Thursday, August 21st, 2008 at 11:36 am  |  60 responses

Only God Can Save Your Ball Handling!

SLAM presents SKILLZ with God Shammgod.

PRODUCED BY: MATT CAPUTO
DIRECTED AND EDITED BY: MATTHEW J. SHERIDAN

Earlier this summer, we had the chance to catch up with God Shammgod as he worked out. The former Providence College and one-time Washington Wizard’s point guard was home China and Croatia, where he played this past season and previous ten. However, at the PAL on 142nd street in Harlem, “Shamm” looked as if he was getting ready to play in an NBA game the next night.

We’d run an excellent feature by Alan Paul in 2007, updating our readers on whatever happened to one of the best point guards not in the NBA. After being waived by the Wizards in ’98, Shamm headed overseas (Poland, Arabia, Venezuela and China) where he’s made a very good living for himself and his family.

The story was excellent and well received. Paul, who lives in China and has spent a lot of time with Shamm there, brought me back a bit when every kid in New York was trying to do the “Shammgod.” It was odd that a guy who wasn’t in the NBA and wasn’t connected to something like AND1 gained such a reputation without a jump-shot. It was all in his ball handling skills.

With that, our man Mousy from the Tri State Classic got put us in touch with Shamm for a little clinic in handling the rock. In this latest edition of our online video series “Skillz,” Shamm breaks down his routine and his secrets to a great handle. Hope you can keep up. – MATT CAPUTO

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  • hugos boss Posted: Aug.21 at 11:46 am
    1st!

  • Justin Adler Posted: Aug.21 at 11:48 am
    I feel so enlightened

  • blackjack Posted: Aug.21 at 11:49 am
    best name ever

  • Justin Posted: Aug.21 at 11:52 am
    Kobe didn’t have a crossover until he learned from da God.

  • Eboy Posted: Aug.21 at 11:52 am
    Fuc*ing Caputo!!!!!! How does he do it?? Nice catching up with a SLAM legend.

  • d.Y. Posted: Aug.21 at 11:57 am
    Loved that Providence team, Jamel Thomas, Croshere…

  • tinchek Posted: Aug.21 at 11:59 am
    god played for cedevita, zagreb in croatia last season^^

  • ciolkstar Posted: Aug.21 at 12:20 pm
    God Shammgod is the definition of too real for the league.

  • Ryne Nelson Posted: Aug.21 at 12:22 pm
    Amen to that statement, ciokstar.

  • Tarzan Cooper Posted: Aug.21 at 12:25 pm
    that was great

  • Captain America Posted: Aug.21 at 12:34 pm
    Nice get Matt.

  • B. Long Posted: Aug.21 at 12:37 pm
    Now I want dunk tips from Harold Minor. Get it done, Matt.

  • Mo Charlo Posted: Aug.21 at 12:52 pm
    Dunk tips from Darvin Hamm for me.

  • Jazz Man Posted: Aug.21 at 12:54 pm
    Go Out To Inglewood, CA And You Will Find Harold Minor. He Is Alright, But The Hops Is Gone Like The Jumper He Never Had! Just Like My Cousin J.R. Rider Had The Talent, But Not The Work Ethic!

  • B. Long Posted: Aug.21 at 12:59 pm
    Is Darvin still in the league? I loved his Texas Tech days!

  • asmatic asiatic Posted: Aug.21 at 1:24 pm
    This is a good clip, God is right its better to practice real moves instead of just dribbling stationary, circles, around your legs and what not…

  • Ben Osborne Posted: Aug.21 at 2:00 pm
    Best story headline ever.

  • Barack O'Drama Posted: Aug.21 at 2:05 pm
    my man…shoulda been in the leauge longer

  • alvin Posted: Aug.21 at 2:37 pm
    damn his handles is tight!

  • dapointgod Posted: Aug.21 at 2:50 pm
    Great video ,would love 2 see more ballhandling tips from Shammgod or NBA players like Skip to my Lou, n J-Will or Crawford

  • Gerard Himself Posted: Aug.21 at 2:54 pm
    wow, that ain’t no sham! With handles like that, God can penetrate any lane! -insert virgin Mary joke here-

  • Zee! Posted: Aug.21 at 3:38 pm
    Best…Handle…EVER!!!

