Senior Day was extra special for LSU women's basketball superstar Angel Reese. Not only is she playing what's likely her final home game in Baton Rouge, but NBA icon and Tigers legend Shaquille O'Neal escorted Reese onto the floor for Senior Day festivities alongside her mother.
Shaq is escorting Angel Reese, along with her mom, for Senior Day ceremony.#LSU pic.twitter.com/QHWnk66ina
— Cory Diaz (@ByCoryDiaz) March 3, 2024
Reese and O'Neal have developed a tight-knit relationship amid the former's meteoric rise to stardom over the last two seasons. They're so close, in fact, that Reese considers the Hall-of-Famer more like a “father figure” than basketball mentor.
“He’s super inspiring to me,” she said of O'Neal in late January, per USA TODAY's Lindsay Schnell. “He’s so genuine, he’s been there for me through tough times. He just gets it, and there’s not a more perfect person for me to be tight with. We have fun, and if I need anything, he would help me … and he would do that even if I never played basketball again. He doesn’t care about me as a player, he cares about me as a person.”
O'Neal played three seasons at LSU from 1989 to 1992, establishing himself as one of the most dominant players in college basketball history. He averaged 21.6 points, 13.5 rebounds and 4.6 blocks per game on 61.0% shooting during his collegiate career, twice being named a First Team All-American.
Reese has followed in O'Neal's cartoonishly large footsteps with the Tigers, leading them to the national title last season with a win over Caitlin Clarke and the Iowa Hawkeyes. She hasn't been quite as dominant for ninth-ranked LSU in 2023-24, yet still averages 19.0 points and 13.0 rebounds per game.
Angel Reese has yet to make an announcement on her playing plans going forward. Considering she took part in Senior Day ceremonies, though, odds are that Reese will decide to forego another year of NCAA eligibility for the 2024 WNBA Draft, in which she's expected to be a top-10 pick.
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