Wednesday, October 12th, 2011 at 2:38 pm  |  23 responses

Shabazz Muhammad, Diary 1

Once again, the best high school baller in America brings it to you straight at SLAMonline.

He’s a 6-6, 215-pound wing at Bishop Gorman (NV) High in Las Vegas, and he is arguably the best high school basketball player in the world. So of course Shabazz Muhammad is holding down our Basketball Diary for ’11-12. Following the path blazed by Stephon Marbury, LeBron James, Kevin Love, Tyreke Evans, Harrison Barnes and last year’s writer, Quincy Miller, Shabazz will update his diary all season—in the mag, and right here on SLAMonline. For updates on his college choice and more, keep it right here.

October 11, 2011

by Shabazz Muhammad / @phenom15balla

What’s up? I just got done with practice. It’s preseason, so we’re about to start conditioning, but so far it’s just been running plays. It’s been good to get back into it. I took about two weeks off at the end of the summer, which I needed. I played a lot of basketball, and sometimes you’ve gotta get your rest. I had a couple little injuries, nothing major, but I need to take care of my body. I did a lot of icing, doing some yoga, little things to try to prevent injuries. Now I’m pretty close to 100 percent, and I’m getting excited to get back at it.

Our team is looking good. We’ve got a really big starting lineup, and we can get out and run. The goal is simple: not lose a game, be national champions. I think we can do it. We’ve got a tough schedule, some ESPN games, the City of Palms tournament, so it’ll be a challenge. I’m looking forward to it.

Of course everybody wants to know about recruiting. I’ve got seven schools on my list, the same seven schools I’ve had for a while: Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Memphis, Texas A&M, UCLA and UNLV. And even though you might hear different, I’m still interested in every school on my list. There are a lot of people who don’t really know anything about it saying I’m a UCLA lock or a Kentucky lock, but like I said, they don’t know. I just try to ignore it.

It is fun knowing that people want you at their school, though. Being in Vegas, we’ve had people coming to our practices, like 100 or 200 people sometimes, wearing UNLV jerseys with my number 15 on them. They actually have “Muhammad” on the back. I don’t know what they’d do with those jerseys if I don‘t go there. Honestly though, I’m just happy to have that kind of support.

Anyway, right now, I’m just talking to a lot of coaches, listening to what they have to say and trying to go from there. I’m a humble guy. I’m just trying to get all the information I can, and then whenever I think the time is right I’ll make my decision. I know if I take my time, it’s going to help me in the long run.

Of course I’m paying attention to the lockout. It’s crazy, but at least I did get to some of those games over at Impact Basketball, the “lockout league.” That was fun. I got to watch Josh Selby, John Wall, DeMar DeRozan, a bunch of guys. I didn’t get to work out with them, but just watching those guys and trying to learn from them was worth it. I’m trying to learn from everybody.

That’s it for now. I’ll let you know what’s new next month.

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  • Enigmatic Posted: Oct.12 at 2:49 pm
    I’ll take junior Jabari Parker as my pick for “best high school basketball player in the world” but Muhammad is extremely nice, this dude has a chance to be a superstar in college and beyond.
    And if he decides on UCLA, him and Kyle Anderson on the same squad would be dope as hell.

  • niQ Posted: Oct.12 at 3:10 pm
    Hey Enigmatic, which current NBA player would you say resembles Jabari Parker?
    On another note, yea, both of these kids are nice. Future top picks for sure!

  • JTaylor21 Posted: Oct.12 at 3:29 pm
    Jabari is not better than Shabazz. Stop it enigmatic, just stop.

  • Bin Sherman Posted: Oct.12 at 3:38 pm
    Shabazz is good but not as good as Kyle Anderson. And Shabazz is going to go to dook unfortaunately if not Ucla. Dont know why these unlv fans are spending so much time trying to recruit him. It’s the courtesy home school listing so that he can have his way with his role on the Bishop Gorman team. It’s political and smart and Coach Rice has to keep him happy for his brother to have a shot. In the end, he has got no shot.

  • Enigmatic Posted: Oct.12 at 3:42 pm
    I am an unapologetic Jabari Parker supporter.
    Y’all should know that by now, and I ain’t stoppin’ nothin’!
    @niQ – well, Coach K compared him favorably to Kobe Bryant and a young Grant Hill.
    I won’t go that far, but I think he can be a Paul Pierce type that can one day put up like 23 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists per in the L.
    JTaylor, just remember dude’s name when he’s in the L.

