Shabazz Muhammad Reinstated by NCAA

Photo by Stephen Dunn

Five-star recruit, and No. 1 small forward in the United States Shabazz Muhammad was reinstated by the NCAA late Friday afternoon, Baxter Holmes of the Los Angeles Times confirmed. 

Shabazz's ineligibility had been in question for a long time due to some impermissible benefits that Muhammad had accepted while he was being recruited. He was ruled ineligible last week, and his status was not certain. 

Recently, though, Holmes of the L.A. Times published an article suggesting that the NCAA had prejudged the entire situation, and was going to rule him ineligible no matter the circumstance. Whether or not that had anything to do with it is unknown, but one could assume that there would be a lot of heat lit under the organization if an exposé of this nature was going to be out in the open.

The NCAA released a statement regarding the matter today:

The NCAA and UCLA have resolved the eligibility case of Shabazz Muhammad. UCLA acknowledged amateurism violations occurred and asked the NCAA on Friday afternoon to reinstate Muhammad. The university required the student-athlete to miss 10 percent of the season (three games) and repay approximately $1,600 in impermissible benefits. The NCAA agreed the actions taken by the university were sufficient. Because Muhammad has already sat out three games, he is now eligible to compete.

You can read the full statement by the NCAA here.

Muhammad, the top swingman recruit in the country, can join the UCLA Bruins immediately, and will be playing in the Legends Classic on Monday against the Georgetown Hoyas, and Tuesday night, should the Bruins defeat the Hoyas, they may perhaps play the No.1 Indiana Hoosiers, in a matchup of not only two of the best teams in the country, but two of the best programs in college basketball history. The Legends Classic will be held in the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

This is great news for not only Bruins fans but fans of college basketball. Muhammad solidifies the top recruiting class in the entire country, and the rest of this team, as Ben Howland brings together possibly the most talented group of players since 2008, when the Bruins last made the Final Four. To say UCLA fans have been impatient throughout this entire matter would be an understatement.

The country has been waiting to see what not only Muhammad can do, but this team also. UCLA, obviously, draws a lot of attention by the brand name, and this talented group has been exciting college basketball fans around the country. I, of course, picked them to win it all in our college basketball preview, so I'm certainly banking on Muhammad doing well, and for the Bruins to do well also.

Should the Bruins beat the USC Trojans in football, this might be one of the most banner weekends in the Westwood area in a long, long time.