One of the most controversial players in college basketball this season could be a Sixer with the 11th pick overall in the 2013 NBA Draft. The player that I am talking about is UCLA freshman shooting guard Shabazz Muhammad. Every day it seems like there is something new coming out about his life but that does not take away from his tremendous talent and skill.
Before I talk about Muhammad's skills, let's get this straight he is 20 years old and not 19 as many people thought. Now Shabazz is a big guard coming in at 6-6 and 222 pounds. He is an athlete and could help the Sixers off the bench or maybe playing next to Jrue Holiday, who also went to UCLA. Muhammad is being compared to Michael Redd and MarShon Brooks; if the Sixers or any team can get that type of player out him then he will have a long successful career in the NBA.
One thing that came to my mind when Shabazz Muhammad is being compared to Redd and Brooks is scorer and can put the ball in the basket, in which the Sixers need tons of help doing that. This past season as a freshman, Muhammad scored 17.9 points and grabbed 5.2 rebounds per game.
But the thing is with Muhammad coming out as a freshman his game is not totally developed yet. Meaning drafting him at 11 could be a huge risk for the Sixers or could be a huge reward if he pans out. The risks meaning that he will not play defense and if his shot is not falling he will zone out and have bad body language. The second risk definitely reminds me of current Sixers shooting guard Evan Turner.
Finally, if the Sixers do draft Muhammad with the 11th pick overall, he will not be rushed as the team already has an established backcourt in Holiday and Turner. So Muhammad can sit and learn behind this backcourt as he is more of a prospect than a NBA ready player.
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