Self-described sore-loser Muhammad is returning from injury, leading ASU

For the majority of Luther Muhammad’s collegiate career, pain and injury management have been something to deal with. Discomfort in his shoulder began halfway through the 6-foot-3 guard’s freshman season at Ohio State and continued throughout the following year.

Solutions were sought, and remedies were attempted, but the annoyance caused by pain limited the New Jersey native from playing with great comfort.

“Sophomore year, it got a little worse,” Muhammad said. The on-court aesthetic for him in Columbus continued to change as he attempted to ease the pain and find a comfortable answer. “One game you would see me wearing (a sleeve) on the left, another game you would see me wearing it on the right. It was definitely hard to play with – especially shoot with.”

Pain management strategies helped Muhammad shoot 36.1 percent from 3-point range during his two years as a Buckeye. While the shoulder sleeves attempted to give comfort to him, his 3-point percentage fell from 37.5 percent as a freshman to 34.7 as a sophomore. In recalling the strategies used to combat his shoulder discomfort, Muhammad sounds like someone with sleep issues. Instead of tossing and turning, he’d add and subtract accessories from his gameday outfit to find the easiest way to compete.

“There have been times I would be frustrated in the game, and halfway through the game, I would take it off,” said Muhammad. “My trainer would be yelling at me like, ‘hey, you’ve gotta come out and put it back on.’ I’d tell him, ‘I’m good,’ and not put it back on.”

But Muhammad’s shoulder was far from good. After the 2019-20 season, Muhammad met with doctors who told him surgery would decrease the chances of the shoulders popping out by 90 percent. It wasn’t a must-have operation, but the guard felt the surrounding circumstances made it his best option.

“I’m like, ‘Listen, man, let’s just do it,’” Muhammad said he told the doctor after hearing his options. “Let’s get it over with and done with. It’s my transfer year. It’s definitely a COVID year. If there’s any year to sit out, it’s definitely a COVID year where games are getting canceled, and there’s not a definite schedule.”

As Muhammad rehabbed throughout the pandemic-riddled season, he watched from the sideline as a newcomer while Arizona State underwent a nightmare season. Picked to finish second in the Pac-12 in the preseason media poll, ASU featured a preseason All-American in Remy Martin and highly ranked recruits like Marcus Bagley and Josh Christopher. Still, things never came together for the Sun Devils, who went 11-14.

A self-described sore loser, Muhammad said he didn’t take well to the uncontrollable aspect of a losing season. Despite having never donned the maroon and gold for the Sun Devils, he was vocal with teammates about what was not working.

“If I see something wrong, I’m going to talk on it right there and then,” he said. “I’m not afraid to speak. Even after bad games, I’m going to get to yelling at guys and tell them what we’re doing wrong as a whole. That’s just me.

“I care about winning so much. If you don’t like me because I’m trying to get you to do better or do something better, then I’m OK with that.”

Stepping inside a practice for the Sun Devils provides a glimpse into the vocal nature of Muhammad. During Wednesday’s open portion of practice, the second-year Sun Devil was vocal on defense and audibly participating even when not on the floor. Head coach Bobby Hurley has called him one of the leaders of the Sun Devils and complimented the communication ASU exhibited in its closed-door scrimmage Saturday.

“It was probably the best a group that I’ve had has communicated this early,” Hurley said of the secret scrimmage. That communication can be – in part – traced back to dialogue returners had surrounding last year’s failure.

When sophomore forward Marcus Bagley and fifth-year forward Kimani Lawrence returned to Arizona State along with junior forward Jalen Graham and Muhammad, the four spent time reviewing last season’s issues and diagnosing what needed to change.

“We definitely had conversations about what we wanted to fix, and one of them was moving the ball a little bit more, and the main thing was just playing hard,” Muhammad said. “Playing hard and effort. Care about winning and losing. That was our main thing all summer and all preseason up until now. We still harp on it.

“Playing hard, executing, and the will to win. When times get tough, don’t fold.”

If coaches’ voices fail to resonate, Hurley said Muhammad’s provides another chance to connect.

“If practice is sliding, he’s another voice,” said Hurley of what Muhammad provides as a leader. “It’s not the coaches constantly demanding and trying to urge guys to compete and play hard. We haven’t had to do that a whole lot, to be honest – but when we dip or weren’t concentrating or not executing, then Luther is really one of the main guys who has been vocal about that.”

In his first season playing games for Arizona State, Muhammad will be a part of a backcourt featuring three other transfer guards, leading as the only returning scholarship guard from last year’s team. Muhammad paid high compliments to Marreon Jackson, DJ Horne, and Jay Heath for their ability to drop egos upon arrival in Tempe.

“What jumped out to me as far as the newcomers is every newcomer that came in averaged a lot of minutes and a lot of buckets,” Muhammad said. Jackson (18.1) at Toledo, Horne (15.1) at Illinois State, and Heath (14.5) at Boston College each averaged double figures last season. “No one came in with a cocky attitude. Everyone is level-headed and humble and always wants to work and get better.”

Recalling his return to the practice court, Muhammad chuckles. Crediting his doctor and physical therapist, he says he got back in the gym before he was supposed to, even upsetting some with his urge to participate quicker than scheduled.

“I know a lot of people get these shoulder surgeries and come back shooting different,” he said, citing a pain-free feeling post-surgery. “I actually believe I shoot a lot better than I shot it before the surgery. I feel like I’m not nervous to swipe down on the ball, thinking (the shoulder) is going to pop out. I’m actually even more aggressive now.”

During an open practice, one play stands out as evidence of his shoulder comfort. Early in the viewing period, Muhammad ran off two screens and caught a baseline out-of-bounds play, rose, and swished through a baseline jumper. His physical comfort compliments the coach-like mentality and outlook change he added after a season on the sideline.

“It was frustrating and very different because I’d never been away from basketball for that long,” Muhammad said. “But it was also a learning experience because it gave me an opportunity to see the game from a different perspective, kind of from a coach’s view or fans view to see the things that us players don’t always see on the court.”

Remaining cognizant of the bigger picture and what is expected of Arizona State this year (the Sun Devils were picked to finish seventh in the preseason Pac-12 poll) keeps the competitive fire going for Muhammad.

“We haven’t accomplished nothing,” a self-aware Muhammad says. “We’re not picked to win nothing, so that’s just a chip on our shoulder right there.”

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