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13 Nazr Mohammed

Name
Nazr Mohammed
Position
Center
Class
JR
Hometown (Last School)
Chicago, IL (Kenwood)
Ht
6'10"
Wt
238
Seasons
1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98
Birthday
September 5, 1977

Nazr Mohammed was born Nazr Tahiru Mohammed on September 5, 1977, in Chicago.  His father, Alhaji Na T. A. Mohammed, known as Tahiru, had come to the United States from Ghana in the early 1970s and rose out of poverty, starting a restaurant, several gas stations, a clothing store, and a shipping office, and eventually owning a fleet of taxis. Mohammed grew up on Chicago’s South Side, in a neighborhood he described to Phil Jasner of the Philadelphia Daily News as “lower-middle class. I stayed on the last block between the good neighborhood and the bad neighborhood…. The projects were on one side, nice houses on the other.” His parents were separated, and his mother, Mary, lived in Ghana. Mohammed’s father was a major authority figure in his life, however, and Mohammed had an image of him making the hajj, or Islamic pilgrimage, to the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca tattooed on his left arm.

Mohammed attended high school at Kenwood Academy, graduating in 1995. Mohammed honed his basketball skills with his younger brother Alhaji, who later played varsity basketball at the University of Louisville and in international leagues. Attending high school at Chicago’s Kenwood Academy (a public “magnet” school that requires an admission exam), the six-foot, ten-inch Nazr ballooned to 315 pounds. He was a good shooter, but at that weight he didn’t seem to have the mobility for college basketball, much less the professional level. The coach who saw the potential in the oversized youngster was University of Kentucky coach Rick Pitino, who was stuck with a pair of undersized centers and decided it would be easier to work Mohammed into shape.

Mohammed entered the University of Kentucky in the fall of 1995 at a hefty 315 pounds, and saw little playing time during their NCAA Championship season. After slimming down for his sophomore year, Mohammed shared the starting center spot with Jamaal Magloire and was a key contributor in 1997, when the Wildcats were runners-up to Arizona. Mohammed once again shared the starting post position with Magloire in 1998, and once again they brought the NCAA Championship home to Kentucky, for the second time in three years.

“Coming in here, Nazr knew he had to do a lot to play in this program,” Kentucky teammate Allen Edwards told David Seigerman of CNN/Sports Illustrated. “He had to lose weight and become a lot quicker. He did that. He made the sacrifices.” Teammates became used to seeing Mohammed running back to the hotel from road-game practices rather than taking the team bus, and he dropped 30 pounds in his first year at Kentucky, 1995-96, on his way down to a professional playing weight of 240. He saw little court time during Kentucky’s 1996 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship run, but he became the team’s starting center for part of his sophomore year as Kentucky again made the finals, and in 1997-98, as a junior, he led the team in rebounds, made the All-Southeastern Conference team, and was a key contributor as the Wildcats won their second NCAA championship in three years.

After his junior year, Mohammed decided to enter the 1998 NBA draft. He was selected by the Utah Jazz in the first round, as the 29th pick overall. Utah traded his rights to the Philadelphia 76ers for a future first-round pick, which turned out to be Quincy Lewis in the 1999 NBA draft.  He became the first individual of Ghanaian descent to play professional basketball in the United States.  He spent two and a half seasons in Philadelphia before being traded in February 2001 to the Atlanta Hawks.  Mohammed spent 18 years in the NBA playing for 8 teams, including the Thunder and Bulls. He averaged 5.8 points and 4.7 rebounds in 1,005 regular-season games.

Mohammed returned to Kentucky to finish his education and graduated in May 2020 with a Bachelor’s of Arts and Sciences.  He was inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame in 2021.

He is the current general manager of the Oklahoma City Blue and a pro scout for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

College Statistics:

NCAA

SeasonTeamMINFGMFGA3PM3PAFTMFTAORDRPFASTTOBLKSTLPTSGMPGFG%FT%3P%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
Kentucky881329001124024183188437165.544.8345.8301.50.20.30.52.3
Kentucky66613225902458919207101125952333093917.150.9750.560.005.80.30.81.37.9
Kentucky81519031800881352602290286174364683920.959.7565.1907.20.70.91.912.0
Total-15693356060214424827925320943138134738149416.755.2858.060.005.70.50.81.48.7

Career Totals

SeasonMINFGMFGA3PM3PAFTMFTAORDRPFASTTOBLKSTLPTSGMPGFG%FT%3P%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1995-96881329001124024183188437165.544.8345.8301.50.20.30.52.3
1996-9766613225902458919207101125952333093917.150.9750.560.005.80.30.81.37.9
1997-9881519031800881352602290286174364683920.959.7565.1907.20.70.91.912.0
Total15693356060214424827925320943138134738149416.755.2858.060.005.70.50.81.48.7

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