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In this Oct.10, 2012 AP file photo UCLA Bruins guard/forward Shabazz Muhammad takes questions from the media at the UCLA campus in Los Angeles. With Shabazz and Kyle Parker, another sought-after recruit, UCLA has the pieces in place for a revival this season. (Photo: Damian Dovarganes, AP)
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UCLA's Shabazz Muhammad declared ineligible by NCAA
Violation of NCAA amateurism rules will keep Muhammad off the court for an undetermined amount of time.
By Baxter Holmes
The Los Angeles Times
6:59 PM PST, November 9, 2012UCLA freshman guard Shabazz Muhammad has been declared ineligible by the NCAA after lenghty probe uncovered a violation of NCAA amateurism rules.
It's unknown how many games Muhammad will miss. UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero said that figure is yet to be determined, but that UCLA will appeal the decision.
"I feel bad for the kid," Guerrero said as UCLA prepared to open its season against Indiana State.
Muhammad’s case dragged on for about a year as the NCAA examined ties between two financial planners to his family and AAU team.
Investigators met with Muhammad’s parents -- Ron Holmes and Faye Muhammad -- in early November to discuss his case, people close to the situation said.
During those interviews, investigators raised questions about money Muhammad’s family had received from Benjamin Lincoln, who is based in Charlotte and is the brother of an assistant coach at Muhammad’s high school. Lincoln helped pay for unofficial visits to North Carolina and Duke, Muhammad’s family has said.
The NCAA also raised questions about Ken Kavanagh, who is based in New York and who partially funded the Dream Vision summer team that Muhammad played for in his hometown of Las Vegas.
Here is a statment from the NCAA:
"UCLA student-athlete Shabazz Muhammad is not eligible to compete in tonight’s game due to violations of NCAA amateurism rules. In addition to other pending issues, Muhammad accepted travel and lodging during three unofficial visits to two NCAA member schools.
The university and the NCAA enforcement staff agreed on the set of facts in the case, which led to the determination that a violation occurred. NCAA member schools have established standards to determine when an individual may provide financial assistance to student-athletes.
These criteria, which were not met in this case, are in place to identify when benefits are provided based on a student-athlete’s athletic ability.
The NCAA is committed to providing thorough, yet timely decisions regarding student-athlete eligibility. The expediency of these decisions can hinge on the level of timely cooperation of all involved parties.
In the case of Muhammad, the NCAA staff requested specific documents on July 31 to assist in the evaluation of Muhammad’s eligibility. However, the NCAA enforcement staff did not receive the majority of the requested documents for review until September 25, followed by more information on October 10, and additional critical information on November 1.
After reviewing thousands of pages of information, the NCAA interviewed Muhammad’s parents last week. The staff and the university then submitted the agreed-upon facts the afternoon of November 9.
The NCAA then rendered a decision within a matter of hours. As demonstrated by the facts, we are committed to resolving the remaining matters as quickly as possible."
In its own statement, UCLA said it was "extremely disappointed" in the NCAA's determination.
“The University and our compliance staff have fully cooperated with the NCAA throughout this entire period, and we believe the decision is incorrect and unjust to Shabazz," the UCLA statement said. "UCLA will expeditiously pursue its options to challenge this determination. When a final resolution has been reached by the NCAA, we will swiftly communicate the news to the entire Bruin family.”
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Shabazz Muhammad ineligible
Updated: November 9, 2012, 10:27 PM ET
By Peter Yoon | ESPNLosAngeles.com
UCLA freshman Shabazz Muhammad has been declared ineligible to participate, UCLA announced before its season opener Friday night at Pauley Pavilion.
"In addition to other pending issues, Muhammad accepted travel and lodging during three unofficial visits to two NCAA member schools," the NCAA said in a statement.
The school, which will appeal the decision, said the NCAA did not specify a number of games Muhammad has to sit out.
"The NCAA has finally determined that a violation of the NCAA amateurism rules has occurred involving UCLA freshman guard Shabazz Muhammad and his family," the school said in a statement. "As a result, he is ineligible for competition at this time. We are extremely disappointed that the NCAA has made this determination.
"The University and our compliance staff have fully cooperated with the NCAA throughout this entire period, and we believe the decision is incorrect and unjust to Shabazz. UCLA will expeditiously pursue its options to challenge this determination. When a final resolution has been reached by the NCAA, we will swiftly communicate the news to the entire Bruin family."
Muhammad, the national high school player of the year last year, was found to have violated NCAA amateurism rules after a lengthy investigation.
The school, which will appeal the decision, said the NCAA did not specify a number of games Muhammad has to sit out.
