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Shabazz Muhammad ruled ineligible for amateurism rules violation, UCLA plans to appeal

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UCLA freshman wing Shabazz Muhammad has been ruled ineligible for a violation of amateur rules, the school announced Friday evening.

The school gave no specific timeframe, but plans to appeal the ruling.

“The NCAA has finally determined that a violation of the NCAA amateurism rules has occurred involving UCLA freshman guard Shabazz Muhammad and his family,” the release reads. “As a result, he is ineligible for competition at this time. We are extremely disappointed that the NCAA has made this determination.”

“The University and our compliance staff have fully cooperated with the NCAA throughout this entire period, and we believe the decision is incorrect and unjust to Shabazz. UCLA will expeditiously pursue its options to challenge this determination. When a final resolution has been reached by the NCAA, we will swiftly communicate the news to the entire Bruin family.”

According to a statement from the NCAA, Muhammad “accepted travel and lodging during three unofficial visits to two NCAA member schools,” causing the violation.

Possible eligibility problems for Muhammad were brought to light by a report earlier this year from CBSSports.com, a story published before Muhammad had committed to UCLA. According to the report, the NCAA had taken an interest in a possible link between the star freshman’s family and two financial advisors, Benjamin Lincoln and Ken Kavanaugh.

Muhammad is part of perhaps the best recruiting class in the country, one that was expected to change UCLA’s fortunes and possibly provide the pieces for a run at a Pac-12 title.

An explosive scorer, Muhammad will be out for the Bruins’ game against Indiana State at Pauley Pavilion Friday night and for an indeterminate amount of time as UCLA appeals the ruling.

Muhammad’s teammate, Kyle Anderson, was cleared by the NCAA late last month. Tony Parker and Jordan Adams round out coach Ben Howland’s 2012 class.

Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_