nothing to do with physical shape after heart surgery--it's more about attitude and awareness.

Good luck.