"The NCAA has finally determined that a violation of the NCAA amateurism rules has occurred involving UCLA freshman guard Shabazz Muhammad and his family," the school said in a statement. "As a result, he is ineligible for competition at this time. We are extremely disappointed that the NCAA has made this determination.
"The University and our compliance staff have fully cooperated with the NCAA throughout this entire period, and we believe the decision is incorrect and unjust to Shabazz. UCLA will expeditiously pursue its options to challenge this determination. When a final resolution has been reached by the NCAA, we will swiftly communicate the news to the entire Bruin family."
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NCAA rules Muhammad ineligible
November 9, 2012
UCLA released a statement on Friday evening, just an hour before the Bruins tipped-off with Indiana State, that five-star forward Shabazz Muhammad has been ruled ineligible by the NCAA.
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| Shabazz Muhammad has been ruled ineligible for Friday night. |
"The NCAA has finally determined that a violation of the NCAA amateurism rules has occurred involving UCLA freshman guard Shabazz Muhammad and his family. As a result, he is ineligible for competition at this time. We are extremely disappointed that the NCAA has made this determination.
"The University and our compliance staff have fully cooperated with the NCAA throughout this entire period, and we believe the decision is incorrect and unjust to Shabazz. UCLA will expeditiously pursue its options to challenge this determination. When a final resolution has been reached by the NCAA, we will swiftly communicate the news to the entire Bruin family."
UPDATE: The NCAA released a statement regarding Muhammad's eligibility as well. Here it is:
"UCLA student-athlete Shabazz Muhammad is not eligible to compete in tonight's game due to violations of NCAA amateurism rules. In addition to other pending issues, Muhammad accepted travel and lodging during three unofficial visits to two NCAA member schools.
The university and the NCAA enforcement staff agreed on the set of facts in the case, which led to the determination that a violation occurred. NCAA member schools have established standards to determine when an individual may provide financial assistance to student-athletes. These criteria, which were not met in this case, are in place to identify when benefits are provided based on a student-athlete's athletic ability.
The NCAA is committed to providing thorough, yet timely decisions regarding student-athlete eligibility. The expediency of these decisions can hinge on the level of timely cooperation of all involved parties.
In the case of Muhammad, the NCAA staff requested specific documents on July 31 to assist in the evaluation of Muhammad's eligibility. However, the NCAA enforcement staff did not receive the majority of the requested documents for review until September 25, followed by more information on October 10, and additional critical information on November 1.
After reviewing thousands of pages of information, the NCAA interviewed Muhammad's parents last week. The staff and the university then submitted the agreed-upon facts the afternoon of November 9. The NCAA then rendered a decision within a matter of hours. As demonstrated by the facts, we are committed to resolving the remaining matters as quickly as possible."
BSR will have more on Muhammad's situation after the UCLA game Friday night.
NCAA rules UCLA star freshman Shabazz Muhammad is ineligible
By Associated Press, via The Washington Post
LOS ANGELES — No. 13 UCLA took a big loss before its season even began on Friday night.
The NCAA ruled freshman Shabazz Muhammad is ineligible to play basketball after violating amateurism rules, leaving the Bruins without their highly touted recruit to start the season.
The school announced the NCAA’s ruling in a statement from athletic director Dan Guerrero about 80 minutes before the Bruins’ season opener against Indiana State on Friday night, which was expected to be a celebration of the reopening of newly renovated Pauley Pavilion.
“The NCAA has finally determined that a violation of the NCAA amateurism rules has occurred involving UCLA freshman guard Shabazz Muhammad and his family,” Guerrero said. “As a result, he is ineligible for competition at this time. We are extremely disappointed that the NCAA has made this determination.”
Guerrero said UCLA believes “the decision is incorrect and unjust to Shabazz.”
He said the school will pursue its options to challenge the NCAA ruling.
The NCAA didn’t give a timetable for Muhammad’s ineligibility in its statement. It said he “is not eligible to compete in tonight’s game due to violations of NCAA amateurism rules. In addition to other pending issues, Muhammad accepted travel and lodging during three unofficial visits to two NCAA member schools.”
The NCAA had been investigating Muhammad for months involving alleged improper benefits he received in his recruitment from boosters of his Las Vegas AAU program and the alleged improper acceptance of airline flights for some of his recruiting visits. He chose UCLA over Kentucky and Duke.
The NCAA said its staff requested specific documents on July 31 to help evaluate Muhammad’s eligibility. However, the NCAA said its enforcement staff didn’t receive the majority of the requested documents for review until Sept. 25, followed by more information on Oct. 10, and what it called “additional critical information” on Nov. 1.
