Jerrod Mustaf, former Maryland star and Knicks first-round pick, dies at 55

Jerrod Mustaf, former All-ACC big man at Maryland and No. 17 overall draft pick for the New York Knicks, died Monday at the age of 55. He played four NBA seasons in total, one for the Knicks and three for the Suns, but his career was derailed when he was labeled by police as “head of the investigation” into the murder of Althea Hayes, who was pregnant with a child she believed to be Mustaf’s at the time of her death. He played abroad for seven more years before retiring.

Mustaf was a top recruit at famed DeMatha Catholic High School in the late 1980s and eventually chose to play collegiately at neighboring Maryland. In two seasons with the Terrapins, he averaged 16.6 points and 7.7 rebounds per game on a roster that included five future NBA players.

He declared for the 1990 NBA draft and was selected by a Knicks team looking for depth behind star big men Patrick Ewing and Charles Oakley. A year later, however, the Knicks decided to seek veteran help for their front line and dealt Mustaf to Phoenix in a deal that landed former All-Star Xavier McDaniel to join him. Things didn’t improve with the Suns, as Mustaf never matched the 13.3 minutes per game he played in his lone season in New York. He did not play a single minute in the playoffs in 1994, which would be his final NBA season.

Shortly afterward, Hayes was killed. Mustaf was never formally charged in the case, but his cousin, Lavonnie Woten, was ultimately convicted of the murder and sentenced to life in prison. KC Scull, the Phoenix prosecutor in charge of the Hayes case, later lamented not having been able to bring Mustaf to justice. He told Sports Illustrated that “it is one of my biggest regrets that I was not allowed to try this case.”

Mustaf never played in the NBA again after Hayes’ murder. In that same Sports Illustrated article, he called it “totally unfair” and added that he felt he had been “left out.” He was invited to training camps by the Seattle Supersonics and Charlotte Hornets, but was waived on both occasions. After his NBA career ended, he played in Greece, Spain, France and Poland.

After his playing career ended, he founded the Street Basketball Association. But after it closed, he devoted himself to running Take Charge, a program founded by his father designed to help keep Washington, D.C.-area teens out of the criminal justice system. Founded in 1990, the organization still continues its work in the community today.