Debut defeat irks Muhammad

NEW YORK - Around 10:30 p.m. local time Monday, Shabazz Muhammad emerged from UCLA's postgame locker room, ready to address a national media contingent that had come to Barclays Center to witness the college debut of a likely top-five NBA draft selection.

Walking behind teammate Travis Wear, Muhammad didn't talk to anyone. He was silent. UCLA had lost to Georgetown 78-70, and he didn't feel great about his performance, either.

When Muhammad, the former Bishop Gorman High School standout, entered the interview room, he finally opened up. The quick summation: he has much room for improvement, as do the Bruins.

Muhammad came off the bench and scored 15 points in 25 minutes, more than UCLA coach Ben Howland had planned on playing him. He made 5 of 10 field goals, including 3 of 4 in the second half, when he had 11 points and connected on both of his 3-point attempts.

"I think I can get a lot better," said Muhammad, who also had a rebound and two assists. "I thought I didn't play really well tonight. We didn't really play good on defense. We're just going to get back at it in practice and get better as a team."

The Bruins are glad to finally have Muhammad active.

For months, questions surrounded whether he would suit up for UCLA. On Nov. 9, the NCAA declared Muhammad ineligible because he accepted travel and lodging for unofficial recruiting visits to Duke and North Carolina. The NCAA reinstated him Friday after he missed the Bruins' first three games (all victories) and agreed to repay $1,600 in impermissible benefits.

Besides the hoopla surrounding his eligibility, Muhammad missed nine weeks during the summer after sustaining a high ankle sprain and did not travel with the Bruins on a preseason trip to China. He also recently sat out more than two weeks because of a shoulder injury.

The extended time off has left Muhammad admittedly out of shape.

"I thought he did a very good job considering (the circumstances)," Howland said. "He's got a lot of work to put in to catch up conditioning-wise to where he wants to be, but he did a good job in his first outing."

Before the game, Muhammad seemed loose. On his official Twitter account (@phenom15balla), he sent an Instagram photograph of freshman teammate Kyle Anderson sleeping on the team bus.

Several NBA scouts were in attendance, eager to see Muhammad perform. ESPN draft expert Chad Ford, attending the Maui Invitational in Hawaii, noted on Twitter that NBA scouts there, too, were gathering around a television to watch Muhammad play on ESPN2.

Muhammad entered with 14:12 left in the first half. Fifty seconds later, he made a jump shot. UCLA trailed 31-29 at halftime, but Georgetown pulled away with a 12-0 run to start the second half. The Bruins closed within 54-50 with 10 minutes left, but never got closer.

This time next year, Muhammad might be in the NBA and back playing in this arena, home of the Brooklyn Nets. For now, though, he's concentrating on making UCLA a national title contender. The Bruins are 11th in The Associated Press poll and 13th in USA Today.

The Bruins play here tonight against Georgia. If they had won Monday, they would have faced top-ranked Indiana in the Legends Classic final, an opportunity that Muhammad had been hoping for.

"I really wanted to get a shot at (Indiana)," Muhammad said.