Shaqir O’Neal and Zaire Wade want to make their own names in basketball after their fathers — Basketball Hall of Fame center Shaquille O’Neal and recently retired Dwyane Wade — made it to the biggest stage.
They’ll both be part of the first session of the first NCAA College Basketball Academy West Regional at Grand Canyon University (Phoenix) that starts Tuesday.
The first session games run July 23, 24 and 25. The second session games are July 26, 27 and 28. GCU Arena will have select games with free admission for the public. GCU’s Canyon Activity Center, which opened last spring on 29th Avenue and Missouri, also will be used.
FULL ROSTERS: NCAA College Basketball Academy
About 300 players were invited to the camp that is being run by the NCAA in an attempt to clean up the July basketball showcases will have college coaches from across the country scouting top high school players.
There are four regional sites at which the academy will take place: GCU, University of Houston (Texas), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Illinois) and University of Connecticut (Storrs, Connecticut).
Former UCLA head coach Steve Lavin is commissioner of the West Regional. Former Phoenix Suns head coach Earl Watson will be an assistant commissioner.
O’Neal is a 6-foot-4 junior shooting guard from Santa Monica (Calif.) Crossroad High School. Wade is a 6-2 senior guard from Fort Lauderdale (Fla.), who moved to Southern California, where he’ll reportedly team up with LeBron James’ son, incoming freshman Bronny James, at powerhouse Chatsworth Sierra Canyon.