Muhammad’s parents were interviewed last week, according to the NCAA. It said NCAA staff and UCLA submitted the agreed-upon facts on Nov. 9 and a decision was rendered within hours.
Muhammad had been practicing with the Bruins until he strained his right shoulder on Oct. 25. Coach Ben Howland said this week that Muhammad was “real close” to being able to play, pending the outcome of the NCAA probe.
“The guy is 18 and he just wants to play,” center Joshua Smith said this week. “He’s waiting and waiting and waiting to hear something. He’s at every practice watching or on the sideline getting ready.”
Howland said last week that he was “very confident” about Muhammad being cleared to play.
Freshman Kyle Anderson was cleared to play by the NCAA last week after being investigated for potential recruiting violations. The NCAA said it found no evidence to substantiate such claims. The forward from Jersey City, N.J., was among the nation’s top recruits last spring and was projected to start Friday night’s game at Pauley.
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UCLA freshman Shabazz Muhammad ruled ineligible by the NCAA
Ninety minutes before UCLA opened its season against Indiana State in the first game at newly renovated Pauley Pavilion, the Bruins made an announcement that tempered the celebratory mood.
UCLA revealed the NCAA has declared highly touted freshman Shabazz Muhammad ineligible indefinitely due to a violation of amateurism rules, not a surprising ruling but certainly a damaging one. Muhammad, a 6-foot-5 wing, was the centerpiece of a recruiting class UCLA hoped would revitalize a program that has missed the NCAA tournament two of the past three seasons.
What remains unclear is exactly how much time Muhammad will miss. The NCAA's initial ruling reportedly stems from a financial adviser paying for Muhammad's travel and lodging expenses during several of his recruiting visits, but the NCAA's statement says it's also looking into "other pending issues" that could impact the length of his suspension.
UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero issued a statement Friday that says the school is "extremely disappointed" by the NCAA's decision. The Bruins reportedly had hoped the fact that the financial adviser in question is a longtime family friend of Muhammad and his parents would lead the NCAA to reach a different decision.
"The University and our compliance staff have fully cooperated with the NCAA throughout this entire period, and we believe the decision is incorrect and unjust to Shabazz," Guerrero said. "UCLA will expeditiously pursue its options to challenge this determination. When a final resolution has been reached by the NCAA, we will swiftly communicate the news to the entire Bruin family."
Guerrero's use of words like "finally," "incorrect" and "unjust" surely stems as much from his displeasure with the timing of the NCAA's announcement as the fact that Muhammad cannot play.
UCLA spent $136 million renovating Pauley Pavilion and hoped that Friday night's game would be a celebration of a new building and a new era. Instead that will be overshadowed by the absence of a player touted as the best freshman to come to UCLA since Kevin Love and a potential top five pick in next June's NBA draft.
The NCAA defended the timing of its announcement by noting that it requested specific documents on July 31 and did not receive the majority of the information it needed until September or October.
"After reviewing thousands of pages of information, the NCAA interviewed Muhammad's parents last week," the NCAA's statement read. "The staff and the university then submitted the agreed-upon facts the afternoon of November 9. The NCAA then rendered a decision within a matter of hours. As demonstrated by the facts, we are committed to resolving the remaining matters as quickly as possible."
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Thanks for posting this on BZ, bruinfan13.
NCAA statement on UCLA student-athlete Shabazz Muhammad
NCAA.org
Publish date: Nov 9, 2012
UCLA student-athlete Shabazz Muhammad is not eligible to compete in tonight’s game due to violations of NCAA amateurism rules. In addition to other pending issues, Muhammad accepted travel and lodging during three unofficial visits to two NCAA member schools.
The university and the NCAA enforcement staff agreed on the set of facts in the case, which led to the determination that a violation occurred. NCAA member schools have established standards to determine when an individual may provide financial assistance to student-athletes. These criteria, which were not met in this case, are in place to identify when benefits are provided based on a student-athlete’s athletic ability.
The NCAA is committed to providing thorough, yet timely decisions regarding student-athlete eligibility. The expediency of these decisions can hinge on the level of timely cooperation of all involved parties.
In the case of Muhammad, the NCAA staff requested specific documents on July 31 to assist in the evaluation of Muhammad’s eligibility. However, the NCAA enforcement staff did not receive the majority of the requested documents for review until September 25, followed by more information on October 10, and the staff was granted access to additional important information on November 1.
After reviewing thousands of pages of information, the NCAA interviewed Muhammad’s parents last week. The staff and the university then submitted the agreed-upon facts the afternoon of November 9. The NCAA then rendered a decision within a matter of hours. As demonstrated by the facts, we are committed to resolving the remaining matters as quickly as possible.
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