Shabazz Muhammad’s story is a good one, and his father could probably tell it better than anyone.
His father, Ron Holmes, might have taken a page from Marv Marinovich, who is infamous for raising his son, Todd, like a lab rat in hopes of someday playing in the NFL.
It worked. But after being selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 1983 NFL Draft, Todd became one of the biggests busts in draft history.
According to the Associated Press, Holmes, like Marinovich, groomed Muhammad to someday play in the NBA.
Muhammad says his father is a good man, but some of his father’s actions got Muhammad in trouble, including:
- $1,600 fine and three-game suspension at UCLA for accepting travel and lodging during three unofficial visits, all arranged by his father.
- To gain an edge against the competition, Holmes said Muhammad was a year younger than he was. The L.A. Times broke that story in March.
After all of the trouble, Muhammad has asked Holmes to stay away from his basketball life.
“It was difficult,” Muhammad said of that conversation. “Growing up since I was a kid, he was always in the gym with me. And now he’s not in the gym with me. It’s difficult. But it’s been a month and I’m starting to be a grown man. So I’m just used to it and trying to have fun with it and he’s happy I got drafted to the Timberwolves.”
“My dad is a great guy, but with basketball, we don’t really talk about it. He’s just being a dad and just helping me out with life now.”
