Shamorie Ponds

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Shamorie Ponds

| image = Shamorie Ponds.jpg

| image_size =

| caption =

| position = Point guard

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 0

| weight_lbs = 175

| league = The League

| team = Erdenet Miners

| number = 8

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1998|6|29}}

| birth_place = Brooklyn, New York, U.S.

| high_school = Thomas Jefferson
(Brooklyn, New York)

| college = St. John's (2016–2019)

| draft_year = 2019

| career_start = 2019

| years1 = {{nbay|2019|full=y}}

| team1 = Toronto Raptors

| years2 = 2019–2020

| team2 = →Raptors 905

| years3 = 2021

| team3 =Spars

| years4 = 2021–2022

| team4 = Delaware Blue Coats

| years5 = 2023

| team5 = Astros de Jalisco

| years6 = 2023

| team6 = Al Rayyan

| years7 = 2024

| team7 = Club Malvín

| years8 = 2024

| team8 = Marinos de Oriente

| years9 = 2024–present

| team9 = Erdenet Miners

| highlights =

CIBACOPA champion (2023)
CIBACOPA Finals MVP (2023)
2× AP Honorable Mention All-American (2018, 2019)
2× First-team All-Big East (2018, 2019)
Big East All-Freshman team (2017)
Haggerty Award winner (2018)
Jordan Brand Classic (2016)

}}

Shamorie Saequan Ponds (born June 29, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Erdenet Miners of The League. He played college basketball for the St. John's Red Storm.

High school career

Ponds played high school basketball for Thomas Jefferson High School in Brooklyn, New York, where in 2016 he led the team to its first New York City title since 1954. He chose to attend nearby St. John's to play for coach Chris Mullin.{{cite news|last1=Armstrong|first1=Kevin|title=Shamorie Ponds of Thomas Jefferson HS signs National Letter of Intent with St. John's |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/high-school/jefferson-ponds-signs-mullin-sju-article-1.2441163|access-date=May 15, 2018|work=New York Daily News|date=November 19, 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Braziller|first1=Zach|title=Shamorie Ponds chose St. John's to 'put on a show for my city'|url=https://nypost.com/2016/04/14/st-johns-new-star-is-creating-own-path-by-staying-home/|access-date=May 15, 2018|work=New York Daily News|date=April 14, 2016}}

Ponds was rated as a four-star recruit and ranked 37th overall recruit and 9th best point guard in the 2016 high school class.{{Cite web|url=http://www.espn.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/207249/shamorie-ponds|title=Shamorie Ponds – Basketball Recruiting – Player Profiles|date=April 25, 2016|website=ESPN.com|access-date=April 25, 2016}}{{Cite web|url=https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2016/shamorie-ponds-649|title=Shamorie Ponds, 2016 Point guard - Rivals.com|date=January 7, 2016|website=n.rivals.com|access-date=January 7, 2016}}

College career

As a freshman, Ponds was one of the top freshmen in the Big East Conference, averaging 17.4 points and averaging 3.3 assists as the starting point guard for the Red Storm. At the close of the season, Ponds was named to the conference all-freshman team.{{cite news|last1=Braziller|first1=Zach|title=Why Shamorie Ponds can blame teammate for Big East snub|url=https://nypost.com/2017/03/08/why-shamorie-ponds-can-blame-teammate-for-big-east-snub/|access-date=May 15, 2018|work=New York Daily News|date=March 8, 2017}}

Following his freshman year, Ponds became a top player in the Big East as a sophomore.{{cite news|last1=Walsh|first1=Peter|title=Big City Dreams|url=https://www.slamonline.com/uncategorized/shamorie-ponds-feature/|access-date=May 15, 2018|work=Slam Magazine|date=November 10, 2017}} Ponds made a national name for himself with standout performances in back to back upset wins over fourth-ranked Duke, top-ranked Villanova,{{cite news|last1=O’Donnell|first1=Ricky|title=How Shamorie Ponds became the basketball king of New York|url=https://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/2018/2/20/17014986/shamorie-ponds-st-johns-hot-streak-duke-villanova-nba-draft|access-date=May 15, 2018|work=SB Nation|date=February 20, 2018}} as well as scoring 44 points, a Carnesecca Arena record, against the Marquette Golden Eagles. At the close of the season, Ponds was named first-team All-Big East and won the Haggerty Award as the top college player in the New York City metro area.{{cite news|last1=Weiner|first1=Rick|title=Shamorie Ponds named to All Big East First Team|url=https://elitesportsny.com/2018/03/04/st-johns-news-shamorie-ponds-named-to-all-big-east-first-team/|access-date=May 15, 2018|work=Elitesportsny.com|date=March 4, 2018}}{{cite news|last1=Marcus|first1=Steven|title=St. John's Shamorie Ponds wins Haggerty Award|url=https://www.newsday.com/sports/college/st-johns/shamorie-ponds-haggerty-award-1.18252074|access-date=May 15, 2018|work=Newsday|date=April 25, 2018}}

