Mustafa Shakur Sees Level Of Interest Rise

Mustafa Shakur, a smooth 6-3, 170 pound junior combo/shooting guard from Philadelphia, Penn., will be working out before several top division one programs today. Among them are Syracuse and Seton Hall. Both staffs are expected to be watching and showing their "love" for Shakur today at this workout. Due to the NCAA restrictions on tournaments, now workouts are the only events being sanctioned.

The workout is planned for later today. The contact period has been extended to October 9th for coaches due to the horrific events of September 11th. So there will be more time to go do this, though many coaches have expressed their frustration that they can't see a good group of kids anymore on a weekend.

Shakur, over the past six months, has seen his recruiting process intensify. He is receiving quite a bit of recruiting attention over the past couple of weeks.

Shakur is a very talented guard who had a great spring and summer. The first time we saw Mustafa he enjoyed a fine weekend at the fourth annual Rumble in the Bronx at Fordham University.

Though he get much less ink than 6-5 Philly Elite shooting guard and Florida bound teammate Matt Walsh, Shakur demonstrated why he is likely to take a ride up the depth chart on many recruiting lists this summer.

Shakur has a pretty jump stroke beyond the three point arc, and is a deadly shooter off the dribble or via the catch. He has a solid handle, although his lack of strength at times hurts him on drives to the basket, where he often loses the ball.

Shakur showed that he can play some point, and he will use the glass adroitly on drives to avoid congestion in the lane on forays to the basket.

Shakur said he has been offered a scholarship by St. Joseph's, and has also seen interest from Temple, Providence, Villanova, Drexel, Siena and Western Kentucky entering the summer.

This past season at William Penn, Shakur averaged 18.8 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals per game. He said he has a 2.0 GPA but has yet to take either the SAT or ACT.