‘HE CAN SCORE RIGHT AWAY,’ HIGH SCHOOL COACH SAYS
“But now it gets to the point where you’d rather just go to a team where you think you’ll be a good fit.”
With all of the dissection and mostly negative press, it’s easy to forget that Muhammad ranked second in the country in points per game (17.9) for a freshman. He was a decent offensive rebounder for his size (teamhigh 2.7 per game) — 6-foot-5 but with a 6-11 wingspan — and didn’t turn the ball over much, though he also didn’t handle the ball a lot off the dribble.
Muhammad said he’s trying emphasize ball handling and moving off screens. And long term, he’ll need to use his wingspan to be a shutdown defender, but wherever he goes, most people expect him to be able to do at least one thing immediately.
“He can score right away,” Rice said.
He’s great at scoring in transition, does a good job of cleaning up missed shots around the rim, and at UCLA, he had a 56.6 adjusted field goal percentage on catch-and-shoots, according to ESPN.com.
Thisdraftmaybetheworstin the past decade, with few NBAready, impact players. While so many questions about the play- ers as a group would seem to benefit a guy with Muhammad’s upside, he’s been bouncing all around projected draft boards.
“I’m still positive about the situation,” Rice said.
How much of Muhammad’s movement is fact and how much is a front put up by teams in the early teens that may see Muhammad as a steal at that position? Much like the rest of Muhammad’s life in the past year, no one can say for certain until it plays out.