Shahada Wells's Odyssey Through College Basketball to Fulfilling Destiny at McNeese
Shahada Wells has played at four different schools in six years, and what he's learned along the way only makes him better.
Shahada Wells is a nomad of college basketball. His geographical journey spans just 505 miles—he attended four schools in two states over the last six years–but his path of self-exploration was much longer.
The 24-year-old guard spent three offseasons in the transfer portal, using it in all the right ways and for all the right reasons. He was never chasing NIL money or ego boost–just searching for the feeling of home.
Growing up on 13th street in Amarillo, Texas, he searched for four years for the right fit within the Lone Star State, only for fate to guide him to Lake Charles, Louisiana to find God’s will at McNeese State.
“I do [think there’s a reason] I’m here,” Wells said. “I thank God every morning for just giving me this opportunity. I talk to my aunt all the time; she’s a very godly person. She was like ‘I’m glad you did it on your own and didn’t listen to the outside noise of where you should go.’ I feel like I gambled on myself, and it’s all rewarded now.”
What you see this year is Shahada Wells: star guard of the McNeese State Cowboys. He’s averaging 17.1 points–on 49% shooting from the field and 39% from 3-point range–along with 4.7 assists and rebounds, and 2.9 steals. Awards for his handiwork have come in bunches, including two Southland Conference Player of the Week honors and one Lute Olson National Player of the Week, which came after his 30-point, 10-rebound performance when the Cowboys took down Michigan in Ann Arbor.
He’s dropped 30 or more points three times and 20-plus on nine occasions while also nabbing the third most steals in the country, making an impact on both ends of the floor. He’s one of the favorites to be voted as Southland Player of the Year, leading McNeese to a record of 25-3 overall and 13-1 in conference play.
“He’s a phenomenal leader,” coach Will Wade said. “As a coach, I’ve been fortunate enough to coach plenty of talented players. There’s an old coaching cliche: When your best players are your best leaders and hardest workers, you’ve got a chance to have a special season. I’ve never been able to test that theory until this year and it is 100% right.
“He’s one of those guys that everybody respects, he handles his business on and off the court, and he doesn’t have a lot of extracurricular stuff going on. He’s older, he’s mature, he lives by himself, he’s been around and he’s worldly; he’s seen a lot of things. Our guys jokingly call him ‘Unc’ because they always go to him for advice.”
Wells takes the friendly jab as a compliment–a display of the wisdom he possesses, and his teammates covet.
“They say it because I’m the oldest guy on the team,” Wells said. “I feel like I’ve got the most knowledge on the team. When you’re a youngster, you go talk to your uncle and be like, ‘Give me some game.’ I feel like I’ve got the most game and can teach them something they don’t know.”
Enlightenment like that comes only after you’ve played college basketball for six years. Not long ago, Wells was no different than those teammates are now–he wasn’t always the standout taking over the Southland Conference.
Wells attended Tascosa High School in Amarillo, where he averaged 21.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 3.6 steals. Leading Tascosa to the playoffs, he was chosen as the Amarillo Globe News Super Team Player of the Year.
Despite that success, he was not ranked on any recruiting boards. Even though a few schools showed interest, Wells decided to go to Tyler (Texas) Junior College.
“To be honest, I was just trying to play ball,” Wells said. “My first year, I didn’t know if I was going to play or not. They had their starting five all coming back. Due to God, one of the guys got hurt and I started for Tyler. Coach [Mike] Marquis and Coach Mitch [Marquis] saw what I could do, and it all worked out.”
In his freshman year at Tyler, Wells averaged 16.1 points while shooting 54% from the field and 47% from 3 and was voted to the all-region second team.
Back at Tyler for his sophomore year, Wells took a step up. He averaged 21.6 points along with six assists and shot 55% from the field and 46% from behind the arc. He was picked as the region player of the year while also garnering first-team All-American honors, leading Tyler to a 25-3 record and the region’s regular-season title.
After two years at the junior college level, Wells was ready to make the jump to Division I.
One of the first schools to call was one he’d heard from before his junior college experience: UT Arlington.
“I felt it was the right fit for me–it felt like family,” Wells said. “They had always talked to me, so it felt like family and that was something I really wanted when I got out of Tyler.”
The feeling of family drew Wells to UTA, and a monster junior year ensued.
