Up next in 10
If you love old-school Big East basketball, this is absolute gold.
D.A. sits down with God Shammgod for an unforgettable deep dive into one of the most electric eras in college hoops.
Shammgod takes us back to the peak of the Big East in the mid-90s, when the conference was overflowing with NBA talent — including the legendary 1996 NBA Draft that saw three Big East stars selected in the top eight.
He reveals:
🏀 His toughest matchups — including the obvious answer, Allen Iverson… and a second name that may shock you.
🍊 The unbelievable story of being recruited to Syracuse Orange men's basketball alongside Stephon Marbury — and why he ultimately chose Providence Friars men's basketball.
🎤 Incredible memories growing up at Rucker Park with childhood friend Mase and crossing paths with icons like Jay-Z and DMX.
This is can’t-miss storytelling for hoops heads — part of D.A.’s Orange Fizz series right here on YouTube.
#BigEast #GodShammgod #Syracuse #Basketball #OrangeFizz #CollegeBasketball
🔥 Welcome inside the mind of Damon Amendolara (D.A.) — national host on SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio with an Upstate New York soul 🔥
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0:00
So, I signed with Providence
0:02
on like a
0:04
Tuesday.
0:06
And then Steph signed with Georgia Tech
0:07
like ON A THURSDAY.
0:09
>> [laughter]
0:12
>> OH, MAN.
0:13
>> AND AND JIM Calhoun was so hot and I
0:15
never forget my first Big East game was
0:19
against Syracuse.
0:20
>> Wow.
0:20
>> And I had And I had 20 points and 12
0:22
assists and I was yelling at him like,
0:24
"I told you. I told you you should have
0:26
took me. I told you you should have took
0:27
me."
0:28
>> [laughter]
0:29
>> He was one of the great guards during a
0:31
generation of unbelievable guard play in
0:34
the Big East, the apex of the Big East
0:36
back in the mid to late '90s. God
0:39
Shammgod helped lead Providence to the
0:41
Elite Eight in 1997. Let's go down
0:44
memory lane. New York City, recruited by
0:47
Syracuse and why he didn't go and who
0:50
was the toughest matchup during his Big
0:52
East days. God, how you doing, buddy?
0:54
>> I'm great. I'm great. I'm great, man.
0:56
Just out here enjoying this Orlando
0:59
weather and, you know, enjoying this
1:01
Marco, you know, New York style pizza,
1:03
dollar pizza. So, you know, it's just a
1:05
great event and the pizza is amazing and
1:09
it reminds me of New York so much right
1:11
now eating this pizza.
1:12
>> I want to go back to your roots and then
1:14
we'll get into the pizza, but back in
1:16
the roots, you're a Harlem guy, you're a
1:18
New York City guy, you played high
1:19
school ball in Manhattan and you played
1:21
the Rucker. So, I want a story from the
1:23
Rucker. Who was the toughest matchup you
1:25
had at the Rucker and what was that
1:27
experience like being a native New
1:29
Yorker?
1:30
>> Uh for me playing against like Kareem
1:33
Reid, the best kept secret, was like the
1:35
biggest matchup uh for me in playground
1:39
basketball. But, the the origin of it,
1:42
like you said, to go back to the
1:43
beginning, um
1:45
uh I was born in Brooklyn. I moved to
1:47
Harlem when I was like uh 8 9 and then I
1:50
started playing basketball late kid
1:52
compared to what people say at 11 years
1:54
old.
1:55
And as you know, cuz you're from that
1:57
era uh
1:58
a lot of people might know Mase. That
2:01
was the rapper with Bad Boy.
2:03
He's one of my closest friends and he's
2:05
the first person to take me to play
2:06
basketball.
2:08
And he had took me to Rucker Park and
2:10
the day that he took me it was the
2:11
All-Star game.
2:13
So this is the first time I'm really
2:14
being introduced to basketball and I'm
2:16
seeing all these fancy cars pull up.
2:19
Like this is the middle of Harlem on
2:21
155th Street.
2:23
Like people coming with a whole bunch of
2:24
jewelry and what people got all these
2:27
names The Future, Master Rob, Dancing
2:30
Doogie, all these people. And we're
2:32
hanging on the gate watching the game.
2:35
There's at least like 3,000 people in
2:38
the park and we're like hanging on the
2:39
gate. People hanging on trees and I
2:41
never forget
2:43
uh cuz the person like became like one
2:45
of my idols growing up. His name was
2:47
Future Molloy Nesmith.
