God’s Green Earth

Dirk Nowitzki, Yao Ming, Manu Ginobli, Tony Parker, Steve Nash. These are  just a few of the many international players who have distinguished themselves playing in America. We’ve also begun to witness a bit of the inverse, players leaving or skipping the NBA to ball overseas. Josh Childress and Brandon Jennings are two of the more prominent names of late. Childress flew to Greece from the ATL, while Jennings used the Italian league as a launching pad to the NBA. A number of college players, who made their name by shining in the NCAA tourney, bide their time overseas praying it will lead them back to America and the NBA. Khalid El-Amin, Allan Ray and Dee Brown are a few examples. And then there’s God Shammgod, a product of Providence College, who helped propel his team to the ‘97 Elite Eight. Shamm has some of the sickest handle of any baller out there, who can electrify a crowd on a given night. His NBA window may have closed, but as Alan Paul illustrated in SLAM 108, we can ...