Florida guard Me'arah O'Neal extended her support to the mother of USC commit Alijah Arenas, Laura Govan, who asked for prayers for the immediate recovery of her son.
Govan wrote a post on Instagram, asking the public for prayers for Arenas, who was placed under induced coma after getting involved in a serious car crash in San Fernando Valley.
The daughter of former LSU star and NBA great Shaquille O'Neal joined other basketball stars wishing for the speedy recovery of the five-star guard. She wrote on her Instagram stories that was captured by NCAA Noobita on X:
"pull thru brudda"
Aside from O'Neal, LeBron James' son, Bryce James, Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese and former NBA players Evan Turner and Nolan Smith also offered prayers for the son of former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas.
The McDonald's All-American is in stable condition and initial tests showed he didn't suffer broken bones.
O'Neal, who was named in the McOonald's All-American team in 2024, played 35 games for Florida. She averaged 4.8 points and 3.9 rebounds per game last season.
The 6-foot-3 guard recently announced her return to the Gators for her sophomore year.
Me'arah O'Neal, Florida Gators seek to improve 2024-25 season performance
Me'arah O'Neal and Florida Gators look to improve last season's performance, where they had a 19-18 record, including 5-11 in the SEC regular season. The Gators didn't make the NCAA Tournament but competed in the WBIT.
Florida defeated Northern Iowa (83-71), UNLV (86-84) and Texas Tech (67-63) in the first three rounds before losing to Minnesota (52-66) in the semifinals. The Gators are set to lose at least eight players from the 2024-25 team and two of them have ventured into the transfer portal — Ra Shaya Kyle and Kylee Kitts.
Fifth-year coach Kelly Rae Finley had only one commitment from the transfer portal after Jade Weathersby signed with Florida. The 6-foot-2 Weathersby broke out in her second season with the UAB Blazers, averaging 11.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 blocks per game.
Weathersby posted eight double-doubles last season and posted season-highs of 27 points against Charlotte on Feb. 8 and 19 rebounds against Wichita State on Jan. 25.
Aside from Weathersby, the Gators added freshman point guard Emilija Dakic for the 2025-26 roster. She was the first signee in the 2025 recruiting class.
As of April 25, the Gators' 2025-26 roster is made up of O'Neal, Dakic, Weathersby, Alexia Dizeko, Daviane Mindoudi Ongbakahoumb, Laila Reynolds, Liv McGill, Sarah Deng, Knisha Godfrey, Caterina Piatti and Nyadieng Yiech.
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