Shabazz Muhammad, who grabbed nearly every award a high school basketball player can earn this season, said Wednesday that he plans to sign with UCLA. He chose the Bruins over Duke and Kentucky.
“Just making the decision was really difficult,” Muhammad said. “It’s a lot of jitters going through my mind. I thought how comfortable I was with the coach (Ben Howland). I chose to be a Bruin, so I’ll be at UCLA next year. I just think it’s a challenge, knowing how bad they were the last two years. It’s a challenge to get them back up to the top. With Kyle Anderson coming with Jordan Adams and hopefully Tony Parker, it will be a great team for the future.”
Muhammad, a 6-6 small forward for Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), averaged 29.8 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists while leading the Gaels to a state 4A title. Though most recruiting services list him as the No. 2 player behind Nerlens Noel, he won the Morgan Wootten Award and Naismith Award as the nation’s top high school player.
— Reported by Jim Halley of USA Today
