The freshman, in his second game for the Bruins after missing first three, scores 21 points in 60-56 victory in the consolation game of the Legends Classic tournament.
By Baxter Holmes
The Los Angeles Times
10:53 PM PST, November 20, 2012
NEW YORK — There's a transition phase for new players, a period of
acclimation.
But Shabazz Muhammad might just speed through that process, just as he might speed through his college career and bolt to the NBA after his freshman season.
It took all of two games for the talented UCLA swingman to transition from a player who's just trying to familiarize himself to a player who could rescue his team from a loss.
The highly rated Muhammad scored a game-high 21 points to carry the No. 11 Bruins past Georgia, 60-56, Tuesday in the consolation game of the Legends Classic tournament at Brooklyn's Barclays Center.
At the end, the Bruins (4-1) escaped this concrete jungle with a win that will ease the sting of Monday's loss to Georgetown and make the plane ride back to the land of milk and sunny more bearable.
But the Bruins also received a glimpse of their future with Muhammad.
"We've got a lot to look forward to," UCLA Coach Ben Howland said.
Unlike in his first game, Muhammad, who became eligible to play Friday after missing UCLA's first three games, was not tentative.
Instead, he called for the ball, created plays when opportunities weren't apparent, scored points when his team starved for them, and led late, when the score was tight.
"I was getting more comfortable out there," Muhammad said, later adding he played more aggressively to help fill in for David Wear, who sat out the game because of a sore back.
Muhammad made three free throws, grabbed a key rebound and recorded a steal in the final 1 minute 15 seconds, when UCLA's lead grew from two points to the final margin of four.
The ultimate difference in the game: UCLA made 20 of 30 free throws, and Georgia made six of 10.
Muhammad made eight of 11 from the free-throw line.
Georgia Coach Mark Fox gave a long, awkward pause and rapped his fingers against a table when asked about Muhammad's performance. Finally, Fox uttered, with some difficulty, "He had 21 points, that's a pretty good night."
Kyle Anderson had nine points and nine rebounds and Travis Wear added 10 points and eight rebounds. Jordan Adams scored four points, his first game with fewer than 20.
UCLA's man-to-man defense struggled to slow Georgia (1-4), which was led by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who had 16 points.
So, Howland made a rare move, one he finds distasteful: He switched to a zone defense.
It worked.
"The zone was critical for us to get back into the game," Howland said.
And Muhammad, who made six of his 12 shots, kept his team in it.
He got open running off screens, noticed mismatches when he was sized up against smaller players in the post or larger, slower players guarding him on the wing.
"I just tried to take advantage of that," Muhammad said, "and it went well for me."
Etc.
UCLA has signed three high school players to national letters of intent during the early signing period, the school confirmed Tuesday.
They are Allerick Freeman, a 6-4 guard from Findlay Prep in Nevada, Zach LaVine, a 6-3 combo guard from Bothell High in Washington, and Noah Allen, a 6-6 forward from Palma High in Salinas.
baxter.holmes@latimes.com
twitter.com/BaxterHolmes
____________________
Muhammad leads UCLA in much-needed win
But Shabazz Muhammad might just speed through that process, just as he might speed through his college career and bolt to the NBA after his freshman season.
It took all of two games for the talented UCLA swingman to transition from a player who's just trying to familiarize himself to a player who could rescue his team from a loss.
The highly rated Muhammad scored a game-high 21 points to carry the No. 11 Bruins past Georgia, 60-56, Tuesday in the consolation game of the Legends Classic tournament at Brooklyn's Barclays Center.
At the end, the Bruins (4-1) escaped this concrete jungle with a win that will ease the sting of Monday's loss to Georgetown and make the plane ride back to the land of milk and sunny more bearable.
But the Bruins also received a glimpse of their future with Muhammad.
"We've got a lot to look forward to," UCLA Coach Ben Howland said.
Unlike in his first game, Muhammad, who became eligible to play Friday after missing UCLA's first three games, was not tentative.
Instead, he called for the ball, created plays when opportunities weren't apparent, scored points when his team starved for them, and led late, when the score was tight.
"I was getting more comfortable out there," Muhammad said, later adding he played more aggressively to help fill in for David Wear, who sat out the game because of a sore back.
Muhammad made three free throws, grabbed a key rebound and recorded a steal in the final 1 minute 15 seconds, when UCLA's lead grew from two points to the final margin of four.
