Shabazz Muhammad to UCLA: Top Recruit Will Lead Bruins to March Madness in 2013

Shabazz Muhammad will lead UCLA back to the NCAA tournament next season and make Bruins basketball relevant again in the college basketball world.

With Kyle Anderson and Jordan Adams joining Muhammad in an impressive recruiting class for head coach Ben Howland, the Bruins are poised to significantly improve over their disappointing 19-14 2011-12 season.

If UCLA doesn't get back to the NCAA tournament, then Howland might not be back for the 2013-14 season.

Howland is really excited about Muhammad's talent, saying via ESPN:

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"I think he's going to have a tremendous impact," Howland said in a conference call late Wednesday after receiving 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."

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What Muhammad really gives the Bruins is a star player who can dominate games offensively. UCLA didn't have that last year, and it hurt them late in the season when they were trying to win enough games to get in the Pac-12 tournament.

Not only can Muhammad score the basketball with his mid-range shot, but he also has the strength and size to be a tough force to stop in the paint. 

Last year, the Bruins' leading scored averaged 13.5 points per game, and their leading rebounder averaged 6.3 boards per game. Muhammad will best both of those numbers and have a tremendous season in Westwood next year.

For the Bruins to improve next season, they had to become tougher to play against. With Muhammad in the fold, defeating UCLA won't be easy for the Pac-12 next season.