  • niQ Posted: Oct.12 at 3:47 pm
    Man, I’ve heard the Kobe comparison with Shabazz, kid is a cold-blooded scorer right now. But I think he’ll need a bit more range on his shot in the L.
    In regards to Parker, yea, nbadraft.net compared him to Melo but I felt he was more Pierce as well, no lie. But I do think dude will get his fair share of assists. Dude is an all-around player.

  • Enigmatic Posted: Oct.12 at 3:57 pm
    From Scout.com’s Evan Daniels –
    “He has put himself in the conversation as the best player in high school basketball, not just his class. His offensive package has developed to the point where there’s not much he can’t do.”
    From recruiting analyst Jody Demling –
    “Chicago junior Jabari Parker started the camp by not missing a shot in a one-on-one drill and just kept impressing throughout the event. He’s just so big and skilled and it really doesn’t look like there’s a weakness in his game. The 6-foot-8 Parker is just fun to watch. In my opinion, he’s the best prospect in high school basketball right now.”
    From recruiting analyst Van Coleman –
    “”Muhammad is a more explosive athlete, but Parker is a better shooter and a more skilled player.”
    From CBS Sports’ Jeff Borzello -
    “If Parker was anything less than the best prospect in the high-school game, regardless of class, that comparison might seem completely ridiculous. But given the way the 6-foot-8 Simeon (Ill.) junior has redefined his body and his game over the past year, he has future NBA All-Star written all over him.”
    From NBADraft.Net’s Ian Powers –
    “There isn’t anything on the basketball court that he cannot do. He is considered by many, including myself to be best player in America and he is only a junior. Parker can play the 1 through the 4 and may be able to play some 5 at the high school level in spurts. The sky is the limit for this young man.”
    So you know, it’s not just me that thinks he may be the best overall player in high school, regardless of class.

  • Enigmatic Posted: Oct.12 at 5:38 pm
    No rebuttal?
    Too busy arguing Kevin Love vs. Amare Stoudemire?
    Very well, then.

  • theSkinny81 Posted: Oct.12 at 7:36 pm
    yeah, but with UKs squad, it would be much doper… lol

  • Enigmatic Posted: Oct.12 at 11:07 pm
    @theSkinny81 – UK’s gonna be a dope team whether dude goes or not, Calipari ALWAYS reloads lol

  • Wanda Dixon Posted: Oct.12 at 11:07 pm
    Shabazz, Sweet pea, use whatever works for you — yoga, copper bracelet, NAET, muscle testing / MSA / nutritional supplements, EMDR, rest, ice, compression, … Take good care of yourself — not just physically, but also mentally, spiritually, emotionally, technologically, and academically. Please smile and look up toward the camera. Good luck, buckeyes, four-leaf clovers, horseshoes, and rabbits’ feet to you and your team this season. Keep us posted about college choice. Academic commitment to you and from you matters a lot. So does conditioning, healthcare, and alternative medicine. You have a great name! Let us know how college campus visits go, too; please write for the female readers, not just the male sports fans. Thank you for the interesting observations from your perspective!

  • rebelluver Posted: Oct.13 at 12:05 am
    What will the UNLV fans do with the jerseys Bazz? Regardless of where you go, they will treasure them and the time that they got to at least dream of the time they were hoping and praying the best basketball player to ever come from our city actually seriously considered playing for our beloved team and making us, or taking us to our rightfull spot at the top of the college basketball world!

  • Nartok Posted: Oct.13 at 8:19 am
    Shout Out to Shazz I have been monitoring various web sites for insights into Recruiting interests by players, coaches and fan bases for quite a while now and I wanted to take the time to compliment you on your approach to what can be an very hectic and often frustrating experience in this recruiting adventure. I am impressed by you maturity and your perspective on all that adventure entails and even though I may be UK Big Blue Nation fan who would love to see you play at Kentucky, I much more want to wish you the very best in your efforts to make the right choice for you. Your commentary was well said and poignant.. to the point that is .. and thanks for allowing those of us that follow your progress the opportunity for insights into how you feel and think about this adventure. Best Wishes and with Respect Nartok

  • JerseyJayhawks Posted: Oct.14 at 11:57 am
    I totally agree that Jabari Parker is the 2nd coming off Paul Pierce, however, in order for him to really break out like a star in the League, he’s going to have to either follow in Paulies footsteps and go to Kansas or a school that can bring him to that next level caliber. Comparing JP to Shabazz Muhammad is a tough one however, Bazzy is more electrifying and waaaaaay more athletic than anyone in the country. He’s a better scorer than Jabari (I didn’t say shooter, i said scorer) but from the looks of things, it seems that Jabari has a better over all game. If i had to put my vote in one of the two, i’d have to sat that Shabazz is the best player in the country. Regardless of whether its technically true or not, Shabazz wins cause he’s more entertaining to watch score 36 points (at the highschool level) than Jabari. Sorry, thats just how i feel.

