God Shammgod


God Shammgod is an American basketball coach and former professional player. He is currently a player development coach with the Dallas Mavericks. He played in the NBA with the Washington Wizards during 1997–98 after being drafted by them in the 2nd round of the 1997 NBA draft. He played in the Chinese Basketball Association for several teams, including the Zhejiang Cyclones. and Shanxi Yujun. He also played professionally in Poland and Saudi Arabia. Despite having a very brief NBA career, he is considered by many to be one of the greatest ball handlers in NBA history, and is the progenitor of a widely used crossover, the "Shammgod."

High school

When he was known as Shammgod Wells, he played high school basketball at La Salle Academy in Manhattan. His teammates at La Salle Academy included future NBA player Metta World Peace and former Providence College center Karim Shabazz. He was selected to the 1995 McDonald's All-American Team and recorded nine points in the All-American game. He also played with Kobe Bryant during a summer on an AAU team.

College career

Shammgod played for two seasons at Providence College, where he averaged 10.3 PPG for his college career. He was selected to the Big East All-Rookie Team as a freshman in 1996 after setting the Big East freshman assist record, which has since been broken. As a sophomore, Shammgod teamed with future NBA player Austin Croshere in leading the Friars to the 1997 Elite Eight, where they lost to eventual NCAA champion Arizona in overtime. Shammgod registered 23 points and five assists while matching up against future NBA player Mike Bibby in the loss.

Professional career

Shammgod appeared in 20 games for the Washington Wizards in 1997–98. Shammgod later played in the Chinese Basketball Association. Most of his professional playing career was spent outside of the U.S.

Name

Shammgod called himself Shammgod Wells until he finished high school. When he enrolled at Providence, he was informed that he would have to register under his legal name. Since it would have cost $600 to change his legal name to Shammgod Wells, Shammgod stopped using the alias.

Coaching career

Shammgod reenrolled at Providence in 2012 to complete his undergraduate studies and earned a Bachelor's degree in Leadership Development in May 2015. He served as an undergraduate student assistant on Ed Cooley's staff and has been credited with playing a role in the development of Bryce Cotton and Kris Dunn.