2:49
And there was a guy named Mike Boogie
2:51
and he was like dancing at half court
2:52
that he opened his legs and Mike Boogie
2:54
got on one knee and dribbled through his
2:56
legs.
2:57
And the crowd went crazy and that was
2:59
like my first introduction to
3:00
basketball. So can you imagine
3:03
like being a young kid like oh this is
3:06
this brings so much joy to the people.
3:07
This is what I want to do.
3:12
>> And that's the theater. That's
3:14
showmanship. That is amazing. I didn't
3:16
know you were boys with Mase growing up.
3:19
So we're talking about probably early
3:20
90s you're talking about right now maybe
3:22
late 80s. So you knew him well before he
3:24
became a rapper.
3:25
>> Yeah me and Mase me Mase Cam'ron uh
3:29
Jay-Z
3:30
um
3:32
Big Al
3:34
DMX like I knew all them since I was
3:36
like 13 years old. So in that group
3:39
>> That's that's
3:40
hip hop royalty right there.
3:41
>> Yeah so it's like so that's why people
3:44
wonder why like so much happened for me
3:46
and why I was so known because you know
3:48
it wasn't just basketball like I my best
3:50
friends were famous rappers that other
3:52
people think is famous and um so that's
3:55
that's how it came to fruition with with
3:57
the basketball stuff in culture.
4:00
>> Syracuse fans, make sure you're
4:01
subscribed to the channel. I've got
4:03
off-season videos every single week
4:06
throughout the summer. Make sure you're
4:07
locked right here and then post-game
4:10
recap of every football game right here
4:12
on this YouTube channel. Make sure
4:13
you're subscribed.
4:15
>> That's incredible. So look, I'm an
4:18
orange and orange man from back in the
4:19
day. So why didn't you go to Syracuse?
4:23
>> Uh just true story.
4:25
So Kenny Anderson as you know Kenny
4:27
Anderson was like the best point guard
4:29
in the country when I was in high
4:30
school.
4:31
And me and Stephon Marbury is like close
4:34
friends like real like almost like best
4:36
friends growing up in high school and we
4:37
both played with the same AAU team.
4:40
And of course you know Pearl Washington
4:42
that went to
4:43
Syracuse was like basketball royalty.
4:47
So we both looked up to Kenny Anderson
4:49
and Pearl Washington and I went to
4:52
Syracuse for a visit and I was with Baye
4:55
Fall
4:56
and Wayne Morgan was the recruiter.
4:59
And they was like, "Man, you should you
5:01
could come to Syracuse." I was like,
5:02
"Man, I'm ready to sign right now at
5:03
Syracuse."
5:05
And they was like, "Well,
5:07
we want you to sign but we've been
5:08
recruiting Steph since the the sixth
5:10
grade."
5:11
>> Oh no.
5:12
>> But but they was like, "Y'all both can
5:14
play together and like y'all do in AAU."
5:16
And I was like, "Nah,
5:18
AAU is different from college."
5:20
And I was like, "If I sign right now
5:21
then you know, if y'all don't recruit
5:23
Steph, I'll sign right now." And they
5:25
was like, "Nah, we still want to get
5:26
him. You got to wait." So Georgia Tech
5:28
said the same thing, right?
5:30
>> Wow.
5:31
>> So
5:32
uh I had Maryland, Providence, Michigan.
5:36
So then Providence they wanted me how
5:38
Syracuse wanted Steph, Providence wanted
5:40
me, right? So like in the sixth grade
5:42
Providence was recruiting me, right? And
5:45
uh
5:46
So I said, "You sure?" I was "Cuz you
5:47
know I want to come here.
5:49
Me and Pearl Me and Pearl Washington
5:51
play si- similar styles. We're both
5:53
dribblers and you know, a lot of
5:55
showmanship." And they was like, "Yeah,
5:57
but we got to wait for Steph."
5:59
And I'll never forget cuz we laugh I
6:00
laugh about this to this day. And me and
6:03
Steph Me and Steph used to hang out
6:04
every day. So I'm like, "Man, where are
6:06
you going?" And at this point, I mean, I
6:08
understood what they wanted. Steph was
6:09
the number one player in the country. He
6:11
was the number one point guard in the
6:12
country. Uh I was number two, Chauncey
6:15
Billups was number three, Wayne Turner
6:17
was number four. So I was like, I
6:19
understood it. So it wasn't like any
6:20
animosity. I understood it. But I was
6:22
just like, "Man, I'm ready to commit
6:23
right now."
