UCLA Basketball Recruiting: Shabazz Muhammed Makes the Bruins Pac-12 Favorites

With Shabazz Muhammad committing to the UCLA Bruins, one of college basketball’s big boys is back to reclaim the Pac-12 mantle. 

The forward out of Bishop Gorman spurned both Kentucky and Duke to try to hang banner No. 12 at Pauley Pavilion.

The Rivals.com No. 1 recruit in their Top 150, Muhammad has been the star on the high school all-star game circuit, scoring 21 points and winning MVP honors at the McDonalds All-American game.

Forget Nerlens Noel. The real No. 1 recruit is out West.

Without the one-and-done rule, Muhammad would’ve been a lock for the NBA lottery. Instead, the Las Vegas product is going from Sin City to the City of Angels.

Muhammad will enter the UCLA campus not needing many tweaks to his game. He’s a 6'6" lefty forward who attacks the rim relentlessly, but can also step back and shoot it at a high rate.

Also, Muhammad’s hustle and work ethic will remind many of Michael-Kidd Gilchrist. There’s no doubt Jay Bilas will be commenting on Shabazz’s "motor" in next year’s draft. You can bet on it.

His impact on UCLA will be a godsend for head coach Ben Howland. The signings of Muhammad and top recruit Kyle Anderson will quiet down the backlash following Sports Illustrated report saying that Howland has lead the storied program into oblivion.

After all, winning cures everything.

If Muhammad was thinking about wins, he picked a Pac-12 conference that’s wide open. The conference has been in an NCAA tournament drought the last couple seasons. They only earned two bids in last year’s tournament, and both teams were bounced before the second weekend.

Washington was the Pac-12’s most talented last season, but they lose their two best players to early entry.

Arizona will be UCLA’s main competition. Arizona head coach Sean Miller has brought in yet another top recruiting class this year. None of their players, though, have the profile of a Muhammad or an Anderson. Both teams should make the NCAA tournament field, but UCLA has the advantage in the star department.

UCLA’s recruiting class alone will be game-changing group in the conference. Anderson is a multi-talented small forward who’ll thrive playing Robin next to Muhammad’s Batman. And No. 41 ranked Jordan Adams, a dynamic scorer from Oak Hill Academy, will provide a scoring punch for a guard position. Adams will have no problem deferring to Muhammad after playing at the star-laden high school Oak Hill.

The stars are aligning at UCLA. Shabazz the Bruin has them poised for a return to prominence.