  • Nima Zarrabi Posted: Aug.21 at 3:50 pm
    Great video and concept. Nice work fellas.

  • teague Posted: Aug.21 at 3:57 pm
    ..so *why* isn’t da God in the league, exactly?

  • CTE Posted: Aug.21 at 4:54 pm
    where’s the video?

  • B. Long Posted: Aug.21 at 5:55 pm
    @teague: The league is atheist.

  • Andy Posted: Aug.21 at 9:47 pm
    Much like Omar Cook, he should have stayed in college longer and worked on his shot

  • alan paul Posted: Aug.21 at 11:02 pm
    Great job Matt! It was awesome to see Shamm in action. Great man. someone get him a deal with Nike right now, to just tour the country doing dribbling clinics.

  • KA Posted: Aug.22 at 12:43 am
    i caught him when he was on a euro team at a regional tourney here, a local fella even reported it to the old links as a sighting. hes handles are tight, he was splitting double teams by going between the legs plus those signature moves he just showed. but i’d have to say the most impressive move ive seen an NBAer do in real life was travis best in an exhibition where he catches the ball one hand and WHILE STILL IN MID AIR crosses it between his legs before touching down.

  • ikot Posted: Aug.22 at 2:15 am
    god’s green earth more skillz plz!!!

  • Hursty Posted: Aug.22 at 7:56 am
    whooo! He stays so low to the ground on the dribble… man. He’s totally relaxed when he’s doing it too. Great job Caputo. Any word on the Homicide piece yet?

  • Pete Casey Posted: Aug.22 at 9:10 am
    Go to Youtube and check out Shamm put his signature move on Arizona.

  • underdog Posted: Aug.22 at 9:12 am
    Love, he calls one of his basic crossover move Tim Hardaway.

  • Abd As-Salaam Posted: Aug.22 at 12:58 pm
    As far as basketball goes, he’s probably somewhat of a revolutionary. As far as picking a name, i don’t know what type of guts he has to call him self God. He should fear God as far as picking a name.

  • Gerard Himself Posted: Aug.22 at 5:25 pm
    I can only respond to Abd with: ?

  • Coach KG Posted: Aug.22 at 11:22 pm
    Shamgod was one of the greats. He was in the era of Stephon Marbury, Shaheen Holloway and Kobe. He had the whole East Coast doing his signuture moves. The roll out and Skating JumpStart33.com

  • razorblade Posted: Aug.22 at 11:48 pm
    cant nobody f*ck with THE GOD

  • JBALLER Posted: Aug.25 at 8:06 pm
    I COULD DO THAT

  • NBA_Scout Posted: Aug.26 at 12:27 pm
    If only Shammgod would have hit that same jumpsot he hit in the video 11 years ago against Arizona. “Oh!! And a Providence steal!! Shammgod has it…Providence can win the game! Shammgod…” If you YouTube that game you’ll see it was a straight up brick. Shammgod hits the shot, Providence advances to the Final Four and there’s no doubt he goes 1st round. Instead they lose in OT and Shammgod ends up a 47th pick in the draft.

  • Pic explains all of Sham Posted: Aug.26 at 1:10 pm
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/specmotors/292408237/in/set-72157594366693039/

  • Coach KG Posted: Aug.27 at 10:51 pm
    I have a video similar at Jumpstarthoops.com

  • SCHW Posted: Aug.28 at 5:27 pm
    I want dunk tips from Darrel Armstrong

  • C DUB Posted: Sep.1 at 1:25 am
    Yeah that move against ‘ZONA…..who did he do dirty???……….ya boy Mike Dickerson was on SKATES!!!! Yeah that Providence team took me for a ride like the old Loyola Marymount squad.

  • Dacre Posted: Sep.2 at 11:40 pm
    He never named hiself this name people….
    I’ve been talking about Shammgod all year and finally someone did something about it!!!

  • FriarFan Posted: Sep.6 at 12:10 am
    People forget how Shammgod rocked Mike Bibby in 97 against Arizona…Bibby had no idea

  • Waleed Posted: Sep.7 at 12:03 am
    Sham probably has the best handle I’ve ever seen in person,
    I had a chance to workout with him everyday for a summer a couple years back and he was a great teacher. He’s good people and I owe my handle to him.

