NCAA Basketball: Luther Muhammad trims list to 5, decision coming soon

Luther Muhammad trimmed his college list and set his decision date.

Ohio State transfer Luther Muhammad is in the midst of finding a new home and took a few steps to get closer to the decision on Saturday. That is when Muhammad trimmed his list from eight to five schools and announced that he would make his decision on April 14. The 6-3 guard is now considering Seton Hall, Arizona State, UCLA, West Virginia, and New Mexico — meaning that he eliminated Alabama along with Auburn and Georgia from contention. Overall, he had heard from over 20 schools since entering the NCAA transfer portal earlier this month.

Muhammad is coming off a disappointing sophomore campaign where he averaged 7.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists. While the Newark (NJ) native shot only 38.3% from the field and 34.7% from long-distance, Muhammad did make 85% of his attempts from the charity stripe. He also had 10 double-figure scoring efforts, which included a season-high 22 points on 5 of 11 shooting from the floor and 4 of 8 from beyond the arc versus Maryland on Feb. 23.  As a freshman, Muhammad averaged 7.6 points and 2.7 rebounds while shooting 37.5% from three.

The Hudson Catholic (Jersey City, NJ) product is known as a defensive specialist who is a good 3-point shooter. Muhammad will have to sit out this coming season.

Here is a look at Muhammad’s five finalists

Seton Hall: Seton Hall is very familiar with Muhammad as the Pirates were involved in his recruitment in high school. But the Pirates only have one scholarship available following the addition of grad transfer Bryce Aiken. They also lost a scholarship for the upcoming season as a result of recruiting violations. Plus, SHU is a finalist for Wichita State transfer Jamarius Burton, and the Pirates have a relatively full backcourt as well.

Arizona State: With all the recent departures, the Sun Devils have plenty of open roster spots available. ASU, which could use some help in the backcourt, has three scholarship remaining to dole out after landing Portland State point guard Holland Woods.

UCLA: Chris Smith’s departure to the NBA gives the Bruins two scholarships left to dole out this year. But coach Mick Cronin has already signed Daishen Nix, and he has brought in Kentucky transfer Johnny Juzang to go along with several other returning guards.

West Virginia: WVU has one scholarship available for 2020 though another one could open up if Oscar Tschiebwe does not return. Muhammad seemingly is a perfect fit for Bob Huggins’ system, and the Mountaineers need significant help in the backcourt.

New Mexico: The Lobos also seems to be a strong fit for Muhammad. They recently received a verbal commitment from top 25 JUCO transfer Saquan Singleton, but UNM still needs to upgrade its talent level overall.

Prediction: All five programs could use Muhammad, and I think he would fit in each place. However, I believe that WVU, Seton Hall, and New Mexico are possibly the best destinations for him. So, I am going to West Virginia, followed by New Mexico and then UCLA. Seton Hall would probably be second on the list, but the Pirates seem to be interested in going in a different direction with its last scholarship. Arizona State is just as interesting as the other options and I could see him landing in Tempe, but someone has to be last in the group.