Shareef O'Neal says dad Shaq 'wanted me to stay in school'

Shareef O'Neal and his father, Shaquille O'Neal, weren't on the same page about the 22-year-old's decision to enter the NBA draft.

The younger O'Neal revealed Tuesday at a pre-draft workout with the Los Angeles Lakers that his dad preferred him to stay in school.

"We kind of bump heads about this process," Shareef said during a video news conference, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "He wanted me to stay in school. I wanted to better myself through this. He knows I'm working out with teams. But I'm not going to lie, we ain't talked about this. I'm kind of just going through it. He didn't do any pre-draft workouts; he just got straight on the (Orlando Magic) so it's a different grind.

"So, he didn't want me to do this, and I know he probably doesn't want me saying this, but sorry. We're both grown, we'll get past it."

Shareef played in just 37 games across three seasons at UCLA and LSU, averaging 2.6 points and 3.0 rebounds per contest. He underwent open-heart surgery during his freshman year and was sidelined with foot and ankle injuries in his two seasons at LSU.

O'Neal said "it sucks" that his dad disapproves of his decision to end his college career, but he stands by it.

"I know he's an NBA legend, I know he's my dad, but it was right in front of me, I had to go get it," O'Neal said. "So, if he likes it or not, it's not really going to stop me from doing what I want to do."