The NCAA has ruled UCLA freshman Shabazz Muhammad ineligible, the Bruins learned on Friday.
Shabazz Muhammad ruled ineligible by NCAA
The Bruins’ star freshman will not be able to play Friday, after the NCAA ruled him ineligible for accepting travel and lodging during three unofficial visits to two college campuses.
Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE
The NCAA statement read:
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.
Muhammad has been under investigation by the NCAA for connections between his family and a financial planner that gave money to Muhammad’s summer team in Las Vegas.
In a statement, UCLA said they were extremely disappointed of the NCAA’s decision and said that they plan to appeal the decision.
Muhammad was rated as one of the top high school players coming into college basketball this season and was the crown jewel of Ben Howland’s recruiting class. He is also one of the big reasons that UCLA opened the season ranked No. 13 in both major polls. Both he and fellow incoming freshman Kyle Anderson were under NCAA scrutiny most of the summer and fall. Anderson was just recently cleared to play last week.
The silver lining for the Bruins is that the NCAA hasn’t revealed if Muhammad is completely ineligible or still will be able to play some games this year.
