Muhammad expresses himself on the hardwood part 2

Muhammad finds hope in a mentor

The name Dominique Davis means a whole lot to Jamal Muhammad, who has known his mentor since he the day he was born. Davis used to date Muhammad’s mother for a while before and after Jamal was born.

“He’s the reason why I am where I am today,” said Muhammad. “He has been the biggest father figure in my life and has kept me out of trouble and kept me in the gym and we trained a lot together.”

While at Lake Washington High School, near Seattle, he gained interest from a handful of colleges, including Portland State University. The combo guard visited PSU, but due to “grade like issues” wasn’t able to play for the Vikings, who are a Division I college in the Big Sky Conference.

“I got a look from PSU, but my grades were messed up,” said Muhammad, who admits his grades were below average in high school. “But I used to train with Lake Washington High School’s girl’s varsity assistant coach and he was friends with coach (Geoff Gibor) and called him for me.”

Gibor coached the Saints and resigned after last season. The same season that saw Muhammad average 19.5 points per game, good for fourth place in the entire NWAC.

“Gib called me one night around 10 or so and asked me to come down for a visit and to play in a open gym” he said. “And then I ended up moving down here with no scholarship or nothing. I killed last season and was given a scholarship right away.”

Muhammad is thankful for the turn around in his life, especially when it comes to his character, which he said completely transformed for the better.

“I went from a little hood guy to getting baptized and coming out here and changing my life,” he said. “I just laugh at those who try to fight now. I like to be goofy. I just try to be myself… I love joking around and making others laugh.”

What drives Muhammad?

Muhammad, who’s now averaging 16.2 points per contest to lead his team, is focused on the task at hand, which is to play the best basketball he can and to get a good education while at Mt. Hood. He still isn’t too sure where he might end up signing the dotted line for a four-year school to attend next season.

“I’ve been in contact with a lot of schools lately, including Oregon State University and George Fox called the other day, and I’m trying to get in contact with Washington State University,” he said.

As for the following stage, Muhammad said he wants to make a career of playing basketball, especially to provide for his mother.

“My biggest motivation is my mom and to take care of her,” he said. “I love basketball so much… I could get robbed, jumped, hurt or anything… but once I get on the court, it’s a whole new world.

“When I used to get into trouble, I would shoot hoops for hours and hours and sometimes until 2 a.m. When I play basketball my true self comes out and that’s my way of talking and expressing myself on the court.”