Shareef O’Neal, Shaq’s son, decommits from Arizona amid FBI probe

The fallout from Arizona’s elevated role in the FBI’s college basketball corruption probe has now extended to its recruiting.

Shareef O’Neal, the highly-touted son of basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal, announced Saturday that he no longer plans on spending his college career with the Wildcats.

O’Neal, currently ranked as the 29th-best overall prospect in the class of 2018 by ESPN, had been committed to Arizona since last April. His decommitment leaves four-star point guard Brandon Williams as the Wildcats’ only current committed recruit.

On Friday night, ESPN reported that an FBI wiretap revealed a conversation between Arizona head coach Miller and Christian Dawkins, a central figure in the probe into college hoops. The call reportedly features Miller openly discussing a $100,000 payment to freshman center Deandre Ayton.

When that news broke, O’Neal sent out a tweet that he later deleted which seemed to foreshadow his Saturday announcement.

O’Neal, who stands 6’9, doesn’t have quite as much size as his dad, but he’s still one of the most athletic big men in the 2018 class. He made a name for himself on the Cal Supreme AAU team for being a terrific finisher around the rim and a relentless rebounder.

Before his commitment to Arizona, Kentucky had been the team most active in its recruitment of O’Neal. UK would seem to be the most likely landing spot for O’Neal, unless the program’s implication in Friday morning’s bombshell report from Yahoo’s Pat Forde and Pete Thamel changes his feelings.

Arizona announced Saturday that Miller will not coach in the team’s evening game against Oregon. Ayton, however, will play.