The inventor of the “Shammgod Dribble”, God Shammgod Wells has been raved as a excellent teacher and motivator to the players at Providence University
There’s a point in people’s lives where they are just ready for change and to try something new. After living life basically having seen it all, the best thing you can do is to pass down the wisdom to the next generation to lead them to their promise land. There are some people who live through that theory. One of the individuals who been granted the blessing to pass around great testimonies and wisdom is former basketball great God Shammgod Wells . To the avid hoop fan, God Shammgod is known for the infamous, sneaky and deadly dribble move known as the “Shammgod”. This is a dribbling move when a player throws the ball in front of his body, pulls it back with his opposite hand and performs a crossover dribble. Some of today’s NBA greats such as Kyrie Irving, Chris Paul and John Wall have mastered the move in which they leave defenders doing the “cha-cha slide” en route to make a amazing assist or score another bucket. But many fans forgot how talented Shammgod was on the court as his game is legendary in the NYC streetball playground circuit.
Shammgod was a “diaper dandy” in the eyes of college basketball analyst Dick Vitale and other hoop fans. A former McDonald’s All American from out of LaSalle Academy in Manhattan, Shammgod went to suit up for the Providence Friars in Rhode Island. After two years there, he became an instant star. Putting up monstrous numbers in the highly competitive Big East conference while leading his squad to magical runs in the NCAA Tournament. One of Shammgod’s claim to fame was when he put up 23 points and 5 assists in a losing effort against eventutal national champion Arizona Wildcats in 1997. Many coaches and scouts were impressed with the way he held his own against star point guard Mike Bibby. Instead of staying and receiving a full education at Providence, the Harlem World native had decided to enter the NBA Draft, a move his father, God Shammgod Sr. would disapprove, yearning his son to get the education needed for him while wanting him to mature more. Selected by the Washington Wizards in the 2nd round, Shammgod’s NBA career was a short lived one. He only played 20 career games, all in the 1997-1998 regular season. From there, he spent the next 15 years playing overseas while fathering four children. But as his playing days began to wine down realizing he needed something to fall back on, Shammgod had finally gave into his father’s request in returning to school to get his degree.
Currently, God is an undergraduate assistant for the Providence basketball team, coached by Ed Cooley. In the past three years, God has been able to play a major role in the development of the Friars best players Bryce Cotton and Kris Dunn. Their excellent play on the court have helped them earning first team all Big East selections. Cotton, who now plays for the Utah Jazz have praised Shammgod for his excellent commitment in helping the next generation of ballers get to where they need to be at. Cotton went on by saying
We worked out every single day, And after every workout it would turn into a half-hour or hour conversation about experiences that he had. Over time, it gradually transitioned from trainer-player to little brother-big brother. He’s helped me tremendously, not just with basketball, but just with my outlook on life.”
In hopes of becoming an head coach or trainer someday, God is just one step away of reaching his goal. He is set to graduate with a bachelors degree in leadership development on May. 17. But for now, the legend known as Shammgod has been living up to his name off the court and into the young minds of the student-athletes on the bench at Providence. His Friars, who are 22-11, came up just a game short of winning the Big East Tournament championship, but best believe they will be on everyone’s radar to look out for in this years NCAA Tournament as the #6 seed in the East Region . If it wasn’t for the urgency of God’s dad wanting his son to go back to school, the good folks out in Providence wouldn’t gotten the opportunity to realize how spectacular Shammgod is to the program. Shammgod Sr. is a smart man who showed signs of perseverance in getting his degree from the New School for Social Research in New York. By showing his son that it can be done no matter what life obstacles are being thrown at you, the sky is the limit for the NYC playground legend. The crossover from basketball into teaching has been excellent one for Shammgod. Let’s hope that God can hit the trifecta for God as he will be able to add national champion under his resume as a sucessful father and future grad.
Omari White
March Madness is here!! Selection Sunday is here!!! When Omari is not lighting it up from 3 point land in your local gym, he is on twitter scoffing about life, music and sports. Go follow him (@SmooveGuyO) and check his timeline out as he will be tuning in to see what schools will be dancing in the NCAA Tournament.
