Prospect Shareef O’Neal decommits from Arizona amid scandal
Feb 24, 2018, 2:15 PM | Updated: Feb 25, 2018, 12:43 am
(AP Photo/Gregory Payan)
Shareef O’Neal has taken back his commitment to Arizona basketball due to instability in the program following reports of coach Sean Miller on FBI wiretaps.
O’Neal, one of the nations top recruits and son of Shaquille O’Neal, tweeted about reopening his recruitment on Saturday afternoon.
At this time I'm am opening up my recruitment due to the current events with the UofA Bball team.I would like to thank all the coaches for recruiting me. At the time my family and I think it's in my best interest to look at other options to assure my play in the NCAA next year.
— Shareef O’Neal (@SSJreef) February 24, 2018
According to Rivals.com, O’Neal is the 28th ranked prospect in the nation and the 7th ranked power forward, delivering yet another blow to the program since the start of 2018 calendar year.
He previously committed to Arizona on April 19, 2017 and was the prize recruit of the 2018 class for the Wildcats.
His decommit brings Arizona’s 2018 recruiting class down to only one prospect. Four-star point guard Brandon Williams is the last commit standing for coach Sean Miller and the Arizona Wildcats 2018 recruiting class.
Following O’Neal’s announcement, five-star center and Oregon commit Bol Bol encouraged O’Neal to join him in the Pacific Northwest.
Join me @SSJreef 🦆💚
— Bol Bol (@bolmanutebol) February 24, 2018
Bol is the son of former NBA player Manute Bol, who was the tallest player to ever play in the NBA at 7 feet 7 inches tall.
At 7 feet 2 inches, the younger Bol is wreaking havoc at the high school level. He averages 20.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game for national power Findlay Prep.