Myrtle Beach, S.C. – The top rated player in the class of 2012 by 247Sports and PrepStars.com is Bishop Gorman (Nev.) standout Shabazz Muhammad. The 6-foot-5 player brought his game to the east coast last week for the Beach Ball Classic and talked about how things are coming in recruiting.
Duke will get a visit from the No. 1 player in the country.
“Everything is going good,” Muhammad said. “The recruiting process is going really well, I am still looking at about six schools and then will narrow it down from there.”
According to Muhammad the six schools under evaluation are UCLA, UNLV, Arizona, Kentucky, Duke and Kansas. The talented wing player has three official visits left after taking fall trips to Texas A&M and Kentucky. While he is not focusing on recruiting at the present time he did talk about potential visits in the spring.
“I am really focusing more on the season and getting these wins,” Muhammad said. “I do have three official visits left though and will concentrate on them after the season. I know Duke will get one, but I am not sure about the other two. UNLV and UCLA are so close I am not sure if they will get one or not but I know Duke will get a visit.”a
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski stopped by the tournament on Thursday to take in one of Muhammad’s games. He talked about the Blue Devils head coach and what stands out about their program.
“Coach K came by to see me this week and that was great,” he said. “They have a great program and really let their guards go and play. That is what I really like about their program.”
Ben Howland and the UCLA Bruins are another program that has been rumored to be a strong candidate to land the services of Muhammad. This year however they have faced some distractions on and off the court and while it hasn’t gone unnoticed by Muhammad it is not a big factor.
“UCLA is struggling right now,” Muhammad said. “They are still on my list but they are struggling. They are still a great school and Coach Howland is a great guy and good coach so I am definitely not giving up on them or anything.”
The 6-foot-5 wing player does not have a leader or top group but he did have a group of schools that he thinks is making a little more effort to reach out and bring him to their team.
“I think Duke, Kentucky, UCLA and UNLV are all probably getting in touch with me or my dad the most,” Muhammad said. “Everybody is doing a great job of recruiting me but I guess those four are kind of calling us the most.”
Muhammad was instrumental in leading Bishop Gorman to a third place finish at the Beach Ball Classic by scoring 220 points during the four game tournament. His four day total tied him for third all time in points scored while he tied the record of 43 field goals made in one year.
- William Gunter
- South Carolina Insider - TheBigSpur