With Shaq watching from the front row, Shareef O'Neal delivers for LSU basketball
BATON ROUGE – Shareef O'Neal put on quite a first-half show for LSU on Saturday.
He did it with his father, NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal, watching from a front-row seat on the baseline at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, outside of which a statue of Shaq stands.
Shareef O'Neal had six points and four rebounds in his 10 first-half minutes during LSU's 75-55 win over Missouri. He finished with a season-high seven rebounds and season-high nine points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field that included 0-of-2 from 3-point range in a season-high 19 minutes.
"He played great," LSU coach Will Wade said. "We need to have Shaq here more often.
"He did a good job finishing around the rim. Had a couple threes go in and out. Did a nice job rebounding."
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O'Neal's dunk with 3:04 left in the half gave the Tigers a 28-20 lead and punctuated a stretch in which he scored six straight LSU points.
It's the sort of play that potentially can give LSU the X-factor it needs heading into March. LSU closes the regular season with games Wednesday at Arkansas (8 p.m., ESPN2) and Saturday at the PMAC against No. 25 Alabama.
"Shareef brings a lot to the table," LSU point guard Xavier Pinson said. "He's aggressive at the rim, rebounds, and he guards and blocks shots. So if we can get him a few minutes in there at any time, I feel like that's good for us in any way."
But before he can do all that O'Neal must prove to Wade he deserves more minutes.
O'Neal, limited to 10 games because of foot injury last season, transferred to LSU from UCLA, where he averaged 2.2 points and 2.9 rebounds in 13 games as a redshirt freshman in 2019-20.
The 6-foot-10 forward has been used sporadically this season, averaging in 2.7 points and 1.8 rebounds while playing just 10 of LSU's 28 games before Saturday. He missed the first 12 still overcoming his foot injury and didn't play in LSU's first three games when healthy, but has played 11 of the Tigers' last 14 games.
"A lot of times (his use) is based on matchups," Wade said, "but it's also based on preparation.
"We really have three or four guys that can play those last couple rotation spots, and it's based on preparation. I thought he prepared really well for this game. He knew the plays.
"Hopefully this will give Shareef some confidence ... and he can travel and play well for us at Arkansas," Wade added. "Because if he can play well and hit some threes and do what he does, finishing around the rim and just rebound, he can give us a little jolt here coming down the stretch, for sure."
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Shaq O'Neal at PMAC son Shareef delivers LSU basketball
