Basketball great and broadcaster Shaquille O’Neal has anointed Louisiana State University women’s basketball player and NCAA champion Angel Reese as the “greatest athlete” to ever come out of LSU, male or female.
That apparently includes himself because he also came out of the university.
On Monday’s The Big Podcast with Shaquille O’Neal, Shaq insisted that no one has ever been better than Reese, “Male or female,” CNN reported.
“She’s probably the greatest athlete ever to come out of LSU sports. You heard it here first,” O’Neal said, adding, “Male and female. Ever.”
Shaq may be suffering from a bit of recency bias since the Lady Tigers just won the NCAA title only a few weeks ago. But he stuck to his point, regardless.
“Because, guess what? She delivered. She delivered that package. See, a lot of us got the package, and we still got the package in our truck. She delivered that package,” Shaq continued. “So, you know, there’s a lot of names you could throw around – men and women – but she’s probably the greatest athlete.”
Shaq with some high praise for a fellow LSU athlete ὄ
(via The Big Pod) pic.twitter.com/oR5AmC19rR
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 11, 2023
“Some people are going to exclude it to women athletes. I’m not doing that. She’s the greatest athlete to ever come out of LSU,” the broadcaster concluded.
There is no doubt about it that Reese had a great season. She averaged 23 points, 15.4 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game, and was named unanimously first-team All-American and the women’s March Madness’ Most Outstanding Player as she led LSU to the title. She also set the NCAA Division I record for double-doubles in a single season.
But is Reese a better all-around athlete than any of the school’s other many famous athletes? Better than Joe Burrow? Better than Lolo Jones? Better than Shaq himself? Or others, including Pete Maravic, Billy Cannon, and Sylvia Fowles. It may be too early to tell since Reese is still so young and has many more years ahead to succeed or fail.
Quarterback Joe Burrow #9 of the LSU Tigers on a pass play during the College Football Playoff National Championship game against the Clemson Tigers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 13, 2020, in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
Reese has one more year before being eligible for the WNBA, so she has one more chance to take LSU to even higher levels. But she also has an opportunity to tumble and fall.
Also, according to the NCAA rankings, Reese is only at no. 5 beneath no. 1 Maddy Siegrist of Villanova, Reese’s rival Caitlin Clark of Iowa, Drexel’s Keishana Washington, and DePaul’s Aneesah Morrow. So, while Shaq may think she’s the best from LSU, she isn’t the best in the NCAA.
It is also possible that Shaq has warmed up to Reese after she became a target of accusations of being “classless” by her taunting of Iowa’s Caitlin Clark during the championship game. On the other hand, Shaq may be acting overly protective over her coming off the controversy that inevitably became a “race” issue for many left-wing sports commentators.
In any case, we’ll have to wait and see just where Angel Reese goes from here.
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