6:24
And they was like, "Yeah, we going to
6:25
wait for Steph." And I'll never forget
6:27
cuz I always tell him he did this on
6:29
purpose.
6:30
So I was like, "Well, I'm about to sign
6:32
next week cuz I don't want to um I want
6:34
to go into my senior year without
6:36
worrying about college."
6:37
So I signed with Providence
6:40
on uh like a
6:42
Tuesday.
6:43
And then Steph signed with Georgia Tech
6:45
like ON A THURSDAY.
6:47
>> [laughter]
6:49
>> OH MAN.
6:51
>> AND JUNE 8TH I WAS SO hot and I'll never
6:53
forget my first Big East game was
6:56
against Syracuse.
6:58
>> Wow.
6:58
>> And I had And I had 20 points and 12
7:00
assists and I was yelling at Bayhawk, "I
7:02
told you. I told you you should have
7:03
took me. I told you you should have took
7:05
me."
7:06
>> [laughter]
7:07
>> So that's why Syracuse
7:08
>> Oh man. That's too good. Wow. Yeah,
7:12
Bayhawk must have been so upset he
7:14
missed out on both of you guys because
7:15
of that.
7:16
>> he was He was so mad. He was so mad.
7:19
>> So check this out. The NBA draft in '96,
7:23
okay? This was your first year at
7:24
Providence.
7:25
>> Yeah.
7:26
>> Iverson goes number one, Ray Allen goes
7:28
five, Kittles goes eight, John Wallace
7:31
goes 18. So that is three of the top
7:34
eight and four of the top 18 are all in
7:37
the Big East your first year.
7:39
>> you don't even have to say it. Well,
7:40
people understand when I played in the
7:41
Big the Big East was the closest thing
7:44
to the NBA.
7:45
Playing-wise and physical-wise. Like,
7:48
everybody know the Big East was so
7:49
physical. You had the best rivalry in
7:51
sports where it was
7:53
St. John's, Georgetown, you know,
7:55
Connecticut, Georgetown, Connecticut,
7:58
St. John's, Syracuse. You know, you had
8:01
you had the great coaches that was
8:03
creating legacies, not just like you
8:06
would you see today where coaches just
8:07
go and leave. You had coaches that
8:09
wanted to be there for 20 years and you
8:12
know, and and they were and they were
8:14
they were they were part of
8:16
the legacy of the game, right? As much
8:19
as Allen Iverson was at Georgia Tech,
8:22
much as I was at Providence, much as you
8:24
know, people St. John's, you had the you
8:27
had the character of the coaches what
8:29
made the culture. Like, from Jim
8:31
Boeheim, John Thompson, Lou Carnesecca,
8:35
you know, Coach Calhoun, like they was
8:37
the fabric of the Big East. And that's
8:39
what made it so amazing to play in in
8:41
that era.
8:43
>> The next year, Tim Thomas out of
8:45
Villanova went seven. Your your teammate
8:48
Austin Croshere went number 12. So, this
8:51
is just There's lottery picks in every
8:53
school every
8:54
Big East. So,
8:56
I want to know out of those two years in
8:57
the Big East, who was the toughest guy
8:59
you had to go against?
9:01
>> The toughest guy I had to go against in
9:03
those two years was
9:05
Allen Iverson
9:07
and Victor Page. Allen Iverson was the
9:09
first year and of course Victor Page
9:11
stayed. And Victor Page was For people
9:13
that don't know who Victor Page is,
9:15
he was a bucket. He was a bucket. He had
9:17
the bionic leg, the bionic one leg. Cuz
9:21
he He was 6'2" but he jumped out the gym
9:24
and you thought he was 6'8". And him and
9:25
Allen Iverson was in the backcourt and
9:27
they was putting on the show in the Big
9:30
East.
9:31
>> And the Big East tournament was just
9:35
ferocious in those days. That must have
9:37
been such a thrill to play in that
9:39
coming from New York City.
9:40
>> Yeah, it's just like you see when you
9:42
see like it's almost like how you see
9:44
now in the garden in the playoffs.
9:46
That's how it was for the Big East
9:47
tournament. I mean
9:49
if you if you sold cuz like in the Big
9:51
East tournament they would give like
9:52
coaches booklets of tickets.
9:55
It was coaches selling tickets for like
9:57
$4,000.
9:58
>> [laughter]
9:58
>> Booklets.
