The last "true" wing (unless one counts LeBron James, who was thought to be more of a PG when drafted) to be selected #1 overall was Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson in the 1994 NBA Draft. Shabazz Muhammad is a player who has a great chance of ending this 18 year drought of scoring wings at the top spot. A definite alpha amongst the incoming freshman class, Shabazz combines high level athleticism with overpowering strength to gain competitive advantage. The lefty has an excellent wingspan and plays every possession like it was his last. He leads by example and even amongst his top peers in the high school All-Star games, was more often than not deferred to as the absolute #1 scoring option.
His major detractors will point out his strong hand dominance as well as consistency with long range shooting, two things he will definitely need to improve to ensure the top spot in the 2013 Draft. Shabazz draws comparisons to James Harden and while he might be even stronger at a similar stage of development, he is not at Harden's level as a distributor. Nonetheless, the only thing holding Shabazz from having a big time freshman season at UCLA would be questions surrounding his eligibility. If these concerns are ironed out, look for Shabazz to have the best freshman season seen at Westwood since Kevin Love was on campus.
