Tascosa grad Shahada Wells helping TCU reach new heights heading into March Madness
"American Underdog" told the story of Kurt Warner's journey from FCS college backup quarterback, to Arena Football standout, to Super Bowl MVP. "The Rookie" showed Jim Morris' rise from high school baseball coach to minor league prospect to Major League pitcher.
No word yet on what the title will be for Shahada Wells' movie, or if there will even be one. So far, though, his journey has been the stuff that movies are made out of.
Wells, a graduate of Tascosa High School, is currently in his redshirt senior year at TCU with an extra year of eligibility remaining due to the COVID-19 season. He's played an important role off the bench this season for the Horned Frogs and even started nine of the 33 games he's played in.
ON Friday, TCU (21-12) is set to playin the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year, marking the first that’s occurred since 1953. The Horned Frogs are set to face off against 11th-seeded Arizona State (23-12) at 9:05 p.m. in the opening round with the game to be televised on TrueTV.
“Man it’s exciting," Wells said. "Two years back-to-back I get to experience it. Last year I wasn’t playing so I just got to see the things my team brought to the table, but this year I’m playing so it’s just a happy feeling, man.”
Last year Wells played in just seven games for the Horned Frogs. This year, however; he's played an important offensive role in the rotation.
Entering the tournament, he's averaging 6.2 points, 2.5 assists and 1.2 steals in 18.1 minutes a game while shooting 44.8% from the field. That production has helped TCU go 21-12 on the season, ranking 22nd in the nation as recently as last week and clinching a sixth seed in the bracket.
It's a night and day difference from spending most of his time watching last season.
“Last year I wasn’t playing so I could only talk to the guys," Wells said. "I couldn’t actually go out and help. This year, I’m able to help them on the court, showing them what I see and bringing energy from the bench. I feel like that’s one of the biggest things I bring to the team is energy. I’m a great role player for the team.”
It's a role he's adapted to after taking the road less traveled to get to this point.
After graduating from Tascosa in 2018, Wells began his career at Tyler Junior College where he spent the next two years. After averaging 21.6 points and six assists per game his sophomore season, he transferred to UT Arlington where he started all 24 games he played. The offensive success continued as he averaged 16.6 points and 2.2 steals per game.
Wells took his talents to TCU where he had to bide his time before seeing a larger role in one of the top conferences in the country. Now, he's going dancing for the second year in a row for a Big 12 school that's nationally ranked.
“Like they say, ‘The work shows,’" Wells said. "I just kept working at it. Starting out at TJC, I knew I wanted to go bigger so I knew I had to work, I had to win games, I just had to do things to stand out. Even coming to UTA I wanted to work and become one of the biggest to ever come out of Amarillo, so I knew I had to work for it.”
The work has led him to some big moments this season, including scoring 17 points in an upset win over the Kansas Jayhawks earlier this season. It's no surprise to the Tascosa community that Wells has been able to find the success he has, especially not to his former head coach.
“I think it’s just about perseverance," Rebels head basketball coach Steve Jackson said. "He took the route he took and to end up where he’s at now is just a testament to his perseverance and how hard he’s worked at his game to be in a position to play at (TCU). ... It’s just so great to see him being successful and having a good opportunity to advance his career and possibly play professionally at some point.””
Wells hasn't forgotten where he came from and is grateful to Jackson and the community at THS for helping him reach this point.
“Coach Jackson outside of basketball helped me become a better person," Wells said. "That’s something he always talked about. He wanted to get us ready for the outside world, not just the basketball world. He helped me become a better person and as I moved forward in life that’s just stuck with me.”
Jackson said Wells has what it takes to play at the next level. Wells says his plan right now is to come back to TCU next year, but right now he has another task right in front of him to take care of. The furthest the Horned Frogs have ever advanced in the tournament is the Elite Eight, but that was back in 1968. Wells hopes that will change this year, but at the same time, he's just trying to do his part. Whatever happens after that, happens.
“We’re just going to go out and play our hardest, Wells said. "Win, lose, or draw I just hope we stick together and just play our hardest. I want to win it all, but it’s whatever God has planned for us.”
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Tascosa grad Shahada Wells helping TCU reach new heights heading into March Madness
