The decision was truly simple in his mind.
Mustafa Abdul-Hamid had two options coming out of high school.
He could have gone to an Ivy League school to be the star of the
basketball team. Or he could have attended a university boasting an
athletic program that tops all others and perhaps remain in the
shadows of his All-American teammates.
The choice may seem difficult to most, but for Abdul-Hamid it
was quite clear.
By choosing the first option, he would be tested academically
but wouldn’t see the drastic improvement in his basketball
skills that he would see by seizing the latter opportunity.
Sticking to his belief in facing challenges and improving,
Abdul-Hamid chose UCLA and found himself moving to Westwood rather
than Cambridge, Mass., joining Ben Howland’s Bruins rather
than the Harvard Crimson, a team that heavily recruited the point
guard.
“I came down to visit (UCLA) and I saw the intensity coach
Howland brought, and I saw it as an environment I could really grow
and get better in,” Abdul-Hamid said.
“He wanted to play basketball at the highest level and
compete at the highest level,” Howland said.
During his visit, the St. Louis native saw something that was
missing at Harvard ““ the competitiveness, not in the
classroom but on the basketball court.
When he visited UCLA, he witnessed the play of Jordan Farmar and
Darren Collison first-hand. Not only was the duo taking on the
opposition, they would go at each other every day at practice,
something Abdul-Hamid wanted to be a part of after seeing Collison
improve over the span of his freshman season.
“I knew if I came here, I’d get some experience
playing against them,” he said. “I saw that Darren
improved every day, and I knew that’s what I wanted to do and
this was the best place for me to bring my game up.”
Abdul-Hamid hasn’t wasted any time doing just that,
according to Howland. He has gone up against Collison and freshman
Russell Westbrook at practice on a daily basis, which has made him
work hard to step up to their level.
At the same time, Abdul-Hamid hasn’t let himself put
basketball above everything else. He has stayed strong on
academics, which is what gave him the chance to go to Harvard.
Graduating with honors and earning a 3.95 GPA at St. Louis
Country Day School was just the beginning of what the freshman
hopes to do academically in his lifetime, with UCLA being a part of
the next stage.
“I love to learn, and I love to read and write,”
Abdul-Hamid said. “It’s always been a priority and
something I’ve enjoyed.”
Though he could have received a highly respected degree from
Harvard had he chosen to go there, he said the challenge would have
been more one-dimensional.
“We were really fortunate to get him to come to
UCLA,” Howland said. “He could’ve gotten in
anywhere from an academic standpoint. He’s a very bright kid,
a great teammate and a good person. I have a high regard for
him.”
Much of that respect comes from the freshman’s outlook,
mindset and composure as both a student and member of the UCLA
men’s basketball team.
“I think you challenge yourself, and the way you get
better is by being in a competitive environment,” Abdul-Hamid
said. “I just have to keep working and keep competing, and
ultimately I’m going to be a better player from giving it my
all and contributing in whatever way I can to the team.”