Shareef O'Neal, the son of Hall of Fame NBA center Shaquille O'Neal, underwent heart surgery on Thursday morning to correct a heart irregularity.
O'Neal was supposed to begin his collegiate career at UCLA this season. His mother, Shaunie, posted a heartfelt message and photo on Instagram on Thursday.
Shareef O'Neal underwent heart surgery today.
We send all of our best to him and his family as he embarks on the road to recovery 🙏
(📸 via @ShaunieONeal) pic.twitter.com/qNcoCVdBqF
— Def Pen Sports (@DefPenSports) December 13, 2018
Assuming his recovery goes well, O'Neal will play next season for UCLA. He played his high school basketball at Crossroads School in Santa Monica, California, the same school Los Angeles Lakers superstar small forward LeBron James' oldest son, LeBron James Jr., will play at next year.
O'Neal, a 6-foot-9 power forward, was the 18th ranked overall player in the ESPN top 100 rankings. He originally committed to the University of Arizona but changed his mind and committed to UCLA instead.
You hate to see such a young kid have to go through something like this but thankfully the doctors were able to address this early on.
Former NBA big man Eddy Curry had a serious heart issue when was playing with the Chicago Bulls back in 2005 while Hank Gathers and Reggie Lewis are two players who have collapsed on the court while playing and died while in the NBA, so it's great to see O'Neal can now have the peace of mind that his heart is good.
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