Shabazz Muhammad is looking at Kentucky, Duke, UCLA, Arizona, Kansas and UNLV.

USC, the alma mater of Muhammad’s father, Ron Holmes, is apparently out, as is Texas A&M.

“I narrowed my list down actually to six,” he said at the City of Palms Classic. “I think it was a good thing for me to narrow them down to six because a lot of schools were calling that I wasn’t really interested in. So now I can stay grounded on the court and get ready and go through the season.”

Shabazz Muhammad told Rivals.com that Duke, Kentucky, UCLA and UNLV are the four schools that stand out to him and that UCLA's struggles are affecting his recruitment.

"It affected it when UCLA was losing early," Muhammad said. "It had me thinking how I'd fit in. It's tough. I don't want to go to a school on the down turn. But I think they can turn it around."

Reeves Nelson, dismissed last Friday from the UCLA basketball team, has decided against transferring to another university and will be turning professional, according to his father, Brian Nelson.

The elder Nelson confirmed that there is an understanding in place for his son, a graduate of Modesto Christian High School, to play with a European team.

He said he would not comment further until a contract is in hand, but UCLA coach Ben Howland said Thursday afternoon that Nelson is headed to a team in Lithuania.

"As far as what team that will be, we can't say because we don't have a signed contract," Brian Nelson said. "Reeves is not returning to college. He's not transferring anywhere. He has every intention of turning pro."

UCLA’s three-point defense ranks next to last in the country, with opponents connecting on 45.1 percent of their three-point attempts.

With such a glaring weakness, switching to a defense that favors three-point shooters might seem like a move in the wrong direction.

"It doesn't help that [statistic] come down," Howland said. "But I would rather give up threes and try to contest those threes than layups."

He added: "I think a zone is going to benefit us, especially when we have to play big or change things up."