2013 NBA Draft Prospect Profile: Shabazz Muhammad, Shooting Guard, UCLA


Name: Shabazz Muhammad

Age: 20

Height: 6-foot-6

Position: Shooting Guard

School/Country: UCLA

Latest Stats: 17.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 0.8 apg, 0.7 spg

 

It’s been a roller coaster of a ride for Shabazz Muhammad over the past year or so. Just to recap, he came into the collegiate ranks prior to this past season as one of the more highly touted players in the country. Muhammad however, dealt with a number of eligibility issues and actually missed some time early on in the year. The 6-foot-6 wing eventually hit the court and had a pretty solid season for the Bruins. The only issue was that the UCLA Bruins weren’t all that great despite the talent that they had.

Muhammad is one and done as expected however, and that’s a good thing for one NBA franchise. Muhammad averaged 17.9 points per game this past season, but his game should translate even better to the professional ranks. It’s been all about his NBA potential since Muhammad was in high school and now that time has finally come. He’s 20 years old by the way and even despite the early discrepancy in his age, his draft shock shouldn’t be all that affected. Muhammad is a top ten pick.

 

Strengths: Muhammad can flat out score the ball and he’s never found a shot that he doesn’t like. That’s a good mentality for an NBA wing to have when entering the league with the budding potential that Muhammad features. He is a crafty left-hander with great speed and athleticism. There’s a tremendous amount of upside for Muhammad and despite the ups-and-downs over the past year, the 6-foot-6 shooting guard could potentially be the best prospect in this class when all is said and done.

 

Weaknesses: It didn’t take Muhammad very long to instantly become the top scorer on the Bruins’ squad this past season. He’s an instant impact performer, but he could be an even more dynamite scorer if he worked more on his release. Muhammad is talented, but needs to be quicker with the basketball and quicker with his shot attempts and decisions. In addition to that, he’s going to need to learn how to get his teammates more involved with a better awareness on the offensive end.

 

Draft Projection: Top Ten

 

Follow Paul Seaver on Twitter: @PaulSeaverRS

 


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