Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 2, 2023 47 BY JACK SOBLE Sir Mohammed, the No. 68 overall player in the 2024 On3 Industry Rank- ing, took an official visit to Notre Dame on June 18. Mohammed told Blue & Gold Illustrated shortly after his visit that he bought what Irish head coach Micah Shrewsberry sold him. "He's like me in a way that all he wants to do is win," Mohammed said. "He's a great coach. He really cares about his players. You can tell it's not a fake recruiting pitch." Mohammed, a 6-foot-6, 200-pound perimeter player from Charlotte (N.C.) Myers Park and the son of former 18- year NBA player Nazr Mohammed, has heard some of those fake recruiting pitches before. With Shrewsberry, it feels different. "At times, you hear some things and you don't feel it's completely true, but Coach Shrews is 100 percent genuine," Mohammed said. As it turned out, Mohammed had a pretty good idea after his visit that he would commit to Notre Dame. He made it official on Aug. 12 on ESPN2 at the Under Armour Next Elite game in Atlanta, with his dad and his mom, Mandi, by his side. Mohammed is listed as a small for- ward, but he doesn't feel like that's to- tally accurate. For Myers Park, he plays more of a point guard role, because his passing, court vision and basketball IQ make him most effective at that spot. "The way he sees the spacing, the way he reads the defense, the way he manip- ulates the defense by being able to come off ball screens and drag help with him, and then his vision and his strength and size, and ability to make passes over the top of that, really make him more of a point guard," Myers Park coach Scott Taylor said. Mohammed told On3's Jamie Shaw in May that Shrewsberry sees him as "a lead guard who can do a lot on the floor." "People are starting to realize that I'm a lot better when I have the ball in my hands, making plays with people around me," Mohammed said. "But I feel like that's always how I've been since I was little, just a really good passer, a really good playmaker." At least part of that, Taylor believes, comes from Mohammed's natural poise and demeanor, which translates to the way he goes about himself off the court as well. "He's quiet, but he wants you to get to know him and have a relationship," Tay- lor said. "When he begins to open up, you begin to see how much time, energy and thought he puts into other people." Taylor said Mohammed has shown those traits since his freshman year, which was the season played during the COVID-19 pandemic. Myers Park only played seven games that season, but in about the fifth game, Taylor recalls, Mohammed started to show that he was mature beyond his years. "A lot of that is probably innate or comes as part of the home he grows up in, and as much as he's been around a professional approach," Taylor said. "Most teenage kids are just not quite as consistent." The "professional approach" Taylor is referencing comes from Mohammed's father, who was a highly recruited center and won two national championships with Kentucky before his long NBA ca- reer. He now serves as the general man- ager for the Oklahoma City Blue, the G-League affiliate of the Thunder. Mohammed played three seasons in Oklahoma City, where Kevin Durant once called him the nicest teammate he ever had. Sir, who was 6 years old at the time, went to every game during the Thunder's run to the NBA finals during the 2011-12 season. "My dad's been a big driving factor in why I fell in love with basketball, and a big reason why I play today," Moham- med said. ✦ Fighting Irish Land Top-100 Player With NBA Bloodlines "My dad's been a big driving factor in why I fell in love with basketball, and a big reason why I play today." MOHAMMED FILM ANALYSIS "Sir Mohammed has good length with a pro- jectable frame. The most interesting part of the 6-foot-6 forward's game is his passing. Mo- hammed has excellent court vision, with great touch on his on-target and on-time deliveries. "While he is an average athlete, which may create questions on who he guards, he is a smart team defender who understands angles. He has a consistent release on his jump shot, but it has a tendency to flatten out and is in- consistent. He can attack closeouts in straight lines and is a good area rebounder." — On3 national recruiting analyst Jamie Shaw COMMITMENT PROFILE SIR MOHAMMED The On3 Industry Ranking lists Mohammed as the No. 68 overall player in the country. His father, Nazr, played 18 seasons in the NBA and was part of two national championship teams at Kentucky. PHOTO COURTESY SIR MOHAMMED