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NCAA Warns Schools About Recruitment Of Top Recruit Shabazz Muhammad

The NCAA has warned the schools recruiting the top-ranked recruit in the nation, Shabazz Muhammad, that they are investigating financial dealings that “could compromise [his] amateur status,” according to CBS Sports.

According to CBS Sports, the NCAA is concerned about connections between Muhammad’s family and two financial advisers, Benjamin Lincoln and Ken Kavanagh. Muhammad’s father, Ron Holmes, told CBS Sports that he knows both advisers and has been questioned by the NCAA.

"We hit it off immediately and became very close friends," Holmes told CBS Sports. "When Benjamin and I met in 2007, my son Shabazz was in the seventh grade. Back in 2007, none of us knew that Shabazz would be able to play college ball, let alone be as good as he is now. In fact, I don't remember any colleges contacting us until Shabazz was in the ninth or 10th grade.

"By 2010, Shabazz was getting a lot of interest from high major colleges, including North Carolina and Duke. We had an opportunity to take unofficial visits to both schools in North Carolina. Benjamin offered to pay for our plane tickets and hotel room. When we went on the visits, we filled out the NCAA compliance forms and fully disclosed that our family friend, Benjamin Lincoln, had paid for the trips.

"When we were approached by the NCAA, we cooperated naturally. We had told the truth from the beginning and had disclosed everything. It is frustrating that we have been honest and above board from the start and now there are those who are questioning what we did. ... I don't think we've done anything wrong.”

According to CBS Sports, the two advisers paid for at least two of Muhammad’s unofficial visits to college campuses and Kavanagh has also helped fund Muhammad’s summer team. Muhammad is considering six schools, according to CBS Sports: UCLA, Kansas, Kentucky, UNLV, Duke and USC. He is ranked the #1 recruit in the 2012 class by

Rivals.com