Shamorie Saequan Ponds (born June 29, 1998) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for the

Astros de Jalisco Astros de Jalisco (English: ''Jalisco Astros'') is a professional Mexican basketball team, based in Guadalajara, Jalisco. The Astros are part the CIBACOPA and the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional, the top professional basketball league in M ...

of the

Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional The National Professional Basketball League ( or LNBP) is the top professional basketball league in Mexico. The league was founded in 2000 with 10 teams. Despite its short history, the LNBP has established itself as the one of the most important ...

(LNBP). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the St. John's Red Storm.

High school career

Ponds played high school basketball for Thomas Jefferson High School in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, 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 Christopher Paul Mullin (born July 30, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player, executive and coach. He is a two-time Olympic Gold medalist and a two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee (in 2010 as a memb ...

. Ponds was rated as a four-star recruit and ranked 37th overall recruit and 9th best point guard in the 2016 high school class.

College career

As a freshman, Ponds was one of the top freshmen in the

Big East Conference The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

, 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. Following his freshman year, Ponds became a top player in the Big East as a sophomore. Ponds made a national name for himself with standout performances in back to back upset wins over fourth-ranked

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

, top-ranked Villanova, as well as scoring 44 points, a

Carnesecca Arena Carnesecca Arena (formerly Alumni Hall) is a 6,107-seat multi-purpose arena in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. It was built in 1961 and renamed in honor of Hall of Fame Coach Lou Carnesecca on November 23, 2004. It is the excl ...

record, against the

Marquette Golden Eagles The Marquette Golden Eagles, formerly known as the Marquette Warriors, Blue and Gold, Gold, Hilltoppers, and Golden Avalanche (football only), are the athletic teams representing Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. They ...

. At the close of the season, Ponds was named first-team All-Big East and won the

Haggerty Award __NOTOC__ The Lt. Frank J. Haggerty Award is given to the All-New York Metropolitan NCAA Division I men's college basketball player of the year, presented by the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) and the Met Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) ...

as the top college player in the New York City metro area. Following his sophomore season, Ponds declared his eligibility for the 2018 NBA draft. He did not initially hire an agent. 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.

Professional career

Toronto Raptors (2019–2020)

After going undrafted in the

2019 NBA draft The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, i ...

, the Houston Rockets signed Ponds to a contract to play in the

2019 NBA Summer League The 2019 NBA Summer League was held at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada on the campus of University of Nevada, Las Vegas. It began on July 5 and ended on July 15. All 30 teams and two national teams, China and Croat ...

and take part in training camp. He later had his contract converted to a

two-way Two-way or Two Way may refer to: * " 2-Way", single by rapper Lil' Romeo * Two-way, Cincinnati chili topped on spaghetti * "Two Way" (KT Tunstall and James Bay duet), 2016 See also * * * * 3-Way (disambiguation) {{Disambiguation ...

deal, a decision which was later reversed. On October 19, 2019, the Rockets released Ponds. On October 23, 2019, the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

announced they had signed Ponds to a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

. Under the terms of the deal, he would split time between the Raptors and their

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...

affiliate, the

Raptors 905 The Raptors 905 are a Canadian professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Mississauga, Ontario, and are affiliated with the Toronto Raptors. Raptors 905 began play in the 2015–16 season and play their home games at Paramount Fi ...

. 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.

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.

Delaware Blue Coats (2021–2022)

Ponds was selected by the

Delaware Blue Coats The Delaware Blue Coats are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Wilmington, Delaware, and are affiliated with the Philadelphia 76ers. The Blue Coats play their home games at Chase Fieldhouse. The team was found ...

first overall in the 2021 NBA G League draft.

Astros de Jalisco (2023–present)

Ponds led the

to a CIBACOPA league title in 2023 and was named Finals MVP.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, 4 , , 0 , , 2.8 , , .600 , , .500 , , 1.000 , , .3 , , .5 , , .0 , , .3 , , 2.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 4 , , 0 , , 2.8 , , .600 , , .500 , , 1.000 , , .3 , , .5 , , .0 , , .3 , , 2.3

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;", St. John's , 33 , , 33 , , 33.6 , , .439 , , .375 , , .823 , , 4.4 , , 3.1 , , 2.1 , , .2 , , 17.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;", St. John's , 30 , , 30 , , 37.0 , , .420 , , .253 , , .857 , , 5.0 , , 4.7 , , 2.3 , , .1 , , 21.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;", St. John's , 33 , , 33 , , 35.1 , , .454 , , .353 , , .836 , , 4.1 , , 5.1 , , 2.6 , , .3 , , 19.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 96 , , 96 , , 35.2 , , .437 , , .328 , , .840 , , 4.5 , , 4.3 , , 2.3 , , .2 , , 19.5

References

External links

St. John's Red Storm bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ponds, Shamorie 1998 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Bosnia and Herzegovina American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in Mexico American men's basketball players Astros de Jalisco players Delaware Blue Coats players Point guards Raptors 905 players OKK Spars players Basketball players from Brooklyn St. John's Red Storm men's basketball players Thomas Jefferson High School (Brooklyn) alumni Toronto Raptors players Undrafted National Basketball Association players