espnW

Sons of IX

Faye and Shabazz Muhammad

How could Shabazz Muhammad not end up as a top-tier athlete? His dad, Ron Holmes, certainly held his own on the basketball court back in the day, scoring more than 1,200 points in four seasons at USC. And then there's his mom, Faye Muhammad, a basketball and track standout at Long Beach State from 1982-86. "We have a really competitive family," says Shabazz, a 6-foot-6 small forward who'll take his skills to UCLA this fall. "If I don't hear something from my dad, I hear it from her." As far back as he remembers, there have been hard-fought family games of 21 and one-on-one. (Shabazz first beat Faye when he was in eighth grade.) But these days, Mom has a different role. As it became clear that her son, the No. 2 prep in his class, was growing into a hot commodity, Faye let Dad direct the hoops side of Shabazz's recruitment; she owned the academic end. "My mom is really important because she always pushes me," Shabazz says. And he's smart to listen.