He scored in double figures in 24 of the Mavericks’ 25 games–the one exception coming in an early season matchup with Tulsa in which Wells was sidelined after just 14 minutes with a foot injury. Leading UTA in scoring at 17.5 points per game, Wells impacted each game in so many ways.
His season-high in scoring came in a 31-point outing against Louisiana–a game in which he also grabbed a season-best eight rebounds. Against Arkansas State, he handed out nine assists and when Little Rock came to town, he robbed them with seven steals.
He dueled with 2021 NBA Draft top pick Cade Cunningham in the season opener against Oklahoma State, each scoring 21 points while Wells did it on 9-13 shooting along with five steals.
Despite all Wells’s success throughout the year, UT Arlington went into the Sun Belt as the West’s third seed after going 13-13 overall and 9-8 in conference play. Matched up with Troy, the Mavericks were dispatched in the first round after Wells scored 19 points and snatched seven steals but accounted for seven turnovers.
Wells was voted to the second team All-Sun Belt, finishing third in the league in scoring and assists, fourth in assists-to-turnover ratio and fifth in threes made. His success at UTA caught the eye of one Will Wade, who was coaching at LSU at the time. As fate would have it, Wade would have the opportunity to snatch Wells from the portal two years later.
“I was much more intrigued by what he did at UTA than what he did at TCU,” Wade said. “It was much more applicable to our situation [at McNeese]. The Sun Belt is a better league than the Southland numerically anywhere you look at it. I felt like he could put up similar numbers, I spoke with his coach at Arlington, and he had great things to say. It became a slam dunk for us.”
After his big first year in Division I, he though it was worth it to put his name into the transfer portal. Once again, it was a Texas school that jumped on the opportunity to recruit Wells–TCU was one of the first programs to call.
“I just felt that with the big games I had that I had more in the tank to go to a bigger school and show what I could do,” Wells said. “TCU first hit me up, they were one of the first schools, and they felt like family as well. They were calling me every day and we weren’t even talking just basketball; it was more stuff. They were asking about family and things of that matter. It just felt like a family, and I felt I had a relationship with those guys.”
Wells opened his Horned Frogs career against none other than the Cowboys of McNeese State. He played in just 13 minutes and did not score, a common theme during his first season. Wells was used sparingly through the first seven games of the season, scoring seven points against Southern Miss and six against Austin Peay.
After that stretch, it was revealed Wells was dealing with a knee injury, missing matchups against Texas A&M, Georgetown and Grambling State. He wanted to get back into the lineup for a game with Texas Southern, but eventually decided it was in his best interest to not return for the year. Wells chose to forego his eligibility and apply for a medical redshirt.
He watched from the sideline as the Horned Frogs went 8-10 in Big 12 play before falling to Kansas in the conference tournament and Arizona in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Although eyes weren’t on him anymore, Wells never stopped working and did what he could to contribute to his team’s success.
“Being on the bench through that injury, I felt I could do something to help the team,” Wells said. “Whether it be practicing and telling them what I see, talking in games or telling them this read or that read. I used to talk to Damion [Baugh] and Mike [Miles, Jr.] all the time telling them what I saw and how I could help them.
“Being out put a fire in me to make sure the next year when I came back, I would be ready and willing to do whatever to help the team.”
For Wells, doing anything for the team required patience throughout his redshirt senior season. Coach Jamie Dixon used him sporadically all year and the roller coaster of injuries for fellow guard Mike Miles, Jr. contributed to that.
Wells started in the season opener against Arkansas Pine-Bluff, then was relegated to the bench against Lamar before being called back up after Miles missed two games with injuries to his wrist and foot.
“In the beginning and the middle of the season, it was really good for me,” Wells said. “Some games I didn’t play a lot but whatever games I was in, whatever minutes I did get, I just did the best to help the team win.”
Five minutes against Providence. 29 against Jackson State. Six minutes at West Virginia, followed by 21 minutes in a season-high scoring effort of 17 at Kansas before a stretch of eight games playing 20 or more minutes. As March rolled around, Wells’s minutes dwindled again, playing nine in the Big 12 semifinal loss to Texas and four and five minutes against Arizona State and Gonzaga, respectively, in the NCAA Tournament.
As TCU’s season and a confusing year for Wells ended, he decided once again to hit the transfer portal.
“Me and Coach Dixon just weren’t seeing eye to eye,” Wells said. “I didn’t have that relationship as I’d had with past coaches. We talked it out and I told him I needed to get in the portal and look around; he always said I could come back if I wanted to, but I found a spot here [at McNeese]. Me and Coach Wade get along very well. We talk every day, we laugh, we giggle, and it just feels like family.”
