Incoming UCLA freshman Shabazz Muhammad, rated the nation’s No. 1 basketball recruit by several recruiting services, is ineligible for the team’s preseason trip to China while the NCAA investigates possible improper benefits he may have received during his recruitment, Scout.com reported Tuesday.

The Bruins are scheduled to play three exhibition games in China, with the team expected to leave for China on August 22.

NCAA officials had contacted schools earlier that there may be issues that could affect Muhammad’s status as an amateur, CBSSports.com had reported in February.

The NCAA was investigating whether family financial adviser Benjamin Lincoln had paid for two of his unofficial recruiting visits, according to the report. Another financial adviser, Ken Kavanagh, helped fund Muhammad’s AAU team.

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