Shaqir O’Neal is returning to where his college basketball career started.
O’Neal and Florida A&M basketball will visit Houston to face Texas Southern for a Southwestern Athletic Conference matchup on Saturday.
O’Neal, the son of Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, spent the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 seasons playing for the Tigers before entering the the NCAA Transfer Portal.
Shaqir O’Neal, now a redshirt junior forward at FAMU, didn’t receive much playing time at Texas Southern. However, he helped the Tigers win the SWAC Championship Tournament in 2023.
But he’s been a key piece to FAMU basketball, which is 8-12 overall and 5-4 in the SWAC.
O’Neal is the Rattlers’ fourth-leading scorer at 8.2 points per game and chips in 3.2 rebounds in 18.7 minutes per game. O’Neal has made 14 of 34 three-point attempts for a team-second 41.2 percentage.
O’Neal recently had his best game since the Rattlers opened SWAC play. Last Saturday, the Los Angeles native scored 12 points and had three assists in 16 minutes to help FAMU beat Alabama A&M 95-79 for its fifth straight victory.
The Rattlers’ winning streak was snapped on Monday as they fell short to the visiting Alabama State Hornets 67-66. O’Neal scored four points in seven minutes.
Fans can watch O’Neal’s return to Texas Southern as a member of FAMU basketball on Texas Southern Athletics’ YouTube page or listen to KTSU 90.9 FM.
Saturday’s tipoff is at 6 p.m. at Texas Southern’s Health and Physical Education Arena in Houston.
Upcoming Florida A&M Basketball Games
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Saturday, Feb. 8: at Texas Southern at 2 p.m. Eastern Time (Doubleheader)
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Monday, Feb. 10: at Prairie View A&M at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Gerald Thomas, III is a multi-time award-winning journalist for his coverage of the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Tallahassee Democrat.
Follow his award-winning coverage on RattlerNews.com and contact him via email at GDThomas@Tallahassee.com or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: How FAMU hoops’ Shaqir O’Neal is performing entering Texas Southern return
