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Leila Navidi
Shabazz Muhammad practices at Bishop Gorman High School Wednesday, July 20, 2011.
Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2011 | 2:05 a.m.
What stands out to me about Bishop Gorman High School basketball star Shabazz Muhammad is how he elevates his level of play in big games. It’s easy to see why he is the nation’s top recruit.
He’s got the total package, and every coach I talk to speaks highly of him. I’ve seen him play three times, twice last year and last week during the adidas Super 64 tournament at Rancho High School. It was such a great environment at Rancho, and Shabazz really put on a show. I went with coaches John Calipari of Kentucky and Bob Huggins of West Virginia, and afterward we went to dinner at Piero’s.
Shabazz is just an all-around great player who is a natural athlete and has great athletic ability. It’s no wonder why everyone is recruiting him.
I don’t know if you can sell him on one thing. You are going to have to build a relationship with him. I’m sure UNLV coach Dave Rice and his staff are doing that.
Shabazz surprised me with how well he shoots the ball from the outside. He’s just a big-time player, probably one of the best to come out of Las Vegas.
Some of the others were Freddie Banks, my son Danny, Matt Othick (who went to Arizona), of course Greg Anthony and Pace Mannion. Mannion was a 6-foot-5 guard from Chaparral High in the 1970s who I thought highly of and eventually played for the Utah Jazz. Shabazz is definitely in the conversation.
It was nice to see Rice get a commitment from Baltimore guard Daquan Cook. When I coached at UNLV, we had a good pipeline of players come from that area with the James brothers — Spoon, Karl “Boobie” and Keith — and Gary Graham from the 1987 Final Four team. That’s a great place to find players.
We had a good connection with an AAU coach in Baltimore and that helped open the door. Recruiting is all about relationships and scouting parts of the country you have connections in. There were a lot of great players in the South, but we never recruited them. We always felt that if we went in the South, you would have to buy the guy if he was great, and we weren’t buying anyone.
I’ve been in California most of the summer, relaxing and playing the horses. It was nice to see some UNLV fans last week. I’m feeling about the same — some days are better than others. Talk with everyone in a few weeks.
How does a jr. in high school grow that much facial hair?
I was in my 30s before I did!
The obsession with this kid by the Sun is a little creepy. This kid won't be stupid enough to go to UNLV. That school hasn't had any relevant athletics in ages, let it go and allow the kid to make a name for himself at a school that will see basketball success.
Well lets see, this kid is the number one recruit in the country, He's from Las Vegas, he consistently lists UNLV as primary school he is considering (this is a UNLV based site), and its the summer during the slowest sports time of the year. The more 'Bazz stories the better if you asked me.
Don't hate, it may bite you in the butt later.
Thanks for the insight Tark! Hope you told Huggins to and Cal to back off!
@TeamSG1, did you not read Tark's article about his level of play in big games? He wasn't speaking about his high school games, but the AAU Circuit where competition is @ it's highest. But you were @ the games so you would know this. Check his stats in the AAU Tourneys this summer & then come back. I watched both Drummond & Austin play in the 64 and Shabazz is ahead of those guys due to his Basketball IQ. That alone puts him #1 since all three have the intangibles to be #1.
I will agree that the whole ranking system is very subjective, but to suggest that Shabazz isn't one of the top players in the country is ridiculous. As was previously stated, the rankings are based much more on how players perform in AAU tournaments and camps then in high school games. I watched a lot of AAU basketball too this summer and if Shabazz wasn't the best player there, he was certainly in the Top 5. By the way, which is it? Is Shabazz not nearly as good as his ranking for is he too good for UNLV?
My question, David, is why do you even bother to read and/or post comments on these stories. By now, we've all figured you out. Anything Gorman or UNLV-related is garbage to you. You troll the boards looking for opportunities to take shots at Gorman because it is a private school and has built-in advantages. You take shot after shot at UNLV and its fans because, in your eyes, none of us are worthy of anything spectacular. Not sure what the reasoning behind your obvious agenda is, but give it a rest.
The only thing I question is wether tark is on our side here or kentuckys. We need all the help we can get and tark just hangs with calipari all the time it seems. He went and sat with them last year at the Maui invitational too. I'm not saying that he shouldn't be friends with him but just make sure that your not helping Kentucky over Unlv.
It's all good....these stories give us something to dream about. In 1 yr the LA Times or some other paper will be able to welcome Shabazz to their hometown team when he joins a powerhouse school instead of UNLV.....so I can't blame the paper and dreamers for all of the hype.
This particular story doesn't bother me because it's only Tark saying how he deserves the top ranking.....it says nothing encouraging about him landing at UNLV, only how relationships help recruit. So, with Coach Rice's brother at Gorman, relationships doesn't get any better than that right???? So, if Rice fails to recruit Shabazz, then WTF do we need a coach who can't recruit a player his brother coaches?! It's all about the relationship remember...
Nice reading Tark. Glad your health is doing well.
Djk,
My mouth dropped at the audacity of your statement. Even after the way our administration treated Coach, he has remained loyal to UNLV. He didn't take shots at UNLV even at Fresno. He had a beef with the way the lynch mob, errrrr administration, axed him. It's insulting that you would imply that he is betraying UNLV.
+1 Louis, and I also don't understand why guys like to come on to bash UNLV on here, especially if they live in the area. It's about community. Greatness doesn't just happen, it needs a spark first. I think the spark has already been lit, but needs to reach the dynamite.
Coaches share a common interest. For them to meet up, i'm sure it's like meeting up with your old co-workers or friends, or if you have a common interest in basketball even.
You may ask why the Sun does Local, UNLV articles:
1. They report on Las Vegas news! (go figure)
2. UNLV is the only major university in town.
3. Many want to see the programs be successful, cause, well, many are probably alumni, and could be your neighbor.
4. Gorman has a highly ranked high school team this year...and they are local, and it would be cool if some of their players stayed to play for UNLV...see #'s 1, 2 and 3.