Tweet
No. 2 Recruit Shabazz Muhammad Commits To UCLA
The No. 2 recruit in the nation, Shabazz Muhammad (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman), announced that he will be signing with UCLA. I'm a little shocked that Howland was able to recruit such great players. To have the No. 2 recruiting class so far is amazing especially after the horrible season the Bruins had in 2011-12.
I can't wait for the new Pauley Pavilion to be finished. This upcoming season should be a great one for UCLA fans. If they fail to make the Sweet 16, I can see this as Ben Howland's final season as Bruins head coach.
From ESPN LA:
The addition of the 6-foot-6 Muhammad rockets coach Ben Howland's recruiting class to No. 2 in the class rankings, one slot behind Pac-12 rival Arizona. The Bruins' haul in the early period was constructed around do-it-all small forward Kyle Anderson (Fairview, N.J./St. Anthony's) and scoring maven Jordan Adams (Lawrenceville, Ga./Oak Hill), ranked Nos. 5 and 41, respectively.
"I think he's going to have a tremendous impact," Howland said in a conference call late Wednesday after receiving Muhammad's signed letter of intent. "He's a special, special talent and has so many attributes that will help our team. He's physically strong enough right now to be an impact player right away. He's a great shooter, scorer, very good foul shooter and rebounder. And he's a winner."
"I think he's going to have a tremendous impact," Howland said in a conference call late Wednesday after receiving Muhammad's signed letter of intent. "He's a special, special talent and has so many attributes that will help our team. He's physically strong enough right now to be an impact player right away. He's a great shooter, scorer, very good foul shooter and rebounder. And he's a winner."
Howland then referenced Muhammad's three Nevada state championships and said he is the third national player of the year he has had with the Bruins, joining Kevin Love and Jrue Holiday.
"You look at the impact that those players had and they were huge," Howland said. "Shabazz will undoubtedly have a very impactful season as a freshman."
UCLA had been the perceived leader for Muhammad since last year, but recruiting trips to Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and the burgeoning presence of Muhammad's hometown UNLV program had cast doubt on his final decision. The Bruins were in desperate need of a significant recruiting haul coming off a difficult 19-14 season, which ended with a loss to Arizona in the second round of the Pac-12 tournament.
Photo credit: Premier Ball
More...
