Shabazz Muhammad was the top rated prospect out of high school, but he didn’t live up to expectations during his lone season at UCLA. Ben McLemore wasn’t rated nearly as high heading to KU, but ended up being selected seven spots ahead of Muhammad.
McLemore came out of nowhere to most. He broke the freshmen record for most points in a season at Kansas.
McLemore and Muhammad had different routes to the NBA but now it appears they’re having different transitions to the big league as well. Muhammad was sent home from the NBA’s rookie program a couple of weeks ago for having a woman in his room.
Ben wasn’t very fond of Shabazz’s actions.
Shabazz Muhammad of the Minnesota Timberwolves was actually dismissed from the program for violating a rule and allegedly bringing a female guest into his hotel room.
“Very disappointing,” McLemore said, asked his reaction. “After they (were) telling us the rules, what not to do, for him to do that … it’s just unbelievable after they just explained the different rules to us.
“Hopefully he’ll learn from his mistakes. Hopefully that won’t stop him from being the basketball player who he is, just keep playing, going with his career.”
It sounds like Ben McLemore is Shabazz Muhammad’s father the way he spoke about his disappointment in the Wolves rookie. It’ll be interesting to see if Shabazz takes these comments personal and turns this into a rivalry.