4-star Jermaine O'Neal Jr talks South Carolina, Tennessee, and more

Jermaine O’Neal Jr. is the No. 53 player in the 2025 On3 Industry Ranking. The 6-foot-5 guard is the son of former NBA All-Star Jermaine O’Neal. O’Neal, from Dallas (TX) Dynamic Prep, has been a standout at the recent Pangos All-American Camp and the Nike Elite 100 Camp.

“I think I’m an athletic three and D wing,” O’Neal told On3. “I’ve improved my mid-range game a lot, really been working on that this summer. That and attacking the rim. I watch a lot of Jayson Tatum with his mid-range and how he gets to his spots.”

On3 caught up with Jermaine O’Neal Jr. after a recent live viewing to talk about his recruitment.

O’Neal talks visits

“I just went on a visit to South Carolina,” O’Neal said. “They haven’t offered yet. I’m going to visit Tennessee here soon; they’ve offered.”

Tennessee: “The love they have for me is really appealing. They contact my dad almost every day, checking in and wanting to get me on campus. It just feels like love there. I watched them play a few times this season, and I love how they pride themselves on defense. They play defense hard, and they have a lot of taller and longer wings that hit shots and play defense. That’s me.”

South Carolina: “That is where my dad is from, and he was about to go there before he went to the league. It was a school I wanted to check out, see what it was like there. I liked it there for the most part. I really liked their facilities. They had a nice arena and practice gym. Their message to me was they want me to be a strong piece in what their building. They’re definitely a school I’m going to look at closely.”

O’Neal talks recruitment

“I don’t have any other visits or plays to visit coming up,” O’Neal said. “SMU, Vanderbilt, Arizona State, Tennessee, and a couple of others are my offers right now.”

SMU: “A lot of kids go there where I’m from; a lot of Texas kids go there. I’m going to be watching how they do over the next couple of years. They could be a good spot because of how close to home they are, like 30 minutes from my house; I like them over there.”

Vanderbilt: “I watched them a lot when they had Scottie Pippen Jr. I think they play really hard. They are normally the underdogs, and they play gritty and tough. And I love Jerry Stackhouse as a coach.”

Arizona State: “I haven’t seen a ton of them. I saw they beat Arizona this year and made the tournament. They’re more of a gritty team. They have a lot of shooters. I love the campus. I have been there before. They’re a school I really like.”

In his words

“I want to play for a coach that really prides his team in defense and has a complete team,” O’Neal said. “I’ll look for a team that I can be a tweener for, some guard, some wing. A system that can get me into spots to make plays get my teammates involved, or make shots.”