9:59
The booklets of tickets. So they could
10:02
play so they could come to the Big East
10:03
tournament for the the next 3 days. Like
10:06
like that was that was some of the
10:07
coaches hustles back there like cuz the
10:10
like you said the Big East was so good
10:12
and it was so much and to be in Madison
10:14
Square Garden the best arena in the
10:16
world. It was like it's still to this
10:18
day amazing no matter what no matter how
10:21
you look at it like playing in the
10:22
Madison Square Garden and then for you
10:24
for me being from New York to play in
10:26
Madison Square Garden on the biggest
10:28
stage and and and and one of the biggest
10:30
programs in the country at that time
10:32
like man you couldn't you couldn't
10:34
fabric.
10:35
>> Mhm.
10:36
Now before I get to your the pizza
10:38
situation that that the wonderful
10:40
promotion I just wanted to ask you about
10:42
that experience and then taking it into
10:44
the NBA how it probably was a great test
10:49
lab for you to play like you said the
10:51
closest thing to the NBA was the Big
10:53
East back then. How did it help you in
10:55
your in your transition to the league?
10:58
>> It it it helped me in so many ways
11:00
because the Big East was so physical.
11:02
It was uh it was more half court. It
11:05
wasn't like the Pac-10 and all that
11:07
where you just ran up and down. And if
11:09
you look if you remember the the NBA in
11:13
the '90s and stuff it was more slow down
11:15
more physical. It was uh great big men
11:18
you know whether it's Patrick Ewing and
11:19
David Robinson Shaquille O'Neal. So it
11:22
wasn't like the game you would have
11:23
today but you still had the amazing
11:25
guards of like me Allen Iverson Stephon
11:28
Marbury and stuff like that but it was
11:30
it was way more it wasn't
11:32
uh positionless basketball if if that's
11:35
what I can say.
11:37
Um and
11:39
I think that's why a lot of people
11:41
resonate with that brand of basketball
11:43
because I don't think uh
11:47
when James Naismith made basketball he
11:49
made it for it to be positionless,
11:50
right? So that's why you have so many
11:53
guards turn the ball over different
11:55
things because you have power forwards
11:56
being point guards.
11:58
And you have you have centers being
12:00
shooting guards shooting threes. So it's
12:02
like so when you look at that style of
12:05
basketball it just all made sense,
12:06
right? The point guards was there to
12:08
take care of the ball, get assists and
12:09
things like that. Shooting guards was
12:11
there to play defense and score. Big men
12:13
was
12:14
rebounding the ball at a high level.
12:17
Right? So so then basketball just made
12:19
sense, right? And
12:21
you know, which you know, we got great
12:23
athletes now. We got amazing players
12:25
now. But basketball just made sense that
12:28
way, right? And your percentages was
12:30
good, different things was good because
12:33
it was kind of like if you look at
12:34
football now, right? If you look at
12:35
football now, what is the amazing thing
12:37
about football
12:39
a running back is not trying to be a
12:40
wide receiver, a wide receiver is not
12:42
trying to be a running back.
12:44
Right? So that's why football stayed the
12:45
same and that's why football is like an
12:47
amazing sport. You know, when you get to
12:49
basketball you have
12:51
you have
12:52
most of sometimes you have one person
12:54
that think they can do everything.
12:56
Right? And then
12:56
>> You got you got Wemby at 6 7 6 who's
12:59
able to handle the ball on the perimeter
13:00
and shoot threes.
13:01
>> Yeah. So then when So then when it
13:04
is all amazing when he's making them,
13:06
then when he's not making them people
13:07
like, "Man, why he's not at the rim? Why
13:09
he's not this?" You know, different
13:10
things like that. So that's So that will
13:12
be always the give and take
13:15
of the sport. And when I was in the Big
13:16
East the good thing about the Big East
13:18
was
13:19
you was the point guard that ran the
13:21
show, you was physical, you had uh
13:24
you had a lot of um athletic ability and
13:27
you thought the game. So, if you look at
13:29
a lot of people from the Big East back
13:30
then, they are coaches now, you know,
13:33
including myself, right? So, so that's
13:35
what the Big East meant to me and and
13:38
and that's what it will always mean to
13:39
me and it will be the closest thing to
13:41
the NBA ever.
13:42
>> That's really well said. Orlando Magic
13:44
assistant coach God Shammgod joins us
13:46
here on the show and he's got a really
13:47
cool promotion going on in Orlando.
