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College sports are completely different today than they were when Shaquille O’Neal spent his days shooting basketball for the LSU Tigers before entering the NBA.
O’Neal played three seasons at LSU before choosing to turn professional. He was then selected No. 1 overall by the Orlando Magic in the 1992 draft.
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Florida Gators forward Me’arah O’Neal walks on the field against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the first half at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, Florida on January 4, 2026. (Matt Pendleton/Imagn Images)
With the rise of name, image and likeness (NIL) agreements and the increased use of the transfer portal, there is virtually no athlete these days who isn’t at least thinking about changing schools. O’Neal’s daughter became the latest college athlete to change schools Monday.
Me’Arah O’Neal announced she would be traded to the Kentucky Wildcats.
“Thank you for being wonderfully set apart. Your works are wonderful, I know that very well. (Psalms 139:14),” she wrote on Instagram to announce her engagement.
Tennessee guard Talaysia Cooper attempts a shot while guarded by Florida forward Me’Arah O’Neal during an NCAA college basketball game in Knoxville, Tennessee, January 1, 2026. (Saul Young/News Sentinel/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
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O’Neal played two seasons with the Gators, increasing his playing time in 2025-26. She averaged 13.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.4 steals per game. Florida finished 18-15 this year but failed to make the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.
The Wildcats are coming off a season in which they reached the Elite Eight. Kentucky finished 25-11 and beat the James Madison Dukes and West Virginia Mountaineers before falling to the Texas Longhorns.
Shaquille O’Neal previously praised his daughter as the most outstanding basketball player in his family.
Shaquille O’Neal salutes the flag during the first half of an NCAA women’s basketball game at the Steven C. O’Connell Center Exactech Arena in Gainesville, Fla., Jan. 29, 2026. His daughter, Florida forward Me’arah O’Neal, is on the team. (Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun)
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“My baby is the best athlete in the family because he can do anything,” he previously said via ESPN. “She’s not an old-school player. She’s the new player to pick, so I’ll give her the title. She can shoot, she can dribble. She can’t get sidetracked when it comes to certain things.”
