Friar Basketball
Home / General News / The Incredible Journey of God Shammgod

The Incredible Journey of God Shammgod

godshammgod

Friar fans received welcome news earlier this week when Friar broadcaster John Rooke reported in his weekly “Thinking Out Loud” column that God Shammgod is preparing to enroll in graduate school at Providence.

Shammgod will pursue a master’s degree in counseling and will be back on the Friar coaching staff as a graduate assistant next year.

The name Shammgod is legendary in basketball circles. High school players across the country learn the famous ‘Shammgod’ crossover, and he brings name value that stretches across basketball circles (Spike Lee saw Shammgod during the 1997 NCAA Tournament, inspiring the name Jesus Shuttleworth in He Got Game).

More recently, current and former Friars such as Kris Dunn, Bryce Cotton, and LaDontae Henton have credited Shammgod with developing and improving their games.

Since his return to PC, Shammgod has been part assistant, part mentor to PC’s players, as someone who has seen seemingly everything basketball has to offer.

Back in the spring of 1997, when Shammgod first declared for the NBA Draft, the last thing anyone expected was his return to eventually pursue a master’s degree at PC.

What an incredible journey he has been on these past 18 years.

The relationship between Shammgod and Providence College started in 1995 when the 6’1 point guard out of New York City accepted a scholarship to play basketball for the Friars. Sham was a McDonald’s All American with a big reputation and the handle to back it up.

From the very first day he arrived on campus Shammgod was the brash young guard who was the talk of the campus. No one had seen anyone handle the ball the way he did. Already a playground legend in New York City, Sham was another in a long line of point guards from the Big Apple that included Lenny Wilkens, Kenny Anderson, and Tiny Archibald (his coach in 8th grade).

All was not smooth, however, when Shammgod arrived on the PC campus. There was a reported rift between the veterans that Rick Barnes recruited and the newcomers of Pete Gillen (which included Shammgod), and he was suspended from the team’s first exhibition game for a violation of team rules.

The Friars wound up 18-12 during his freshman year, losing in the second round of the NIT to St. Joseph’s. Shammgod posted solid numbers averaging 9.6 points and 6.5 assists per game, but only shot 33% from the field. The flaw in Shammgod’s game was that he was a below average shooter from the outside. This weakness would plague him for the rest of his career.

Shammgod had a better year sophomore season, but the team was still a puzzle. He averaged nearly 11 points per game and shot 44% from the field. The team, however, lost five of its last seven games and needed victories over Rutgers and West Virginia in the Big East Tournament in order to ensure an NCAA bid.

That is when the magic started. The Friars, who were seeded 10th, went on to defeat Marquette, Duke, and Tennessee Chattanooga to advance to the Elite Eight where they lost in overtime to the eventual national champion, Arizona. Shammgod had a great NCAA Tournament highlighted by a 23 point, 5 assist performance against the Wildcats.

After his NCAA Tournament performance Shammgod’s stock had risen, so he decided to declare for the NBA Draft. Many analysts thought he should return to college for his junior season to fine-tune his game, particularly his outside shot.

Shammgod’s mind was already made up though. He worked out in Connecticut to prepare for the draft and received assurances that the New York Knicks were going to take him with the 25th pick in the first round. When the Knicks decided instead to go with John Thomas, a 6’9 forward out of Minnesota, Shammgod was not selected until the 45th pick in the second round by the Washington Wizards.

He made the Wizards roster, but played in only 20 games during one injury-plagued season. After his stint with Washington Shammgod went on to have a productive career overseas, mostly in the Chinese Basketball Association.

While playing overseas the legend of God Shammgod continued to grow in the U.S. Despite barely playing in the NBA, several NBA superstars said that Shammgod had the greatest handle they’d ever seen.

Young players across the country began practicing his patented crossover move — a move that became universally known as ‘The Shammgod.” His growing fame led to an endorsement deal with Converse.

After his playing career was over Shammgod decided to return to PC to get his degree. He has been a key member of the coaching staff as an undergraduate assistant coach, and two weeks ago he received his degree — 18 years after originally enrolling at PC. And now he’s on to graduate school.

Most of all, he will be doing what he enjoys most in life, mentoring students on and off the court.

What an incredible journey.

Email Craig at craig.leighton@friarbasketball.com

 

 

 

11 Comments

  1. Derec Lamendola

    May 28, 2015 at 12:54 am

    CRIAG LEIGHTON DEREC LAMENDOLA Were IS Friar Starting Five Were IS And And I DON’T See IT Ememething About KRIS DUNN Criag LEIGHTON You Need NEW COVER POST Kroyn Wight Junior Coach Cooley Kris Dunn And DEREC LAMENDOLA Number 1#FAN And Linsday Criag LEIGHTON Can YOU PURT UP The NUMBER #1 FAN Derec Lamemdola Cover Post

  2. Todd Murray

    May 28, 2015 at 1:36 am

    Took an ROTC class with this great ball handling FRIAR!! I think we marched are way into an ‘A’ together! #pcbaseballrules

  3. David Cerasuolo

    May 28, 2015 at 1:42 am

    He shouldn’t have left early

  4. Michael Cwikla

    May 28, 2015 at 2:17 am

    I remember prank calling his dorm room. His voicemail was: “what up, this is God. Leave a message.”

  5. Michael DeCastro

    May 28, 2015 at 2:55 am

    Federico… God!

  6. Federico Magnani

    May 28, 2015 at 8:16 am

    Thanks Michael DeCastro… 😀 Luca Ngoi check this… You remember the story you wrote on him? My friend Mike was in the same college of him!

  7. Donna Rice

    May 28, 2015 at 12:59 pm

    That is Awesome!

  8. Denny Gerardi

    May 29, 2015 at 2:32 pm

    Gregory Mezzoni

  9. Michael Graham Adamowicz

    June 7, 2015 at 11:45 pm

    A legend.

  10. Michael Lombardo

    June 8, 2015 at 1:23 am

    Great video.

  11. John Cappuccilli

    June 8, 2015 at 7:42 pm

    I was so upset he left but he has redeemed himself ten fold with what he has done for this school. A great mentor and coach for up and coming student athletes and a breath of fresh air in today’s world!!

You must be logged in to post a comment Login