With a little more than 48 hours to go before Shabazz Muhammad and Nerlens Noel are set to announce their college plans Wednesday night on ESPNU (7:30 EST), sources say both players remain undecided.
Following his 35-point performance at the Nike Hoops Summit Saturday night in Portland, Ore., Muhammad met over the weekend with Kentucky coach John Calipari and Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, sources told SNY.tv.
“It’s really tough for him,” one source said of Muhammad.
“It definitely isn’t as fun as people think,” Muhammad told ESPN.com. “It’s all you think about. It’s a tough decision.”
UCLA coach Ben Howland did not meet with the 6-foot-6 Muhammad this weekend but sources said the California school remains the narrow clubhouse favorite to land the Bishop Gorman star.
Several high school players weighed in with their opinions on ESPN.com, with various players saying they expect Muhammad to pick UCLA, Kentucky and Duke.
“UCLA,” Wayne Selden of the Tilton (N.H.) School told ESPN.com. “I think he and Kyle Anderson would be a force in the Pac-12.”
Said Gonzaga’s Kris Jenkins: “Kentucky. He thinks Coach Cal can help him reach his goal of the NBA faster.”
Duke signee Rasheed Sulaimon added: “Duke. I really believe that Shabazz is gonna join me next year because he’s a competitor and wants to win. Coach K is the ultimate competitor and does great with guards like Shabazz. I believe we can do a lot of damage right away.”
As for the 6-foot-10 Noel, sources told SNY.tv he, too, remains undecided, with most people expecting him to pick Kentucky over Georgetown.
Of the dozen players polled by ESPN.com, 10 said Noel would land at Kentucky, two said Georgetown and none said Syracuse.
“Kentucky,” Wayne Selden, Noel’s Tilton school teammate, told ESPN.com. “He’d fit right in and replace Anthony Davis.”
lob4uk / April 9, 2012
we need u shabazz at ky..but we want u more than we need u!! and that’s alot!! we hear at BBN will really stand behind the team, and each individual student/player! i know u don’t read this, if u do, just remember, we really want u to come to ky. shabazz, nerlens, anthony, archie, alex, john hood,kyle w, ryan harrow a great jr gaurd. so shabazz we would LOVE to have u!! we think coach cal could help ur pro game quicker, not just to shoot u through like a herd of cattle, but to make progress with more knowledge, faster..that’s really something to concider!
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