Florida transfer forward Me'Arah O'Neal commits to Kentucky WBB

Kenny Brooks needed to add a bonafide frontcourt piece to replace the likes of Amelia Hassett and Teonni Key, and he just reeled in a big-time target. Florida transfer forward Me’Arah “Meezy” O’Neal has committed to Kentucky, she announced.

On3’s Talia Goodman originally reported that Kentucky, alongside Miami and Virginia, was a school to watch for O’Neal. Goodman later reported that Kentucky was among the four finalists to land the talented big, with the other three schools being Virginia, North Carolina and USC. She is the daughter of NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal.

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O’Neal is Kentucky’s third transfer portal commitment of the offseason, joining UConn transfer Ayanna Patterson and Alabama transfer Diana Collins. For a minute there, Kentucky’s frontcourt only consisted of Clara Strack, but with the addition of O’Neal, the roster is really starting to take shape.

The 6-foot-4 forward averaged 13.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.4 steals per game this past season, and she will be a junior next year. In what was a high-scoring thriller against the Cats in Historic Memorial Coliseum, O’Neal recorded 23 points and four rebounds while shooting 6-12 (2-4 3PT) from the field. That outing was just shy of her career high in points. She had 24 points in a win over Memphis on Nov. 28.

She has had some solid outings against some really good teams. Against Texas on Jan. 29, she recorded 17 points, three rebounds, three blocks, two steals and two assists in 32 minutes of action, shooting 6-9 (2-4 3PT) in that one. The next game at Vanderbilt, O’Neal had 22 points and eight rebounds while making eight of her 12 shots and going 3-6 from three. She also averaged 12 points, five rebounds and 3.5 blocks in two games against Oklahoma, shooting 4-7 from three across those meetings.

Her ability to stretch the floor and consistently knock down the three is more of a recent development, and a really good sign from that is that her volume jumped from 1.9 three-point attempts per game to 2.9 from her freshman season to her sophomore season.

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