Coach | Notre Dame Just Got Better Adding Sir Mohammed

Ask Scott Taylor about Sir Mohammed‍ and the Myers Park High School head basketball coach is more likely to talk about the 2024 North Carolina guard’s character than his talent.

Taylor calls Mohammed a “humble” and “thoughtful” young man capable of making those around him better on and off the court.

Those are surely some of the reasons Notre Dame head coach Micah Shrewsberry and his staff are fired up about getting a commitment from the 6-foot-6 combo guard on Saturday, but not all of them.

For basketball reasons alone, Mohammed is either a Top 50 or Top 100 player in the country depending on who you ask.

Mohammed gets it done differently than most elite high school off-guards.

“He's going to be a decision-maker with the ball, not necessarily have playing him as a direct point guard, but he's going to be able to facilitate,” Taylor says. “He can be a primary ballhandler if they need him to be.

“I'm sure that he'll be a piece that the offense run through. He's just got tremendous vision, especially in ball screen situations or closeout situations. He's going to read the defense and even if it's not the direct pass to the score, he'll make the old-school hockey assist, the pass that leads to the pass. He's going to get it to the right guy and the offense will flow with him.”

Taylor has also seen Mohammed improve over the past few years.

“He continues to develop and improve his perimeter jump shot, which is just going to stretch him further,” the coach says. “He's gotten bigger and stronger. He's gotten more bouncy and explosive and athletic. I think he's probably 6-6 now, so he can take the contact and finish in the lane. But more than anything, he's going to help be able to spread the floor and facilitate it and get it to guys in positions where they can make plays.”

Taylor laughs and admits that style is a reflection of Mohammed’s personality.

“Very, very much so,” he says. “He came in that way. His ninth grade season was COVID season and we didn't get to play a ton, but by the end of the year we were already asking him or encouraging him to be willing to almost be a little bit more selfish at times.

“I think that's a place where his game's grown a lot. He has really learned when and where his team needs him to, to kind of put the foot on the gas a little bit and how that can benefit his team. He's shown that at some times this summer. I think that they've had some games for his travel team he's been able to do that. He has definitely done that for us over the course of the last couple years.

“It's very much indicative of who he is; wanting to be able to connect everybody, make sure everybody is really thriving in their role. And he sees that as a big part of what his job is, to make everybody else successful.”

Youth Champion Navy Notre Dame Stacked Logo Basketball T-Shirt ($29.99)