  • Enigmatic Posted: Oct.14 at 12:54 pm
    Fair enough, JerseyJayhawks.
    Obviously, there’s no LeBron James type player in high school right now that is clearly head and shoulders above everyone else.
    I don’t mind people saying someone other than Parker is the best player, I just don’t like basically being called an idiot because I believe he is.

  • Love4theGame Posted: Oct.15 at 12:41 am
    Great feed back page. Nice to see a humble HS kid. Never much cared for the swelled head of what some call “king James” appreciate talent but if your humble but confident in your ability then you earn more respect. Shabazz will be loved where ever he goes is true. He should be flattered. Now let’s talk about the entertainment capital and history. I remember Vegas in the Tark days. Wow the town was off the hook. Sold out back then was the norm. I would travel to Vegas just to see this talented player. When Jerry’s boys were good the town was madness. This new coach knows and remembers. Tark’s book reminds you of these days. Now that Vegas is so much bigger now I could only imagine the love and support. I live in LA now I go to the UCLA games and USC not the same experience as a game I saw when out in Vegas. Vegas was more like a Lakers game. I in my 40′s and I like to spend money on experences. A trip to UNLV game with a player like this and the others I seen before a night out in Vegas would be a off the hook.

  • Jackson16 Posted: Oct.15 at 6:03 pm
    Any school would be proud to have a player like Shabazz. He is an electrifying talent that has his head on right. In a short amount of time, his whole world is going to be on fast-forward and he will have all the adulation, money, and fame that comes with being an NBA player. But, for those truly special players that are “one and done”, it sure seems like playing at home in front of real family and friends may be worth considering. Before he knows it, those days of being home will be over and no amount of money and fame can ever bring them back.

  • runninrebel Posted: Oct.17 at 9:58 pm
    Good luck with the recruiting process this season. Praying that youll stay in town and play for a unlv team that is on the rise but would definitely understand wanting to go to a powerhouse like duke or ucla. Good luck this season!

  • alfred finer Posted: Oct.19 at 1:16 pm
    Well i hate it but shabazz will go to duke because he’s a smart kid and he knows K is the best and that he is probably the only coach capable of making him better. K really cares about his players and that means everything.

  • Dajuan Posted: Oct.30 at 5:51 am
    If he goes to duke he will not be a great player in the NBA because duke doesnt mold great payers the last above average player from duke has been Elton Brand 11years ago. UCLA doesnt have a good system for him and it could hurt his stock. Memphis and Texas A&M arent big enough schools to go to and make an impact he would need star players to go their and I dont see it (even though Memphis gets good prospects they dont get great prospects.) So that leaves Kansas, Kentucky, and UNLV. He only has UNLV on thwir because its the home town team and doesnt want to get the backlash if he doesnt have them on the list but they dont really have a shot. Now Kansas and Kentucky and it pretty much comes down to if the NBA makes players stay in college 2 years then its Kansas if it stays the same its Kentucky. If the rules change to 2 years before players can go pro Kentucky wouldnt have enough basketballs for him and Kansas would fit perfect with him, Perry Ellis, and Ben McLemore coming in and Bill Self a more then good enough coach to get him ready for the pros and contend for a title. O and by the way I like Parker over him only because of the size factor and the all around game factor but its like comparing Lebron and Carmelo in high school because you know they both will be great at the next two levels.

  • The Pac-12 Buzz About Shabazz Muhammad « Rush The Court Posted: Nov.1 at 12:16 pm
    [...] early October, Muhammad posted in an online diary for SLAM Magazine that he had trimmed his list to seven teams: Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Memphis, Texas A&M, UCLA and UNLV. A few days later, Muhammad made an [...]

  • neecie Posted: Mar.1 at 6:25 pm
    no way hes 18

  • neecie Posted: Mar.1 at 6:25 pm
    he looks 35

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