Issa Muhammad Talks Florida Offer, Updates His Recruitment
Three years ago you would have been hard pressed to find someone in Georgia who would have told you that Issa Muhammad was among the top players in the Peach State. Fast forward to today and Muhammad is a prospect on the rise.
The 6-foot-9 agile forward transferred from Lakeside-DeKalb to Norcross High School and it appears to have paid off for him. Muhammad did not take the court with his Norcross High School teammates until December but put up very respectable averages of 6.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game.
Muhammad’s coming out party may was in a Georgia High School Association AAAAAAA quarterfinal game against McEachern High School. Muhammad had, what many onlookers felt was his best overall performance of the season with 14 points, 14 rebounds (three OREB), two assists and three blocks in a win. He connected on six-of-nine field goals (67 percent) for the game.
What makes it impressive aren't just the stats, but that he had that type of game against 6-foot-10 Babatunde Akinbola who committed to Auburn in January.
Playing for Game Elite Gold in Dallas last weekend, Muhammad averaged just about what he did during his high school season – seven points and 6.3 rebounds – in three games according to the adidas Gauntlet website.
Listing offers from “Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, Clemson, Charlotte, FGCU and probably about eight or nine more,” Muhammad said before telling GatorsTerritory.com that a few schools are standing out to him.
“For sure Clemson, said Muhammad before continuing “Florida and Florida Gulf Coast.”
We asked Muhammad what the coaches from those three schools have been saying to him and what has elevated those programs at this point in his recruitment.
Clemson: “They tell me every day how I fit well in their program. That I have a chance to start. My stepmom she graduated from Clemson.”
Florida Gulf Coast: “They like the way I play. I like the way their campus looks. They’ve sent me pictures of the campus and the dorms.”
Florida: “They like the way I play, that I play hard. Coach [Jordan] Mincy came to watch me work out one day and told me I had an offer. We haven’t talked much about what my role would be yet. He came up for the McEachern game and told me that I would be a great fit for their program. I like Florida a lot. I have family down near Gainesville on my mom’s side.”
WHAT’S NEXT
Muhammad will have plenty of opportunity in Atlanta this weekend to impress even more college recruiters because Game Elite Gold has three players – Ashton Hagans, Elias King and Jaylin Williams – in the Top 100 of the Rivals150 and one player (Kobe Brown) ranked No. 108.
GATORS TERRITORY REACTION
By offering Muhammad before the first “live period” of the travel season, Florida may jumped in the mix with Muhammad at the right time. He may only have five high major offers now, but Muhammad appears on his way to easily double that number by the end of July.