Following his sophomore season, Ponds declared his eligibility for the 2018 NBA draft. He did not initially hire an agent.{{cite news|last1=Phillips|first1=Scott|title=St. John's guard Shamorie Ponds entering NBA Draft process without an agent|url=https://collegebasketball.nbcsports.com/2018/03/24/st-johns-guard-shamorie-ponds-testing-nba-draft-process/|access-date=May 15, 2018|work=NBCSports.com|date=March 24, 2018}} He decided to return to St. John's for his junior season. Ponds averaged 19.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 2.6 steals in 35.1 minutes per game as a junior. He left St. John's for the NBA after the season concluded.{{cite news |last1=DuBose |first1=Ben |title=Rookie guard Shamorie Ponds joins Raptors on two-way contract |url=https://rocketswire.usatoday.com/2019/10/22/rookie-guard-shamorie-ponds-joins-raptors-on-two-way-contract/ |access-date=December 12, 2019 |work=Rookie Wire |date=October 22, 2019}}

Professional career

=Toronto Raptors (2019–2020)=

After going undrafted in the 2019 NBA draft, the Houston Rockets signed Ponds to a contract to play in the 2019 NBA Summer League and take part in training camp.{{cite web|title=Roster Update: Rockets GM Daryl Morey announced today the team has signed rookie free agent guards Chris Clemons, Shamorie Ponds and William McDowell-White. All three players will represent the Rockets at NBA Summer League 2019, which begins on Friday.|url=https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/1146610315460788226|website=Houston Rockets on Twitter|access-date=September 3, 2019|date=July 4, 2019}} He later had his contract converted to a two-way deal,{{Cite web|url=https://rocketswire.usatoday.com/2019/09/04/rookie-guards-ponds-mcdowell-white-land-rockets-two-way-deals/|title=Rookie guards Ponds, McDowell-White land Rockets' two-way deals|date=September 4, 2019|website=Rockets Wire|language=en|access-date=September 7, 2019}} a decision which was later reversed.{{cite web|last1=Adams|first1=Luke|title=Rockets Adjust Contracts For Ponds, McDowell-White|url=https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2019/09/rockets-convert-ponds-mcdowell-white-to-two-way-deals.html|website=HoopsRumors|access-date=September 7, 2019|date=September 5, 2019}} On October 19, 2019, the Rockets released Ponds.{{cite web|title=Rockets Waive Ray Spalding, Two Others|url=https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2019/10/rockets-waive-ray-spalding-two-others.html|website=Hoops Rumors|access-date=October 21, 2019|date=October 19, 2019}}

On October 23, 2019, the Toronto Raptors announced they had signed Ponds to a two-way contract. Under the terms of the deal, he would split time between the Raptors and their NBA G League affiliate, the Raptors 905.{{cite web|title=Raptors Sign Ponds to Two-Way Contract|url=https://raptors905.gleague.nba.com/news/raptors-sign-ponds-to-two-way-contract/|website=NBA G League|access-date=October 23, 2019|date=October 23, 2019}} On November 27, 2019, Ponds made his NBA debut against the New York Knicks, scoring 4 points and making his first NBA basket. On December 31, 2019, Ponds set a new career high with 5 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers. On January 15, 2020, the Raptors waived Ponds.{{cite web|title=Raptors waive Shamorie Ponds|url=https://www.nba.com/raptors/raptors-waive-shamorie-ponds/|website=NBA|access-date=January 15, 2020|date=January 15, 2020}}

=Spars (2021)=

On February 23, 2021, Spars of the Bosnian League announced they had signed Ponds to for the rest of the 2020–21 season.{{cite web |title=Spars signed with Shamorie Ponds |url=https://druga.aba-liga.com/news/44664/spars-signed-with-shamorie-ponds/ |website=druga.aba-liga.com |access-date=February 24, 2021}}

=Delaware Blue Coats (2021–2022)=

Ponds was selected by the Delaware Blue Coats first overall in the 2021 NBA G League draft.{{Cite web|title=Lance Stephenson selected in G League draft|url=https://nationalpost.com/pmn/sports-pmn/lance-stephenson-selected-in-g-league-draft|access-date=October 23, 2021|website=National Post}}

=Astros de Jalisco (2023)=

Ponds led the Astros de Jalisco to a CIBACOPA league title in 2023 and was named Finals MVP.{{cite news|url=https://www.telediario.mx/deportes/basquetbol/astros-jalisco-gana-rayos-bicampeon-cibacopa|title=Astros de Jalisco derrota a Rayos de Hermosillo y es bicampeón de Cibacopa 2023|work=Telediario.mx|first=Vanessa|last=Flores|date=June 26, 2023|access-date=July 4, 2023|language=es}}

=Erdenet Miners (2024–present)=

In December 2024, Ponds joined the Erdenet Miners of The League.{{cite web |title=Miners tab Shamorie Ponds, ex Marinos |url=https://www.asia-basket.com/Mongolia/news/908882/Miners-tab-Shamorie-Ponds-ex-Marinos |website=Eurobasket.com |access-date=December 27, 2024 |date=December 25, 2024}}

Personal life

Ponds is the son of Shawn Ponds and Lamell Brightwell. He has a brother named Shawn and two sisters, Shamell and Shaniaya.{{cite web |title=Shamorie Ponds - Men's Basketball |url=https://redstormsports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/shamorie-ponds/3360 |website=St. John's University Athletics |access-date=July 26, 2024 |language=en}}