UCLA Bruins Basketball: Why Signing Shabazz Muhammad Would Be Bad Move for UCLA

There's no doubt that Shabazz Muhammad is one of the top high school basketball players in the country.

While the UCLA Bruins are known to highly covet the small, 6'6" forward, signing him may not be the best thing for the Bruins.

After a year of turmoil in which Sports Illustrated published a story on all the things going wrong within the Bruins' program, things have to change, and change quickly.

First, Muhammad is likely a one-and-done player, and the Bruins don't have any hope of winning a national title next year, in my opinion.

Going the way of another one-and-done player will put head coach Ben Howland at a disadvantage, as not only is guard Kyle Anderson likely done after the 2012-13 season, but Howland can ill-afford to have two one-and-done players if he hopes to put the Bruins back on top in the near future.

The core group of guys is not much, so the Bruins are going to have to build from the ground up.

The second reason why signing Muhammad would be a mistake is because you're not entirely sure if he'll be eligible for the entire season.

According to a CBS article, Muhammad's eligibility status is in question due to some financial dealings with financial advisers Benjamin Lincoln and Ken Kavanagh. Lincoln is the brother of Geoff Lincoln, who is the assistant coach at Bishop Gorman.

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Sources told CBSSports.com Lincoln paid for at least two of Muhammad's unofficial visits to college campuses and that Kavanagh has helped fund Muhammad's summer team, the Las Vegas-based Dream Vision Foundation.

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Though we're not sure if anything will happen concerning this, is it something that Howland really wants to deal with?

UCLA is trying to clear the current clouds in the program—adding a new cloud is not the thing they need to do.

Sure, Muhammad is the best high school player in the country. Sure, he can add a lot to the program on the court.

But is it really worth the trouble?