From the Fairmont State University Web site

By Duane Cochran for FightingFalcons.com

 

Anyone who may have remotely suggested that senior Shammgod Wells could be the MVP of Fairmont State's 2016-17 basketball team prior to the start of the season would have likely been laughed out of the gym by the Falcon faithful.

 

Wells, you see, has made a career out of endearing himself to FSU's fans the past three seasons, while also frustrating the living heck out of them with his sometimes erratic and reckless play on the court.

 

Thus, when it became known early on that in this, his final season wearing the maroon and white, Wells would be coming off of the bench instead of being in his customary starting spot at the point, the notion of the Harlem native being the key cog in FSU's finely-tuned men's basketball machine this season was somewhat far fetched.

 

Yet 26 games into the season with his team sporting a 25-1 overall record, a No. 1 Atlantic Regional Ranking and potentially the program's first-ever No. 1 National Ranking in NCAA Division II men's basketball thanks to Northwest Missouri State's loss Saturday here stands all 5-9 of Wells displaying his infectious trademark grin and prepared to have the last laugh.

 

"I know there were times in the past when the fans here and the people in this community hated my play," Wells said. "Believe me I've heard it. But the great thing about our fans is they stick by you. You can mess up or you can play bad, but they still support you. I think that's why this season is so important to us and why we've gone out every game and tried to play our absolute best.

 

"Our fans and this community deserves that. They deserve our best effort. They deserve a winner and most of all they deserve a championship. It's been too long.

 

"Before this season started the five seniors on this team sat down and discussed what we wanted to do. Four of us have been here at least four years now and we said we want to leave a legacy. We want to do something special, something which hasn't been done here in a while. Most of all we wanted to be remembered. We didn't want to be another Fairmont team which came up short and didn't have anything to show for it. When I leave here I'm going to come back and when I come back I want to walk through the doors of our gym, look up at the wall and see a championship banner that my team put there. That's leaving a legacy. That's what we want to do."

 

Twenty six games into the 2016-17 season Wells has, without question, done his part to help his team achieve its goal. He's always been good at stealing the basketball and distributing it. Earlier this season he broke Steve Custis' school record for career steals and currently has 219 – the only player in FSU history with more than 200 career steals. He now needs just six more assists to pass Brian Tristani (325) for the top spot in school history in that category and already owns the school record for career assists in a game with 19 which he set last year in a 110-77 victory over West Virginia State.

 

But look closer at Wells' numbers this year and you'll see the real telltale sign of why both he and the Falcons are enjoying such success. Prior to this season the scouting sheet on Wells was pretty simple and basic. He can't shoot from the perimeter. He's most dangerous when he drives, but has a strong potential to throw up wild, out of control shots. Good defender, but will commit unnecessary fouls well away from the basket.

 

Wells, more than anyone, was well aware of his deficiencies as a college basketball player and was determined to improve and rectify his play prior to his final college campaign. In his three previous seasons at FSU he shot just 34.8 percent from the field and a rather dismal 29.1 percent from 3-point range. This season Wells, who plays 24 minutes a game and averages 7.7 points, is shooting 49.6 percent from the field, including an impressive 46.4 percent from behind the 3-point line which leads the team among players who have attempted at least 50 3-point field goals. He's currently second in the Mountain East Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.21) and he's continued to defend well, but even more efficiently this season.

 

"Sham came into this season really knowing what he wanted to do as a player and I think that's been the big difference in his game this season," said fellow FSU senior Caleb Davis, who joined Fairmont's program the same time as Wells in the fall of 2013. "When we came in here as freshmen we kind of got thrown into the fire so to speak and looking back I'm not so sure we were ready for that. I mean there's a big difference between the game at this level and the game in high school. Did we want to start and play? Absolutely. But were we really ready? That I'm not so sure of. One thing that did though, I believe, was make us much better players now. We've been through the wars and know what it takes to be successful.

 

"You look at Sham and he's our leader both on and off the court. He's not afraid to step up and say something when it needs to be said. He's always been great at defending and the distributing the ball. He's like a little dog out there – pesky and always around you and hounding you, but it's what he's done offensively for us this year which has made a big difference. I've always felt he could shoot, but I think more than anything he lacked confidence in his shooting in the past. If people keep telling you, you can't shoot or your outside shot is terrible eventually you start to believe them. This year he put a lot of work in during the off season, he's taking his time and he's seeing the ball go through the net. He's shooting the ball very well and more important he's shooting it with confidence and within the confines and rhythm of our offense."

 

Wells is quick to credit FSU redshirt freshman Donald Kummer for helping him with his shot.

 

"He's on me every day about shooting," Wells said. "We'll go to the gym and he'll rebound for me and make me shoot from different spots. I have to make 10 before we move. It's helped no doubt and I appreciate his dedication. Most redshirts wouldn't care or take the time, but he has been there for me right from the start.

 

"It's why I'm more than willing to help any of the young guys on our team out. I want them to learn and to be better players for the program in the future."

 

From an early age Shammgod Wells has had to deal with pressure. The pressure of growing up in Harlem where temptation exists on nearly every corner and the pressure of growing up as the son of a Harlem basketball legend God Shammgod, who helped lead Providence University to the "Elite Eight" in 1997 and was drafted and played one season in the NBA for the Washington Wizards in 1997-98 before spending the majoring of his professional playing career overseas. He now works for the Dallas Mavericks as an assistant coach of player development.