While in the portal, Wells received interest from Oklahoma State, Clemson, New Mexico State and others. His cousin, Danny, was his right-hand man in the recruiting process, gaining Wells’s trust to attend visits and influence his decision. The familial feeling of Wade and McNeese won in the end.
“As you get older in the recruiting process, you start seeing things like who’s calling,” Wells said. I noticed that it wasn’t [Wade]’s assistants calling me, it was him. Assistants can tell you you’re going to play, but the head coach didn’t tell you that. He kept calling me, we built a relationship early on, and he never promised me anything–he always told me I was going to have to work for everything.”
Wells and Wade bonded over more than basketball. They talked about family and other interests, such as real estate–something Wade has already dabbled in, and Wells wants to get into.
“I’ve been wanting to buy some real estate back in my hometown,” Wells said. “My aunt has been very onto real estate, and she’s been helping me look into houses, and then coach Wade told me he does those things. We’ve talked about what I need, and I showed him a few houses that I have.”
One day, when the ball stops bouncing for him, maybe you’ll see Shahada Wells: Amarillo’s Real Estate Tycoon.
In 2022-23, McNeese struggled, finishing with a record of 11-23 overall and 6-12 in the Southland. Athletic director Heath Schroyer was sick of losing and took a chance on Wade, who was fired from LSU after being accused of violations of NCAA rules. Wade went 108-54 with the Tigers but his reputation was tarnished–McNeese trusted his talent as a coach and pulled the trigger.
“McNeese is a sleeping giant,” Schroyer said at Wade’s introductory press conference in March. “Ladies and gentlemen, the giant has just awoken. The time for McNeese basketball and this athletic department to become regionally and nationally relevant is now.”
The confidence in Wade and his staff was electric. A shock was sent through the school and the entire conference: McNeese is back. Wade got to work, flipping the roster completely–only three players from 2022-23 returned.
“We certainly never lack for confidence,” Wade said. “I felt really good about who we could attract here. At the end of the day, he who has good players is the one who wins the most.”
One of the three returners was junior forward Christian Shumate, the Cowboys’ best player from last season. Shumate has been featured on SportsCenter multiple times this season for his graceful yet violent resume of dunks, many of which are a product of his immediate connection with Wells.
“[Wells] and Shu have been phenomenal together,” Wade said. “They really have a chemistry–when Hada just throws it up anywhere near the rim, Shu’s going to get it and dunk it. Any time two of your best players have a chemistry like that, it’s really important and gives your team a chance to be very good.”
Wells and Shumate both landed on the preseason first team All-Southland, and each has a strong case for Player of the Year–it's an embarrassment of riches for the Bayou Bandits. Wells was also chosen as the conference’s “Best Pro Prospect” and “Player that Scares You the Most.”
DJ Richards, Jr., Jahvon Garcia, CJ Felder, and others were brought in from the portal and they meshed immediately. This despite playing their first 10 games without Wade, who had been suspended by the NCAA. The Cowboys went 8-2 in that stretch, but when Wade returned, they elevated to another level.
“The urgency increased when he came back,” Wells said. “Even if we won by big margins, there was always something we could fix. When he got back it wasn’t all happy, he was kind of mad at us and I didn’t get it at first, like, ‘We won the game, Coach.’ But he taught us that there’s always room for improvement.”
McNeese has gone 16-1 with Wade on the bench, steamrolling to a Southland regular-season championship.
With the journeyman Wells at the controls, the sky is the limit for the Cowboys. The knowledge and experience he’s gained from his trek through college basketball are all paying off as he’s blossomed into a star.
“Outside of basketball, all these schools taught me different things, life-wise,” Wells said. “Life isn’t always easy – it's going to be hard. You’re going to have trials and tribulations. Sometimes it may look easy, sometimes it may look different for other people looking from the outside, but you’ve always got to live this life and stay positive in everything you do.”
Armed with the lessons he’s learned along the way, Wells will try to guide McNeese through the Southland to the NCAA Tournament–the final test in the hero’s odyssey. From Tyler Junior College to UT Arlington to TCU to McNeese, the road has not always been easy or fair for Shahada Wells. No matter how the season ends for him, just like he’s done before, Wells will be ready to take the next step into a whole new journey.