LOS ANGELES – Criticism normally rolls off the back of UCLA freshman Shabazz Muhammad. That wasn’t the case last week.
Last Thursday after the Bruins' buzzer-beating win over Washington, Muhammad returned home to find himself the target of national criticism.
The comments, which called him everything from a pouter to a bad teammate, stemmed from Muhammad’s decision to skip the dog pile after Larry Drew II made a shot at the buzzer to defeat the Huskies. Just seconds earlier, Muhammad was jumping, shouting and clapping for the ball from Drew, but didn't get it. As a result, it was construed Muhammad was unhappy because he didn’t get to take the last shot.
It was something he didn’t take too kindly to.
“I was pretty upset because I’m not that guy,” Muhammad said of how he was portrayed. “I wanted to jump in the dog pile, but Larry was getting smushed. They had him against the (scorers table) and I was like, ‘OK, I’m going to congratulate him in the locker room.’
“If you look at it, all of us were cheering, but there were some guys that were just looking. But it’s what you expect. You’re in L.A.”
Muhammad's portrayal dug even deeper because he’s not an emotional guy. The way he called for the ball last Thursday night was about as much emotion as he’s showed on the court all season. He has carried a business-like approach during what many believe will be his only season at UCLA.
Showing emotions on the court has never been him.
“If you know me, I don’t have any emotions at all,” he said. “If you look at it, when I’m dunking on guys (there's no) emotion. I’m running back on defense.”
The incident with Drew is one of many times Muhammad has found himself the subject of national attention in his short time with the Bruins.
He had to sit out three games and pay back $1,600 at the beginning of the season because it was learned he received improper benefits while taking unofficial visits during his time at Bishop Gorman High School.
After leading the Bruins to one of their biggest wins of the season at then-No. 7 Arizona, the talk after the game wasn’t about his performance but about the Gucci backpack he toted out of the locker room.
Times have changed. In a world in which social media is rampant and one tweet or Twitpic can impact one’s life, it’s changed how today’s athletes are covered, even at the collegiate level.
Muhammad is the highest-profile recruit the Bruins have had under coach Ben Howland since Kevin Love. The pressures Love endured as a one-and-done player and what Muhammad is dealing with in potentially his only season in Westwood are drastically different.
“It wasn’t even close to where we are now,” Howland said. “That thing with Shabazz after Larry made the shot the other day, that never would have been discussed five years ago. I think it just continues to grow.”
The landscape has changed, and when you're playing in a market as large as Los Angeles, Howland said, it's no wonder coverage of Muhammad resembles that of the pros.
“In this town where the Clippers and the Lakers (play), our players are more closely treated like a pro than a college player in terms of how they’re perceived because of social media and the media,” Howland said.
Despite the coverage and the criticism, Muhammad hasn’t allowed it to hinder his performance. He remains the top scorer for the Bruins and has reached double figures in all but one game he played in this season.
He’s been prepped by his parents, former USC basketball player Ron Holmes and his mother Faye Muhammad, on do’s and don’ts along with what to expect from the media.
He’s grown up in it. Since he received his first scholarship offers as a freshman in high school, he’s been the subject of plenty of media attention, taking the good with the bad.
Muhammad, who Howland says is a top-10 pick in the NBA Draft "right now," is a student at UCLA, but he treats basketball like a job. He understands criticism is just a part of it.
“When you’re a big player and you’re in the limelight all of the time, you got to expect that, so it’s something that goes with it,” he said. “I knew this was going to happen. We’re in L.A. We’re in Hollywood. You just have to be smart because you know everybody’s watching.”
He hides himself in the game. When he’s not in class, he spends the majority of his time in the gym.
Normally, at least three times a week, Muhammad endures a sometimes grueling Howland practice and will return to the gym later that night with his dad for individual work.
A byproduct of that has been the right-hand jump hook he’s added to the repertoire. They work on ball handling, footwork, hook shots and moves Muhammad has yet to debut in a game.
“I still have stuff that I’ve worked on that I haven’t even brought out yet,” he said. “That’s the thing that I think that is really going to be effective in the tournament because I’m waiting for the tournament to bring that stuff out.”
It’s a good thing those are private workouts, because whatever he’s trying to keep under wraps would have been yesterday’s news. In 140 characters or less.