 

"When you grow up in the city there are lots of temptations and trouble you can get into without looking too hard," Wells said. "I don't know. That just was never for me. It was around all of the time. When you play basketball and do well there's always people around wanting you to do this or that. I'm blessed in that I feel like I was smart enough to avoid most of those traps and I think that's a credit to my mother (Lanaya Bellamy) and my grandmother (Ava Fullenweider). They did a good job of raising me and instilling in me the right values.

 

"Education has always been very important in my household. My mother is a teacher and my grandmother is a retired principal, so education came first. When I first signed at Fairmont I remember my grandmother looking into the school and checking out the criminal justice program. I'll graduate in May with a 3.55 in criminal justice. Now my grandmother is always tracking my stats. She knew how many steals I needed to break the school record and how many assists I need now to do it. My first few years here, though, it wasn't about my basketball stats. It was all about what I was doing in the classroom and how my grades where. When she was satisfied I was doing well enough academically she turned her attention to basketball."

 

God Shammgod wasn't around a lot when his son was younger because, as noted, he was playing ball overseas. Still, he had a positive impact on his son.

 

"My dad was gone a lot when I was little playing ball in several different countries, but he always made time for me when he came home," Wells said. "A lot of people have asked me if I felt a lot of pressure being his son and playing basketball. Not really. My dad never once forced me to play basketball or do anything. He always told me I needed to make my own choices. I see a lot of guys who feel like they have to live up to the ideals that their fathers have for them or who feel like they have to be their older brothers. I never felt like that. Not one time did my dad ever force me to go to the gym and workout. Now, if I wanted to do that he was right there with me helping me on my game, but it was up to me to initiate that.

 

"I've never tried to imitate my dad. He was a different player in a different time who did what he did and I'm proud of that. Me, I just want to make my own history here at Fairmont and leave my own legacy and own mark on the game."

 

Wells played high school ball where his father did at LaSalle Academy in New York. He received some interest from colleges, but opted to spend a year at a prep school, Believe Prep, which is located in Rock Hill, S.C. after graduating from LaSalle. In the fall of 2012 an unfortunate off-the-court incident almost cost Wells a chance to play college ball.

 

"I was just walking home one night and I was in the wrong place at the wrong time," Wells recalled. "I got mistaken for someone else and ended up getting shot in my right leg. The doctors at first told me I wouldn't be able to play basketball again. It was devastating, but I talked to my grandmother and we prayed on it. We prayed on it a lot. She told me to pray faithfully and put my trust in God and that's what I did. A few weeks later I made a full recovery and was back playing."

 

That's when former FSU graduate assistant coach Mantoris Robinson, who had starred for Winthrop University in Rock Hill, saw Wells play and started the process of recruiting him to Fairmont State.

 

"Manny was the first person to contact me about Fairmont State," Wells said. "Then one night I'm sitting there and I got a phone call from Jerrod Calhoun, who told me he was the head coach at Fairmont State in West Virginia and that they were interested in me. I remember looking it up after we had talked. I had no idea where Fairmont, West Virginia even was.

 

"In hindsight I'm glad I came here. I love Fairmont. Sure, it's a lot slower paced than New York but that's what I like about it. Sometimes in the city things move so fast you really don't even have time to think. Here I can collect my thoughts and think through my decisions and I can take a walk to clear my head and feel safe. It's a good place with good people. I've even made the joke this year that maybe I won't graduate in May so I can hang around here a little longer."

 

Wells, however, will graduate and he will be successful in whatever endeavor he chooses to pursue after receiving his diploma from Fairmont State in May.

 

"Sham is going to go on and be successful in whatever he chooses to do in life whether it be coaching or something else because he has a very good work ethic and now possesses a very good understanding of what it takes to succeed at a high level," FSU coach Jerrod Calhoun said. "He's one of the kids who was here early on with us and has seen what we've been trying to accomplish. He's played a big role in that because every single year he's developed an aspect of his game and the last two years he's been a great leader for us. He's one of the best leaders I've ever been around in my 15 or 16 years of coaching.

 

"We asked him to come off of the bench for us this year. Most seniors would've pouted and not been happy. He agreed right from the start and we've never had one ounce of trouble from him. He's a team player who wants his team to be successful and our team is partly because of the role he's playing for us.

 

"Another thing about him is he's had a very good support system at home with his mother, grandmother and his father. It couldn't have been easy for him growing up in the shadow of his father, but he handles it very well. There were times here when he was a freshman and sophomore and he was down in the dumps and he'd call home looking for sympathy and he didn't get it. Instead of telling him what he wanted to hear, they've always told him the truth and told him he made his decisions and had to be an adult and deal with them. As a result of that you're seeing the good person, player and leader that he has developed into."

 

Prior to the start of the 2016-17 season Wells opted to change his uniform number much to the surprise of many FSU fans who had grown accustomed to seeing him wear No. 4. His reason, though, was simple and not without a purpose.

 

"I switched jersey numbers this season," he said. "I had always worn No. 4, but I switched to 55 this year because in college basketball that's the last number you can wear. This is my last go 'round in college and I wanted to be reminded every time I looked down at my shirt of that and to make the most of it."

 

Shammgod Wells is indeed doing just that.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo of Shammgod Wells courtesy of Fairmont State University Athletics. Bottom file photo of Donald Kummer by Ben Queen of www.benqueenphotography.com. The Falcons are currently the No. 1 team in Division II.