According to Shaquille O’Neal’s son Shareef, he’s got skills with the rock that could put his father to shame. The 16-year-old high schooler, who is already getting offers to play basketball in college, spoke to TMZ and proclaimed that he has the power to be better than his dad.
“He said I’m better than him than he was at 16,” Shareef, a power forward, told the cameraman. However, he also explained that he uses influence from his famous father on the court by “mastering his [Shaq’s] style of play” and combining it with his own style.
“[That] and also having an inside and outside game I think will take me pretty far in the basketball world,” he said.
One thing is for sure- his free throw skills are not from the former LA Laker.
“I don’t know who taught me how to shoot free throws!” Shareef laughed. “The routine I do, I got from him…but I think, just like, it going in [the hoop], not from him. He told me what he does, I mean, I don’t do the same exact thing because…he didn’t make a lot of free throws.”
The best piece of advice Shareef has gotten from his father? To “not feel pressure” when there’s a big crowd.
“When I see a big crowd, just take all that in,” he explained. According to the 6′ 7″ prodigy, he’s gotten offers to play for Arizona, LMU, Texas Tech, Georgetown, Kansas and UCLA, just to name a few. He will graduate high school in 2018.