Shaquille O’Neal told his son to model his game off Anthony Davis

Shaquille O’Neal tells his 15-year-old son Shareef to model his game after a different big man: Anthony Davis.

Shaquille O’Neal tells his 15-year-old son Shareef to model his game after a different big man: Pelicans star Anthony Davis.

Shareef is a 6'8" forward entering his sophomore year at the Windward School in Los Angeles with scholarship offers including USC and UCLA. The elder O’Neal told the Times-Picayune a bit about some of the advice he's offered in terms of skill development.

“I told him to watch Anthony because he's probably going to be the same height and have the same type of build,” said O’Neal. ''Not skinny, but long.

“He's (Davis) probably the best at that position,” O’Neal continued. “He can run, rebound, dominate, take over games. He's going to do his thing this year.”

O’Neal said he wouldn't steer his son to his alma mater, LSU, but he's pleased with the direction the program is heading in, with star freshman Ben Simmons set to debut this fall. 

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“[Jones] sort of has the same pressure as [former LSU coach] Dale [Brown] had, you got top three people and you have to start winning,” O’Neal said. “He’s been winning the whole time but at some point you know a Sweet 16, Final Four — all that stuff is not going to be good enough.”

- Jeremy Woo