Former Arizona Basketball star Mustafa Shakur was just signed by the NBA G-League Oklahoma City Blues. We caught up with the Wildcat after the team beat his former Wildcats teammate, Isaiah Fox.
It was a pleasant surprise! While covering the South Bay Lakers, I always check to see if any Arizona Basketball alumni are on the opposing team’s roster. BINGO! On Sunday night, the SB Lakers played the Oklahoma City Blue. I scanned the players alma-maters and. BINGO! There it was: Mustafa Shakur, University of Arizona.
Shakur is still wearing his signature headband. His passing abilities were evident as we watched him find the open man time and time again, even though he wasn’t playing the point position.
Arizona Wildcats Basketball
My In The Front Row team made sure we filmed some Shakur highlights and sweated it out after the game juggling stories and interviews post game to hopefully get an interview with Shakur. We waited and watched the locker room door while waiting to also interview Gary Payton II (Oregon State) on his new two-way contract for the Lakers.
After wrapping up the GP2 interview, my team strolled out of the gym, and who do you think we bumped into when we had all but given up? Shakur was happy to check in and catch up with Wildcats fans, and we thank him for his time.
Let’s catch you up on Shakur’s career at Arizona. According to the Arizona Wildcats website, here are the highlights:
- Dished more assists (670) than any other player under Lute Olson
- As a senior season averaged11.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 6.9 apg, 1.5 spg in 34.8 mpg
- Arizona Basketball was 60-19 or 76% in his career when he passed five or more assists in a game
- Ranked No. 1 in the Pac-10 and No. 3 nationally in average assists at 6.9 apg
- Ranked third in assist: turnover ratio (1.89), fifth in the league in steals (1.52 spg)
- 2006-07 Ranked 2nd in minutes played (34.81)
Since leaving Arizona, Shakur has played for several G-League teams as well as playing in the NBA and overseas. He’s not the first Wildcat to not get drafted yet still make his way into professional basketball, and he still perseveres.
After not getting drafted in the 2007 NBA Draft, Shakur signed immediately with the Sacramento Kings where another Wildcat, Mike Bibby, was the point guard. After making it through preseason cuts, Bibby got hurt, and instead of the Kings relying on Shakur, they cut him and picked up Beno Udrih. It was a business move, and he understood that, but it couldn’t have been easy.
The former McDonald’s All-American had some decisions to make. He decided to play in Poland to start his professional career for Asseco Gdynia, a top team in Europe. After continuing his career in Greece and Lebanon, Shakur landed on an NBA Summer League team and with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
After that road came to an end, or a pause, he went on to play in the G-League for the Tulsa 66ers (Now the OKC Blue). The Rio Grande Vipers picked him up next.
The Vipers are the G-League team now coached by former Wildcats Matt Brase and Joseph Blair. While with the Vipers, Shakur got a shot with the Washington Wizards who signed him during the season. He played his first game against the Celtics on January 22, 2011. Even though he wore No. 15 at Arizona, he wears the No. 22 professionally as he did that night and does today with the OKC Blue.
Shakur played France and Italy and got another call in 2014 NBA season from the Thunder. He eventually worked for OKC as an intern while healing from an injury and just returned to the Blue on January 23, 2017. That’s when we got to catch up with the Arizona Standout.
Once a Wildcat always a Wildcat. The little live tweeting we did of Shakur during the game brought almost 1,000 views in five minutes, so we knew Wildcats fans would enjoy this interview.
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Shakur enjoys catching up with Wildcats fans online, so be sure to follow him on Twitter or Instagram at @StafShakur. We wish him the best of everything in his journey in the NBA. You can catch the OKC Blue on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/OKCBlue/.