Gorman’s Shabazz Muhammad on brink of stardom entering busy summer

By Ryan Greene

Thursday, May 27, 2010 | 2:15 a.m.

Shabazz Muhammad walks around with a star's smile. He possesses a star's game.

This summer, it's likely that he'll become one in the eyes of everyone who doesn't already think he is.

The 6-foot-6 Bishop Gorman swingman, dubbed by many as one of the nation's top prep hoops talents in the 2012 class, has three very important months ahead.

For most elite recruits who began to create a buzz early on in their teenage years, the summer between the sophomore and junior year is typically when the cream rises.

Will Muhammad be one of those who remains at the top and possibly picks up even more steam?

You won't find a safer bet in Las Vegas.

"We could tell pretty early on that he was going to be a special talent," Gorman coach Grant Rice said. "There's guys that have 'it' — that 'it' factor. He's got it. He definitely does."

Having the "it" factor is one thing, but Rice points something else out which could help Muhammad set himself apart as he heads towards his junior season — a work ethic not often seen from players so young.

Muhammad, who averaged 19 points and 10 rebounds a game as a sophomore while leading the Gaels to a second consecutive 4A state title, spends roughly two or three hours a day in the gym after school, doing individual work and putting up endless shots. Final exams wrap up at Gorman this week, but Muhammad is nowhere near taking a break.

When asked what he's working on more than anything this summer, Muhammad said that on top of his overall skill set, he wants to enhance his general feel for the game, in a quest to feel comfortable in any situation he might find himself in on the floor.

If there's a way to improve it, Rice believes he'll find it.

"He would be good no matter what, but when you combine his work ethic with his killer instinct, he's one of those guys who's not going to take it easy on an opponent," Rice added. "That's what makes him so good. He could be playing whoever, but he's going to go just as hard no matter who he's playing."

One barometer typically used to judge a prep player's hunger is how hard they'll play during an endless stream of summer tournaments, when sometimes up to five games are played by a team in one day and there are plenty of opportunities to, say, let off the pedal for a bit.

Even if Muhammad wanted to do that, he won't have many openings this summer, as a good amount of his basketball will be played against other top talent.

His summer team — Dream Vision, which also features highly-touted Findlay Prep junior-to-be Winston Shepard — will play in six high-level tournaments, including the adidas Super 64 in Las Vegas in early July.

Muhammad will also take part in the adidas Nations tournament in Chicago in August. He spent last weekend training at the adidas Nations camp at Del Sol High along with 33 of the country's other top prep hoops prospects.

However, what Muhammad sounds to be looking forward to the most is the month of June, when he'll lead his Bishop Gorman teammates to team camps in Los Angeles and at BYU, then into the school's own on-campus tournament.

Muhammad's affinity for playing with his Gorman team comes from not only the track record of success they've had over the last two seasons but the way everyone has seemingly blossomed around him.

As the buzz has grown surrounding Muhammad, the same has happened for his teammates. It drew more attention this season for senior guard Johnathan Loyd, who earlier this month signed with Oregon, and it's doing the same for 6-foot-7 juniors-to-be Ben Carter and Rosco Allen.

Allen has drawn interest from several top West Coast programs, such as UNLV, Arizona and BYU, while Carter was just recently contacted by UNLV and has heard from others.

"It's pretty exciting, but I just know I have to work hard every day, represent Bishop Gorman well and get these other guys involved in some scholarships, too," Muhammad said. "My teammates encourage me a lot. I try to stay humble and get them involved with schools as well, because they really deserve it."

It wasn't too long ago when Muhammad was discovered in similar fashion.

Rice can recall college coaches coming to watch his team work out and play pick-up games the summer before Muhammad's freshman season, and the wave of phone calls and inquiries soon followed.

"To be honest, no one was coming to see him work out at that time," he said. "They were just coming to see Bishop Gorman.

"I remember some of the coaches just saying, 'Wow, who is this kid?' Right then, we knew he was going to be a pretty popular figure in the next couple of years."

It seems natural that Muhammad would find success on the floor, given his bloodlines. His close-knit family includes his father, Ron Holmes, who scored 1,211 points in a four-year career at Southern Cal from 1981-85.

"He knows the game and he's on him," Rice said. "He's not buying into the hype and all of that stuff. Ron wants him to be the best he can be, and, you know, Shabazz could go out there and have 30 points and 10 rebounds, but if he gets beaten on defense a couple of times, he's going to hear about it. Trust me."

His older sister, Asia, is a budding professional tennis player, while younger brother Rashad — just a sophomore-to-be at Gorman — already stands at 6-foot-4 and has hoops scholarship offers on the table from a handful of schools, including USC, Northwestern and SMU.

As for Shabazz's recruitment, the heat will only turn up now, as after this summer, he'll be on every radar possible as schools turn more attention towards the 2012 crop or prospects.

Rice said he's fielded calls from roughly 40 programs in regards to Muhammad, while all of the traditional powers — Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, etc. — have already made inroads.

Muhammad said he's nowhere near having a concrete list of schools he'll zone in on or any favorites, but one note worth pointing out is his genuine interest in the program right down the road — UNLV.

"People shouldn't be surprised and think that it's just because it's a hometown school," he said. "Even if I was from California or Texas or wherever, I'd still look at UNLV. The reason is the style of play, and coach (Lon) Kruger is an extraordinary coach.

"I really like what he does over there, and I could look forward to going there — I really like their program."

Right now, multiple recruiting services are already giving Muhammad some high praise, with Rivals.com ranking him as the No. 8 prospect in his class and ESPN putting him at No. 3.

Following what could and should be a big summer, Muhammad knows that the same approach which has helped him get to this point will help him weather the heightened storm of mail, phone calls, texts, interview requests and everything else that is sure to follow.

"I've just got to take it in stride and take it slow," he said. "I've pretty much prepared for it."