Why Shabazz Muhammad Will Bring the UCLA Bruins out of Hibernation

Westwood let out an indistinguishable joyous scream yesterday when top recruit Shabazz Muhammad announced that he would be joining the UCLA men's basketball team.

After a tumultuous 2011-12 season, good news like this couldn’t have come sooner. And it gets even better. UCLA's recruiting class is one of the best in the nation this year, with top-10 recruit Kyle Anderson and others wearing true blue and gold next season.

As a Bruins fan, we naturally pause, though, and take a moment to assess the situation after such high expectations were shattered this season. Will UCLA turns its program around this season or will the Bruins fall short of expectations once again?

Before we dive into that, let's let the news sink in for one second. The top recruit in the nation (depending on which ranking system you look at) just chose UCLA, a struggling program, over Duke and Kentucky.

Why? Because he was up for the challenge.

"I just think it's a challenge," he said on ESPN's National Signing Day Special during which he made the announcement. "Knowing how bad they were these last two years, and it's a challenge to really get them back up to the top."

Those were the first words uttered after he made his decision, which tells us he's the real deal. Truthfully, we'll have to wait and see how it all plays out this upcoming season, but Muhammad surely sounds like a true competitor that can bring the Bruins out of the deep recesses of their cave.

Whether it be the challenge or the mere increased exposure that he will receive from being on what is shaping up to be a solid Bruins team in a mediocre Pac-12 conference, Muhammad is set to make an immediate impact.

"I think he's going to have a tremendous impact," ESPN quotes coach Ben Howland after he received 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."

Should Bruins fans get overly excited and start printing championship t-shirts? Not quite yet. In fact, let's keep our excitement reserved in general about these Bruins and the strong incoming recruiting class.

With the trend of big-impact college players in the current era, Muhammad will probably only be at UCLA for one year and then head to the NBA. However, that one year may be just enough to put UCLA's basketball program back on its feet, and it also may save Howland his job.

After a lackadaisical season that started and ended up sloppy and with uninspired play, UCLA basketball fans can only hope that a fresh and hopeful new face like that of Muhammad will bring spirit and success to the program.

From the deep recesses of a cold and defeated cave, a roar begins to emerge from the once-hibernating Bruins. 

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