The ultimate difference in the game: UCLA made 20 of 30 free throws, and Georgia made six of 10.
Muhammad made eight of 11 from the free-throw line.
Georgia Coach Mark Fox gave a long, awkward pause and rapped his fingers against a table when asked about Muhammad's performance. Finally, Fox uttered, with some difficulty, "He had 21 points, that's a pretty good night."
Kyle Anderson had nine points and nine rebounds and Travis Wear added 10 points and eight rebounds. Jordan Adams scored four points, his first game with fewer than 20.
UCLA's man-to-man defense struggled to slow Georgia (1-4), which was led by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who had 16 points.
So, Howland made a rare move, one he finds distasteful: He switched to a zone defense.
It worked.
"The zone was critical for us to get back into the game," Howland said.
And Muhammad, who made six of his 12 shots, kept his team in it.
He got open running off screens, noticed mismatches when he was sized up against smaller players in the post or larger, slower players guarding him on the wing.
"I just tried to take advantage of that," Muhammad said, "and it went well for me."
Etc.
UCLA has signed three high school players to national letters of intent during the early signing period, the school confirmed Tuesday.
They are Allerick Freeman, a 6-4 guard from Findlay Prep in Nevada, Zach LaVine, a 6-3 combo guard from Bothell High in Washington, and Noah Allen, a 6-6 forward from Palma High in Salinas.
baxter.holmes@latimes.com
twitter.com/BaxterHolmes
____________________
Muhammad leads UCLA in much-needed win
Associated Press
via ucla.rivals.com
via ucla.rivals.com
November 20, 2012
The Box (YahooSports.com)
NEW YORK
(AP) -- In his first game in UCLA's lineup, Shabazz Muhammad played like a
regular.
 |
 |
| Associated Press | |
| |
| UCLA forward Shabazz Muhammad led the Bruins in points Tuesday night. |
He
got to the line, he took big shots and he helped the 11th-ranked Bruins avoid
what would have been a pretty discouraging loss.
Muhammad scored 21 points and UCLA made enough free throws late to hold off Georgia for a 60-56 win Tuesday night in the consolation game of the Legends Classic tournament.
''It was obviously an important win to bounce back after a disappointing defeat last night,'' UCLA coach Ben Howland said.
In the final minutes of a mostly dreary game, UCLA (4-1) took the lead with Muhammad on the bench, on baskets by Travis Wear and Jordan Adams, but the hyped freshman re-entered with 1:58 left to play and the game still in doubt.
''I thought I was really getting more comfortable out there,'' Muhammad said. ''I was getting open on the screens and mismatches down low.''
He made two free throws with 1:15 left, then scooped up a loose ball on the other end with a minute remaining and passed to Norman Powell, who was fouled attempting a layup.
Powell made one of his free throws, and the Bruins closed it out at the line to rebound from a tough loss the night before and avoid a long flight back to the West Coast.
''I thought the difference in the game was the free-throw line,'' Georgia coach Mark Fox said. ''We didn't get there enough, they got there a bunch and they outscored us about 14 points at the foul line in a low-scoring game.''
Muhammad actually took more free throws than the entire Georgia team, making eight of 11. The Bulldogs shot 6 of 10 from the line.
''We didn't make the plays in the heart of the game that we needed to make,'' Fox said.
Wear finished with 10 points and eight rebounds for UCLA, and Kyle Anderson had nine rebounds and nine points.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led the Bulldogs (1-4) with 16 points and had eight rebounds. Marcus Thornton had 10 rebounds for Georgia.
The Bruins got the second half off to a bright start, tying the game at 30 on Travis Wear's midrange jump shot.
Georgia's Caldwell-Pope answered with a quick 3-pointer before UCLA took its first lead following two free throws and Norman Powell's 3-pointer with less than four minutes gone.
UCLA spent most of the first half playing indifferent-looking defense and missing shots from outside. Georgia took an 11-point lead about 3 1/2 minutes before the break, but the Bruins scored the period's final six points, helped by Muhammad's 3-pointer with 2:24 to go.
Earlier, Georgia outmuscled UCLA underneath, mostly finding Nemanja Djurisic for easy layups.
The play was not helped by the atmosphere. Empty seats outnumbered fans at the Barclays Center, and some of the fans were wearing Indiana gear, waiting for the Hoosiers' appearance in the title game later in the evening.
