Shaquille O'Neal lands big-name transfer at his new college team

The Shaquille O’Neal effect is already being felt at Sacramento State.

Shams Charania of ESPN reported on Tuesday that Sacramento State has landed a transfer commitment from former top recruit Mikey Williams. The 20-year-old guard Williams entered the portal last month after spending last season at UCF.

A consensus four-star recruit, Williams was a highly-coveted prospect coming out of high school, averaging 26.9 points and 6.4 assists per contest over his career at San Ysidro High School in San Diego, Calif. Williams would eventually commit to play for Penny Hardaway at the University of Memphis but never appeared in a single game for them due to legal trouble.

In 2023, Williams was arrested and hit with five felony charges after an incident in which allegedly shot at a car with multiple people inside following an argument at his residence (details here). Williams ultimately managed to avoid jail time for the incident though after reaching a plea deal later that year in which he agreed to community service, gun safety courses, and anger management classes.

Last season, Williams averaged just 5.1 points and 0.7 assists in a meager 14.0 minutes per game for UCF (whom he transferred into in early 2024). Now Williams will be hoping to get his career back on track at Sacramento State.

The Hornets, coming off a 7-25 campaign, already added Shaq’s son Shaqir O’Neal (a 22-year-old forward) in the transfer portal a few weeks ago. Then the news broke earlier this week that Shaq himself would be coming aboard to lead the Sacramento State front office. The Hornets also now have a former NBA guard as their head coach, and it is clear that they are rapidly gaining pull with big-name talent.