Jerrod Mustaf, the former Maryland basketball star whom the New York Knicks took with the 17th pick of the 1990 NBA Draft, passed away on Monday, multiple media outlets reported.
“The news of Jerrod passing away was heartbreaking to find out. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and all of those who were close with him,” Maryland coach Kevin Willard wrote on X.
Mustaf, who died on his 55th birthday, leaves behind a complex legacy.
The 6-foot-10, 238-pound Mustaf was a standout for the Terps, spending two years in College Park and leaving for the league after averaging 18.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 1989-1990. But his pro career was short-lived due to a dark cloud away from the court. In 1993, Mustaf’s pregnant girlfriend, Althea Hayes, was murdered by Mustaf’s cousin, Lavonnie Wooten. A chunk of anecdotal evidence, including a $1,500 payment from Mustaf to Wooten, haunting comments Hayes made before her death and a reported disagreement between Mustaf and Hayes in which she resisted his demands that she have an abortion.
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In a lengthy and detailed 2019 Sports Illustrated article, Jon Werthheim laid out the story.
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He wrote:
There would be a murder trial and a conviction, but Mustaf himself would never face charges. He was, however, characterized by police as “an investigative lead.” And that taint, he says, was “totally unfair.” It was also enough to end his NBA career. “Whether I was blackballed,” he says, “isn’t even a question.” (SI spoke with Mustaf at length over several years; he declined to respond to messages in recent weeks when told this story was being published.
The Phoenix prosecutor assigned to Hayes’s case feels this pain too. K.C. Scull, long retired, still bristles at being denied a chance to take Mustaf to trial. He’s left to wonder whether his bosses in the D.A.’s office bowed to political pressure, or maybe to the influence of an NBA team at the peak of its success. Almost 80 years old now, Scull takes inventory of his career, reflects on Mustaf, sighs and says, “It’s one of my biggest regrets that I wasn’t allowed to try this case.
But he also detailed the Mustaf that earned supporters after his playing career, when he became an activist, primarily against teen violence. He wrote: “
Mustaf speaks in a low, rolling, authoritative voice and floats easily from topic to topic, from “the inherent unfairness” of mandatory minimum sentences to “the wisdom of sanctuary cities.” He’s bright and congenial and quick-witted; as front-facing figures go, any nonprofit would be lucky to have this man. When Mustaf said, a year ago, that he was considering running for a seat on the county council, it was easy to envision him as a successful politician.
But Mustaf is at his best working with kids—”getting in there and getting dirty,” he says. More than once, he has described himself as “old school.” This is a guy who, a few years ago, launched a Pull ‘Em Up campaign, taking a stand against sagging pants. Part Malcolm X firebrand, part Get off my yard! social conservative, Mustaf challenges the boys on their jewelry, their word choice and their treatment of women. To the girls he talks about “sisterhood and self-sufficiency”; he asks them to write down vulgar, misogynistic hip-hop lyrics and then try to defend those lyrics’ appeal.
Afterward, NBA teams were unwilling to take a chance on Mustaf, who was out of the NBA after four seasons, never averaging more than 4.6 points per game. Elliott Almond wrote for the Seattle Times in 1996:
Mustaf viewed Seattle as a chance to restore a sagging image as a player and a man. Suspected of masterminding an alleged murder-for-hire scheme while playing for the Phoenix Suns three years ago, Mustaf had been unable to shake the stigma that had followed him.
Caught unaware, the Sonics learned that Maricopa County prosecutors still suspect Mustaf although he has never been charged or indicted. After only three days with the Sonics, Mustaf was gone, partly because the NBA ruled that the Sonics were over the salary cap and partly because the Sonics didn’t think it was worth the trouble to keep him.
“I thought Seattle would be prepared for it,” said Mustaf, who was released by the Charlotte Hornets a week earlier because of similar concerns.
It seems no teams in the NBA are prepared to deal with Mustaf. If he is ever to return to the NBA and then fulfill his father’s wish that he become a political leader, he will need to clear his name.
And as long as the death of Althea Hayes looms in the background, that might be all but impossible.
Wertheim also delved into his recruitment as a prized prospect at national power DeMatha Catholic, in the shadow of College Park, when his father was interviewing prospective coaches about the makeup of their coaching staff and other issues.
“I hire coaches, not blacks or whites,” Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski snapped, according to John Feinstein’s book A Season Inside. (“My father didn’t like that answer,” 18-year-old Jerrod told Feinstein.)
He chose Maryland and coach Bob Wade, in part because Wade was a black coach. But Wade was fired after his first year, giving Mustaf the decision of whether to leave or play for the new coach, Gary Williams. Via a 1989 Washington Post article by Dave Sell and Mark Maske:
“Jerrod Mustaf said last night that he will return to the University of Maryland and is planning on playing next season for new head basketball coach Gary Williams. “I haven’t talked to anybody yet,” said Mustaf, who has not met Williams, but said “his record is pretty good.” Mustaf, who injured his knee at the end of last season and considered using the 1989-90 season as a redshirt year, said he expected to play this coming season. The 6-foot-10 forward from Greenbelt and DeMatha High School averaged 14.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Meanwhile fellow sophomore Walt Williams said the hiring of Gary Williams has not eliminated the possibility he’ll transfer.”
Mustaf became an outspoken figure in local basketball circles and criticized DeMatha for hiring interim coach Pete Strickland, who is white, and not interviewing any black candidates.
“Pete knows that he means a lot to me. In terms of basketball and teaching, I can vouch for him. In terms of how this whole thing has taken place, I can’t,” Mustaf said. “I’ve talked to 100 people and all 100 of them said this process was faulty. We were hoping that the administration wasn’t that tone-deaf.”
In recent years, Mustaf dedicated himself to running two juvenile assistance programs, the Street Basketball Association and Take Charge juvenile diversion program.
His son, Jaeden Mustaf, was a prized guard in the class of 2024 and was recruited by Willard. But he picked Georgia Tech, where he’s a freshman this season.
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