When Shammgod was in the 9th grade, he wasn’t even ranked top 100 players in high school class in NYC. By the time he was a senior, he was top 20 in the country and an All-American.
Shammgod cites Tiny Archibald as his main mentor growing up.
Even though he didn’t even play one full NBA season, after he was drafted Reebok gave him a sneaker deal.
Shammgod says there are atleast “3 to 4 variations” of the Shammgod move that nobody has ever seen.
Shammgod was the was #3 point guard in the famed high school class of 1995. Who were the two points guards ranked ahead of him? Stephon Marbury and Chauncey Billups.
And speaking of Stephon Marbury……..he and Shammgod almost teamed up at Georgia Tech, which would have created a two point guard starting line-up. And possibly the best ball handling back court of all time.
While at the 5-star camp in Pennsylvania, Jellybean Bryant asked him after a game if he can teach Kobe how to improve his handles. Kobe was 17 at the time and spent everyday of the rest of the camp learning from him.
His official government birth name is God Shammgod and not Shammgod Wells. The name God Shammgod was his father’s name. He and his father were not close growing up, so he took on the name Shammgod Wells as Wells was his mother’s last name. When he got to college, Providence made his use his official birth name which was God Shammgod.
Shammgod says the biggest mistake in his career was leaving college early. After one great year and a very good tourney, agents were telling him he was ready to go pro. Shammgod took that advice and went pro and was drafted much later than expected. Had he waited an extra year, he would have been a top-5 pick.
The very first Shammgod move, which was done in the NCAA tourney in 1996 was actually an accident. The move was not pre-planned and just sort-of just happened. He saw that it worked and from then on made it his signature move.
Picasso Baby 