Muhammad a huge addition for Howland, UCLA
When UCLA head coach Ben Howland met with the media last month, he was answering questions about his job security.
On Wednesday night, the questions Howland faced centered on how one signature changed the Bruins' status from middle-of-the-road Pac-12 team to potential contenders.
Only hours earlier, Howland had watched as Scout.com's No. 2-ranked high school player, Shabazz Muhammad of Las Vegas Bishop Gorman High, announced on national television that he had chosen UCLA over Duke and Kentucky.
Muhammad's decision signaled the end of a three-year recruiting battle.
"This was a long process," Howland said of Muhammad's recruitment. "Having Shabazz, the No. 1 player in the country, commit to us and sign his letter of intent was just absolutely a spectacular day for our team and our program and the whole Bruin family.
"Shabazz is undoubtedly going to have a very impactful year as a freshman."
The addition of Muhammad changes things. He joins Kyle Anderson of St. Anthony High (Jersey City, NJ) and Jordan Adams of Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) as members of the 2012 recruiting class. With Pauley Pavilion set to reopen next season, Howland can feel a buzz around his program unlike anything he's experienced in his nine seasons as Bruins head coach.
"This is a whole new era," Howland said. "I'm really excited about the future as we move forward."
It's a different way of thinking. After recently finishing what he said was the roughest season of his career, Howland is already talking about how much he likes the 2012-13 team.
What's not to like? The 6-foot-8 Anderson, ranked No. 3 by Scout.com, is said to possess the skills of a point guard. Combine him with Muhammad, Adams and the Bruins returners, and UCLA will have a good mixture of youth and veterans.
Muhammad is a gifted scorer around whom Howland plans to tailor the Bruins' offense.
Known for his defensive mind, Howland believes Muhammad can become an elite defender, a selling point in the recruiting process.
"I think potentially he can be a monster (defensively)," Howland said. "That's one of the things I know his dad (Ron Holmes) and he and I have talked about a lot. One of the reasons our players have gone from this level at UCLA and gone to the NBA and done so well is that, the difference between the NBA and college is there is less help-side defense in the pros because of the rules.
"Our players have really performed well at that end of the floor, and that really matters."
The head coach acknowledged Muhammad might be around Westwood for only one year but believes this signing will increase future recruiting efforts.
As for this class, Howland congratulated assistant coach Phil Mathews for "spearheading" the recruitment of Muhammad, Adams and Anderson.
After Muhammad made his announcement Wednesday, he called Howland to reiterate his message. Muhammad then passed the phone to Anderson, who was standing next to Muhammad.
"The first thing I said to Kyle is, 'Not only are you a great player, you are a great recruiter,' " Howland recalled. "What's great for me is these kids recruiting each other. That's the best kind of recruiting in the world.
"I think that Shabazz's interest in UCLA initially encouraged Kyle when Kyle signed. You can see how close they are. "
The Bruins' head coach hopes he's not done with this class, mentioning on numerous occasions Wednesday night he hopes UCLA can "add one more player."
Perhaps it was a not-so-subtle message to Tony Parker, a 6-9 center from Miller Grove High (Lithonia, Ga.), who is considered a top-30 player.