Gaels’ Muhammad nets Player of Year

Bishop Gorman's Shabazz Muhammad looks like a pretty mild-mannered kid off the basketball court.

But on the court, Muhammad plays angry.

That aggression was one of the reasons Muhammad had such a dominating senior season, leading the Gaels to the state championship and earning the Review-Journal's Class 4A boys basketball Player of the Year award.

"He was taught at an early age how to act the right way off the court," Gorman coach Grant Rice said. "But once on the court, it's different. There's two personalities: off the court and on the court. I think that's what makes him great and successful, is he can turn that switch on and off.

"I've had nice players, and we like having those guys around and we're friends afterward. But we want guys that are going to go out and get it done and be tough guys on the court. And he definitely is the epitome of that."

Muhammad, a 6-foot-6-inch swingman, averaged 29.4 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists as a senior in leading the Gaels to a 28-4 record.

Muhammad spoke to the Review-Journal before CBSSports.com reported that the NCAA was looking into his amateur status.

He conceded he sometimes played with a chip on his shoulder, and said his teammates fed off his energy.

"That gives us a boost," Muhammad said. "And I think it rubs off on everybody when I'm trying to play hard, because then everybody else plays hard as a group."

While he sometimes settled for jumpers as a junior, Muhammad attacked the basket relentlessly as a senior.

That attitude and his ability to post up smaller opponents led to incredible offensive efficiency for Muhammad, who shot 65 percent from the field.

"Especially if the defender is not as strong or is shorter, I think my post game is really good, so I just take them down there until they can stop that, then go on the perimeter," Muhammad said.

Rice said Muhammad's willingness to play in the post rather than on the wing showed his star's unselfishness.

"It's a testament to Shabazz that he did what was best for the team this year and didn't just rely on his outside shot, but went down in the trenches and got dirty and went down and battled inside, and took advantage of mismatches when they were there," Rice said. "I know a lot of players, even at his size, that want to hang outside and be guards and shoot the ball, but he definitely wanted to win this year and do whatever it took for the team to accomplish that."

Rice said Muhammad added about 15 pounds of muscle to his frame before his senior season, and that added strength helped him physically dominate most high school opponents.

"He put his work in with a trainer and in the weight room, as well," Rice said. "He's about 220 pounds right now. It really helped. His play spoke for itself. He was a lot more physical than most of the teams and the players we played against."

Muhammad is scheduled to play in the McDonald's All-American Game and the Jordan Brand All-Star Game, as well as the Nike Hoops Summit, in the coming weeks.

Then he will turn his attention to preparing to play at the college level. Considered the nation's top senior recruit, Muhammad said he will make his college choice in April.

"I know in college guys are going to be bigger and stronger, so I just work on my ball handling and jump shot and get those really, really tight, and I think I'll be fine," Muhammad said.

Contact prep sports editor Damon Seiters at dseiters@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4587.