Minnesota Sports Forum

I don't see Shabazz as a steal because he had been ranked #1 in his class. Austin Rivers, BJ Mullens, Josh Selby and Gerald Green were also #1 ranked in their respective classes. Shabazz's draft class was the weakest at the top in recent memory so I'm not overly impressed that he was ranked #1 in a group with no obvious stars. Second, Shabazz was an older player who didn't rightfully belong in his class. Third, he wasn't overly impressive in his only year of college and displayed serious character flaws. I can't think of any other major NBA prospects who lied about their ages to the NBA. Even though I hated the pick, I still hope he can contribute eventually.

Matt, I did have the opportunity to see UCLA live several times last year, and I actually liked Drew as a distributing point guard. But all of his chemistry was with the other big freshman recruit Jordan Adams, and Drew and Muhammad seemed to have no chemistry at all. I had very high expectations for the Bruins last year, maybe even a Final Four appearance, and the season was disappointing to say the least. They were very frustrating to watch some nights. It actually looked to me like Drew was freezing Shabazz out in order to try to make Adams look better. Maybe that was just my imagination, but it sure seemed like it.

One of the reasons I was excited about drafting Muhammad was to see how much better he can be with a point guard that can help him. Rubio is just that kind of point guard.

I think the thing that jumps out of this breakdown is how even back then they said he is willing and is good at working without the ball. Thats really significant becasue that was a strength for him last year and to me it looks like he is a guy that has strengths playing in a system as a scorer. It seems to me with a guy like Rubio could really give him open looks and Adelman likes guys that work without the ball to get open. I think this is something that is overlooked by fans experts that could be a something that makes Bazz a pretty worthwhile NBA player.

Look lots of guys that were top 3 in HS end up dropping way down the ladder of prospects after they get tot he NBA draft. There are guys that go top 3 in the draft that might not even been top 50 recruits in college although I am sure it gets pretty muddy after the top few guys. It is fun to look back at what was said about him not that long ago. I also think its funny how people say he struggled in college. I wish I struggled to put up stats like that. LOL

I think the team needs to get on him and tell him they need him to be a defensive stopper. That is his role on this team this year. A physical defensive wing. I don't see anyone else that is capable of it.

Bleed, I would love it if Shabazz could become a defensive stopper, but based on what I observed at UCLA, he has a long way to go to become that. The draft express writeup above talks about his athleticism, but "athleticism" is a complicated term. At the P3 clinic in Santa Barbara this spring, Shabazz recorded the highest score ever recorded for vertical explosiveness, i.e. how quickly the athlete gets to his leaping apex. The combine measurements include "how high" but not "how quick" for jumping, and I think that the latter is a more important measurement, and one of the main reasons Shabazz is so effective on the offensive glass.

However, he ranked below average in lateral quickness, which may be the athletic measurement most key to defensive ability. Good defense is a combination of athleticism (mostly lateral quickness), technique and effort, and Shabazz is subpar in the first two categories. As far as effort and technique, those who watched Shabazz in Summer League saw an enormous amount of hustle on defense, but sometimes head-scratching defensive technique. I would argue that a good coaching staff can teach proper defensive technique, and the trainers at P3 claim that they can get Muhammad's incredible vertical explosiveness to carry over to his lateral athleticism. Only time will tell. We do know that he brings a reputation of being a relentless worker, so he is likely to achieve any defensive upside that is within his capabilities. Just how high that defensive ceiling is will be determined later.

Have you ever seen a defensive stopper come out of UCLA? It's not taught.