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Written by Administrator
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Thursday, 05 January 2006 |
 His nickname was “The Wizard.â€
“That was his handle because he had a crossover like a magician,â€
says Bobby Gonzalez, God Shammgod’s friend and former coach at Providence
College. That’s the same crossover that God taught to Kobe Bryant on a summer
AAU squad in 1994. Those are the same handles that took 10-seed Providence to
the Elite 8 in 1997. Shammgod’s ball-handling skills and ability to distribute
the rock made him one of the best pure point guards in the country, and according
to some, maybe even beyond that.
“I think he might have the best handle in the world,†says Ron Artest,
Shammgod’s teammate at LaSalle Academy during Shammgod’s junior and
senior year of high school. “I don’t know anybody who ever had a better
handle than Shammgod.â€
He grew up as Shammgod Wells (taking his mother’s surname at the age of
five) but reverted back to his legal name before college after he got closer with
his father. A Bronx native, Shammgod didn’t find basketball until he moved
to Manhattan at the age of 12. He was living on 142nd Street in Harlem at that
time, and making a name for himself on courts like the “real Rucker Parkâ€
(as he puts it) at 145th Street and Lenox Avenue, and the LaGuardia House at 116th
Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues.
When Tolentine High in the Bronx (home of the late Malik Sealy) closed down, Shammgod
chose to attend LaSalle Academy, an independent Catholic school in Manhattan.
Shammgod averaged 38 points and 11 assists in his first seven games on the LaSalle
freshman basketball team, and was promptly moved up to varsity. He was an honorable
mention All-USA Today player after averaging 14.5 ppg his junior year, and went
on to earn numerous accolades at several camps that summer, capped off by being
named the Most Outstanding Player at the final week of Five-Star camp. “In
New York, people knew about me,†says Shammgod, “but after that I
was on the map.â€
With Lincoln High’s Stephon Marbury receiving most of the press out of NYC
at the time, Providence College snuck in and grabbed Shammgod. “He was kind
of a sleeper,†says Pete Gillen, Shammgod’s head coach at Providence.
“James Madison and us were the two finalists. We liked him because he was
really quick, a great athlete who pushed the ball really well and got into the
lane. At 6-0 he was wiry and strong and could take a hit. He was deceptively strong,
a lot stronger than people thought. He was a pure point guard who made other players
better.†“We got him early,†adds Gonzalez. “If we hadn’t,
we couldn’t have gotten him. After Five Star he was a household name. It
was a huge, great get for us.â€
By his senior year of high school, Shammgod had become the second best point guard
in New York, behind only Marbury. Shammgod and his LaSalle squad finished with
a 24-2 record and National Top 10 ranking, while he averaged a school-record 23.7
points and nine dimes a contest (including a legendary 45 point and 22 assist
game against rival St. Raymond’s). Numbers like that propelled Shammgod
to First-Team All-City and McDonald’s High School All-American status. Shammgod
took part in arguably the best McDonald’s game ever, which boasted Marbury,
Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison,
Chauncey Billups, Ron Mercer and Tractor Traylor.
Coming to Providence, Shammgod became the star of Gillen’s first-ever PC
recruiting class, and just the second McDonald’s All-American in the school’s
history. Shammgod was named to the Big East’s All-Rookie Team after averaging
9.6 points, 6.5 dimes, 1.7 boards and 1.4 swipes a game his freshman year, but
it wasn’t until his sophomore year that he really took over. With a returning
starting five and a pre-season AP ranking of 17, Shammgod was ready.
“He really blossomed as a sophomore,†Gillen says. “He was one
of the top six or seven point guards in the country.â€
After an up and down season where Shammgod improved in every category (10.8 ppg,
6.6 apg, 2.3 rpg and 2.4 spg), the Friars squeaked into the NCAA Tournament as
a 10-seed. “At that point we kind of woke up,†Gonzalez says. “We
came in as a new team. Something struck Shamm because the guy played phenomenal.
It was like catching lightning in a bottle.†The Friars raced through the
bracket, knocking off Marquette, Duke and UT-Chattanooga before losing to Arizona
in OT, despite 23 points, five dimes and three steals from Shammgod against ’Zona’s
Mike Bibby.
Had Shamm stayed at Providence, he likely would have been one of the top players
in college basketball the following season. “We all tried to talk to him,â€
Gonzalez says. “We all thought if he stayed another year or two he’d
be a lottery pick and get guaranteed money. I know he didn’t love school,
but he got bad advice. There were guys hanging around telling him stuff, filling
his head up with lies. It was sad, guys did that with a lot of kids.â€
In the end, with a point guard-rich draft that included Chauncey Billups, Antonio
Daniels, Brevin Knight, Bobby Jackson and Jacque Vaughn, Shammgod slipped to the
Washington Wizards at No. 46.
Shammgod logged only 146 minutes of action in 20 games during that 1997-98 season
for the Wizards and ended with averages of 3.1 points and 1.8 assists per game.
Shammgod’s hopes of increased playing time were crushed when the NBA entered
a lockout the following season, forcing him to look elsewhere for employment.
Shammgod went on to play in the CBA, USBL and many countries overseas, most recently
in Saudi Arabia. Shammgod and his club Al Ittihad have won the Arab Club Championship
for the past two seasons, and Shammgod has been the MVP and top scorer each season.
When asked if he wishes he’d stayed in school, Shammgod sticks by his choice.
“There were a lot of factors that factored in,†he says. “Had
I gone higher, then people wouldn’t be asking me this. Jamel Thomas (Shammgod’s
teammate at PC) wasn’t selected at all after staying in school for four
years. What about him?â€
Although some people think he’s never made it because of an inconsistent
jump shot, Shammgod was one of the few to actually hear his name called on draft
day. “He did make it,†says Mousey, Shammgod’s former coach
in the EBC at Rucker Park. “He made it more than any other street legend.
At least he made a one-year contract. Only other guy that can say that is Skip.â€
“He is without question the most talented, athletically gifted point guard
I’ve ever been around in terms of abilty,†Gonzalez says. “Kenny
[Anderson] may rank a little better in terms of career talent, but Shamm was not
far behind. He was like Tony Dorsett the running back. He could change direction,
handle the ball and crossover anybody.â€
So what does Shammgod feel he still has to offer? “I love making people
better,†he says. “There is not one player that I played with in my
life that did not love playing with me. I really like that. Not one player that
didn’t play better from one year to the next and I take pride in that.â€
Nothing has changed. Shammgod still loves the game, and his love has taken him
all around the world. Now standing 6-1, 190 (up from 6-0, 169 in college), Shammgod
can still fill it up and has a much-improved jumper. Shammgod was the top three-point
shooter in the league for the past two seasons in Saudi Arabia. “He’s
doing well out there making some money,†Artest says. “He’s
providing for his family and still playing good ball. God Shammgod is an NBA player
– he needs to be here.â€
While his chances of making the League may dwindle with each successive season,
Shammgod hasn’t given up. “If I keep doing what I’ve been doing
then maybe I’ll get another shot,†he says. “I’m going
to work out for a bunch of teams next year and try to make it back by next season.
You never know.â€
Words by Aron Phillips
Dime Magazine |
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