13:49
There's a lot of New York City
13:50
transplants down there. He's one of them
13:52
and they want their dollar slice, they
13:54
want their good pizza, they're getting
13:56
it today. Marco's Pizza, one day only,
14:00
dollar slice, which is so cool because
14:03
they're making it just like they make it
14:05
in New York City. This sounds like a
14:07
great event.
14:08
>> Yeah, it's it's an amazing event for
14:10
amazing cause and to represent uh New
14:13
York City and show Florida what New York
14:16
City is about and their dollar slices
14:17
are amazing.
14:19
You know, me growing up, the the good
14:21
thing about the dollar slices, it saved
14:23
so many families in my neighborhood.
14:25
>> Right, for sure.
14:26
>> You could get a dollar slice and you
14:28
know, I grew up in a house where I had
14:29
five sisters and one brother, so you can
14:31
imagine what a dollar slice did for my
14:33
family, you know, growing up.
14:34
>> Oh, yeah, [laughter] for sure.
14:36
>> We ate good, you know what I'm saying?
14:37
So, it's like
14:39
or if you you know, you go play AAU
14:41
tournament and you come back and you're
14:43
hungry and you're like, man, I I need to
14:44
get something to eat, something that's
14:46
going to be fulfilling at the same time.
14:48
Right? And you know, what they're doing
14:50
in Florida right now, Marco's Pizza,
14:52
bringing the dollar slices down here. I
14:54
remember when I first moved down here to
14:56
Orlando, I was trying to find a pizza so
14:59
bad and I and all I kept saying was man,
15:02
they don't make them like New York
15:03
pizzas, New York pizzas. Then they was
15:05
like, extremely high for like a small
15:08
pizza, like a box pizza. And if you know
15:11
the New York pizza, you know, they'd be
15:12
triangles, they're big. And you know,
15:14
actually I have one right here and and
15:16
man, this pizza is so good. This Marco's
15:19
pizza
15:20
is so good. You can see the crushed
15:21
tomatoes. The crust is is is real
15:25
been cooked a little extra long so you
15:27
get that bite. You get that sound when
15:29
you bite into it. So, like I said,
15:31
Marco's Pizza is doing an amazing thing
15:33
in Orlando and I'm just happy to be a
15:35
part of it because like I said, it saved
15:38
me so much money growing up and it saved
15:40
my family so much money. And we always
15:43
was full. And it helped me be Believe it
15:46
or not, it helped me be athletic and it
15:48
helped me be fast because I used to eat
15:50
this pizza so fast and go right back to
15:52
the court and practice.
15:54
>> It's a man that knows his slice right
15:56
there. God Shamgod, he is a native New
15:58
Yorker. Marco's Pizzeria in Orlando,
16:01
dollar slice day over there. They're
16:02
making it just like they do in the Big
16:04
Apple.
16:05
>> so please get out here cuz they're going
16:07
fast. I know he made enough for it to
16:09
keep going, but they're going fast.
16:12
>> All right. Get out there right now.
16:14
They're doing it. God Shamgod joining us
16:17
from the Orlando Magic. Man, thanks so
16:19
much. This is second
16:20
>> I appreciate it. Thank you so much. I
16:21
appreciate it, man.
16:22
>> What an unbelievable conversation with
16:25
God Shamgod. That was so much fun. I
16:27
could talk old school Big East with guys
16:30
every single day and not get sick of it.
16:32
Hey, make sure you're subscribed to the
16:34
channel. If you're a Syracuse fan, I'm
16:36
going to be doing postgame reaction
16:38
videos throughout the entire football
16:41
season and offseason prep videos for
16:44
both football and basketball. Highly
16:46
anticipated seasons for Fran Brown and
16:49
Gerry McNamara. So, make sure you're
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subscribed to this YouTube channel
16:52
because if you're not, the videos might
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scoot by. You might never see them. Make
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sure you're subscribed for the best
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Syracuse coverage and go read my website
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daily, Orange Fizz. Go to the
17:03
orangefizz.com and every single day
17:06
we've got new news, new stories, new
17:08
coverage on the Orange. I appreciate
17:11
you, Orange Nation. I appreciate God
17:12
Shamgod for joining me here on the
17:14
program. That was amazing. I'll see you
17:16
next time, everybody. I'm DA. Also catch
17:18
me on Mad Dog Sports Radio channel 82
17:21
weekday mornings 6:00 until 9:00 Eastern
17:23
time. Mad Dog Sports Radio channel 82
17:25
weekday mornings. All right, appreciate
17:27
you watching. We'll see you next time.
#Sports