Me’Arah O’Neal, daughter of Shaq, visits dad’s alma mater LSU
BATON ROUGE, La. (BVM) – Louisiana State University basketball fans are quite aware of the O’Neal surname. Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal played three years with the Tigers in the ‘90s, twice being named the Southeastern Conference consensus player of the year while also being named a first-team All-American and the winner of the 1991 Rupp Award, given to the national player of the year.
Now, another O’Neal may don the LSU purple and gold. On Sunday, Shaq’s youngest daughter, Me’Arah O’Neal’ posted pictures of her unofficial visit with the Tigers on her Instagram page. The Class of 2024 post player of course shared a photo of her and her dad together in LSU gear.
“He’s a special person,” Me’Arah said of her father on H-Town High School Sports. “Everything he does is just amazing, amazing isn’t even the word really, just special.”
Like her father, Me’Arah is a top high school basketball prospect. ESPN currently has Me’Arah ranked as a four-star recruit with a 93 rating out of 100. The 6-foot-3 Me’Arah has also earned a number of D-I basketball offers including from Georgia Tech, Howard, San Diego, San Jose State, TCU, UCLA and Virginia.
First offer , and 1 of many 🙏🏽 Blessed and grateful ain’t even the words rn man! This is surreal ❤️. pic.twitter.com/J6uMjW0zKr
— MeArah “Meezy” ONeal❤️🩹 (@MeArahONeall) July 15, 2021
Me’Arah had a standout season for the Episcopal High School in Bellaire, Texas. The junior led the Knights to a 17-10 record including a 7-1 district record.
booooom🎯 @ballislifewbb_ pic.twitter.com/dRMqee57mP
— MeArah “Meezy” ONeal❤️🩹 (@MeArahONeall) February 8, 2023
This included a number of standout performances such as recording double-doubles against St. Andrew’s Episcopal and Greenhill and hitting six 3-pointers against John Cooper School.
“The game nowadays is expanding,” Me’Arah said. “It’s not really anymore post players in the game. Everybody does their own things and I like to shoot from the outside and dribble and all of that.”
Given her name and basketball lineage, coaches and fans across the country have begun to take notice. Even some former NBA players have given Me’Arah a shoutout on social media.
@MeArahONeall monster performance 21pts and 16reb one win away from the state title!!!! Proud of ya!! Get that Ring!! pic.twitter.com/DD1T3xBGOO
— Jason "The Jet" Terry (@jasonterry31) February 11, 2023
While her visit doesn’t guarantee a commitment from the youngest O’Neal, if Me’Arah were to join the Tigers, she wouldn’t be the only child of Shaq’s to attend the school. Me’Arah’s oldest brother, Shareef, played two seasons for LSU from 2020-22, where he averaged 2.8 points and 2.0 rebounds in 24 career games. Me’Arah’s older sister, Amirah, played her freshman year with LSU before transferring to Texas Southern in 2021. Her older brother, Shaqir, also plays collegiately at Texas Southern.
Regardless of where she goes, Me’Arah has shown she has the ability to play high-end Division I basketball. Now, it’s just a matter of where she ends up. For the LSU faithful, they hope that she follows in her father’s footsteps with the Tigers.
