Are the Kentucky Wildcats still in the hunt for Shareef O'Neal?
That’s what 247 Sports recruiting ace Andrew Slater is hinting at. Slater just logged a crystal ball prediction in favor of Kentucky flipping O’Neal from Arizona, who the son of Shaquille O’Neal is committed to.
Not long after Slater logged his pick for Kentucky, several more rolled in, enough that Kentucky is the 100-percent favorite now, even though he’s still committed to Arizona.
But in light of the recent FBI investigation into college basketball corruption, which includes Arizona assistant Book Richardson, the Wildcats from out West are taking a massive hit on the recruiting trail.
They’re expected to lose top-10 recruit Nassir Little to North Carolina after Arizona was the heavy favorite for most of his recruitment. They have also lost ground on fellow 2018 forward Simi Shittu, who is now trending toward North Carolina (oh the irony of UNC benefiting for others cheating).
So perhaps O’Neal is on the verge of decommitting. If that happens, you have to think Kentucky is a strong contender, being that he and his father have expressed significant interest in John Calipari and his program.
Shareef is ranked 24th overall in ESPN’s Class of 2018 rankings.
More on O’Neal’s UK interest:
Shaquille O'Neal likes Kentucky for Shareef O'Neal
Shaq pushing Shareef towards Kentucky?
Shaquille O'Neal's son, Shareef, interested in Kentucky