''This was a slow game,'' Howland said. ''They did not want to get up and down. That was the game plan for them and it was obviously working for them.''
Muhammad played 28 minutes in his first start of the season after playing as a reserve on Monday night in the Bruins' 78-70 loss to unranked Georgetown. He appeared winded in the final five minutes of the game, and had to take a breather before coming back on for the final two minutes.
The 6-foot-6 Muhammad, one of the most highly sought after high school players last season, was declared eligible by the NCAA on Friday. In his first game, he finished with 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting and was 2 of 4 from 3-point range in 25 minutes.
''We're learning how to play with Shabazz tonight. We didn't play with him all summer,'' Howland said. ''Obviously he's got to continue to work to be a better defender, as do all our players.''
The NCAA said that UCLA's sanctions against Muhammad were sufficient after the school required him to sit out three games and repay $1,600 in impermissible benefits. The NCAA and UCLA found that Muhammad accepted travel and lodging during three unofficial visits to Duke and North Carolina.
Muhammad scored 21 points and UCLA made enough free throws late to hold off Georgia for a 60-56 win Tuesday night in the consolation game of the Legends Classic tournament.
''It was obviously an important win to bounce back after a disappointing defeat last night,'' UCLA coach Ben Howland said.
In the final minutes of a mostly dreary game, UCLA (4-1) took the lead with Muhammad on the bench, on baskets by Travis Wear and Jordan Adams, but the hyped freshman re-entered with 1:58 left to play and the game still in doubt.
''I thought I was really getting more comfortable out there,'' Muhammad said. ''I was getting open on the screens and mismatches down low.''
He made two free throws with 1:15 left, then scooped up a loose ball on the other end with a minute remaining and passed to Norman Powell, who was fouled attempting a layup.
Powell made one of his free throws, and the Bruins closed it out at the line to rebound from a tough loss the night before and avoid a long flight back to the West Coast.
''I thought the difference in the game was the free-throw line,'' Georgia coach Mark Fox said. ''We didn't get there enough, they got there a bunch and they outscored us about 14 points at the foul line in a low-scoring game.''
Muhammad actually took more free throws than the entire Georgia team, making eight of 11. The Bulldogs shot 6 of 10 from the line.
''We didn't make the plays in the heart of the game that we needed to make,'' Fox said.
Wear finished with 10 points and eight rebounds for UCLA, and Kyle Anderson had nine rebounds and nine points.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led the Bulldogs (1-4) with 16 points and had eight rebounds. Marcus Thornton had 10 rebounds for Georgia.
The Bruins got the second half off to a bright start, tying the game at 30 on Travis Wear's midrange jump shot.
Georgia's Caldwell-Pope answered with a quick 3-pointer before UCLA took its first lead following two free throws and Norman Powell's 3-pointer with less than four minutes gone.
UCLA spent most of the first half playing indifferent-looking defense and missing shots from outside. Georgia took an 11-point lead about 3 1/2 minutes before the break, but the Bruins scored the period's final six points, helped by Muhammad's 3-pointer with 2:24 to go.
Earlier, Georgia outmuscled UCLA underneath, mostly finding Nemanja Djurisic for easy layups.
The play was not helped by the atmosphere. Empty seats outnumbered fans at the Barclays Center, and some of the fans were wearing Indiana gear, waiting for the Hoosiers' appearance in the title game later in the evening.
''This was a slow game,'' Howland said. ''They did not want to get up and down. That was the game plan for them and it was obviously working for them.''
Muhammad played 28 minutes in his first start of the season after playing as a reserve on Monday night in the Bruins' 78-70 loss to unranked Georgetown. He appeared winded in the final five minutes of the game, and had to take a breather before coming back on for the final two minutes.
The 6-foot-6 Muhammad, one of the most highly sought after high school players last season, was declared eligible by the NCAA on Friday. In his first game, he finished with 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting and was 2 of 4 from 3-point range in 25 minutes.
''We're learning how to play with Shabazz tonight. We didn't play with him all summer,'' Howland said. ''Obviously he's got to continue to work to be a better defender, as do all our players.''
The NCAA said that UCLA's sanctions against Muhammad were sufficient after the school required him to sit out three games and repay $1,600 in impermissible benefits. The NCAA and UCLA found that Muhammad accepted travel and lodging during three unofficial visits to Duke and North Carolina.
The Box (YahooSports.com)
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