  • Jr Posted: Sep.11 at 12:04 am
    Yo do any body know were I can gets some Shammgod
    college games

  • the other shammgod Posted: Sep.11 at 1:29 pm
    Best ballhandler who ever lived. Please some NBA team sign him. Please.

  • A Basketball God « We Talkin’ ‘Bout Practice Posted: Sep.11 at 1:39 pm
    [...] A Basketball God People need to understand just how good a ball handler this guy is.  You obviously know who I’m talking about.  Anyway, someone found him and interviewed him. [...]

  • Ben Osborne Posted: Sep.11 at 1:48 pm
    Great video; I hope his boy refers to himself as God’s Son.

  • Young Posted: Sep.30 at 11:37 pm
    How handle is nicer skip to my lou are god shammgod

  • justin Posted: Oct.12 at 5:12 pm
    Chris Webber said Shammgod Wells and J-Will had the nicest handle he had ever seen and couldn’t say whose was better. Probably pretty accurate statement.

  • June Posted: Nov.3 at 9:51 pm
    Hay anybody now where i can get gods college games

  • SLAM ONLINE | » The Beasts Are Back! Posted: Nov.11 at 11:35 am
    [...] Providence (15-16, 6-12) I studied and played college ball in this mid-sized New England metropolis. A game at the Providence Civic Center (now I believe, the Dunkin Donuts Arena?) was the site of my first ever college game, but I have little feel on my old buddies, the Friars from down the hill. When I was there, the names of Dickey Simpkins, Austin Croshere, and God Shammgod were around, now… Well. [...]

  • SLAM ONLINE | » Unreal Handle Posted: Nov.13 at 1:16 pm
    [...] On the first day of the NCAA’s fall signing period, Louisville coach, Rick Pitino landed one of the best point guards in the nation: Peyton Siva. Known for his 40-inch vertical and handles seemingly stolen from God Shammgod, Siva has been on the national scene for a few years now (ranked 40th on the SLAM ‘09 Fresh 50). In fact, this past summer, his progression on the court in the AAU circuits have started a vigorous debate as to whom will make the better college guard–Peyton Siva or Abdul Gaddy? [...]

  • SUBA (HARLEM) Posted: Dec.6 at 7:21 am
    HEY LOVE THE VIDEO OF SHAM! HE IS A GOOD GUY! MY SON LOVES HIM. HE IS ALWAYS GIVING MY SON TIPS AND ALWAYS HAVE TIME TO TO WHATCH HIS GAMES AFTER HE WATCHES HIS SON PLAYS, AND HIS SON IS A BALLA FOR REAL! WOULD HAVE STAYED IN THE L IF HE HAD A JUMPSHOT! BUT STILL TO THIS DAY NO ONE COULD GUARD HIM, I WAS AT THE TRI-STATE THIS YEAR UP ON 145 STREET AND EVERY GAME HE PLAY WAS GAMED PACKED, YOU COULD NOT EVEN GET A SEAT! FUNNY AFTER THE GAME MY SON WAS IN THE GYM THE NEXT DAY COPYING HIS MOVES!!!

  • The Wizard Posted: Dec.10 at 12:17 am
    A little bit of history about God. Jason Williams signed with Providence out of high school in West Virginia but when Shammgod signed he changed his decision and went to Marshall.

  • Christasic Posted: Dec.30 at 3:11 pm
    Still the best. I was a teenager in Newark when he first dropped. This takes me back to every other move being the shammgod or a variation. Good times…

  • hoops junkie Posted: Sep.13 at 6:34 pm
    I grew up watching & idolizing shams handle..He gave Mike Bibby a handfull in the final 4 when he lead providence..Hes an unsung pioneer in the sport

  • willthecub Posted: Feb.6 at 9:40 am
    Saw Shammgod play in 97 when they beat the Duke team with Wojo on it. This was the regional in Charlotte, NC. Super packed regional…. Had that real good Chattanooga team there as well. Shammgod was super quick and played decent but the real star of that Providence team was a guy named Derek Brown. I remember it like it was yesterday… He led that team in scoring and was like an 85% foul shooter. He was better than everyone (jamel, shammgod, croshere) on that Providence team but for some reason went undrafted. I’ve always wondered why. That guy is the reason they came out of that regional and almost beat ZONA….

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