Tyler Junior College Product Shahada Wells Signs With @UTAMavsMBB
11/18/2019 3:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball
ARLINGTON – Chris Ogden's second recruiting class at the helm of the UT Arlington men's basketball program has its first early signee as Amarillo native and Tyler Junior College product Shahada Wells has signed with the Mavericks.
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A Preseason All-American this year as a sophomore, Wells (first name pronounced: SHUH-haad-uh) will have two years of eligibility with UTA, beginning next fall as a junior.
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The 6-foot, 176-pound guard averaged 16.1 points, 3.4 assists and 2.6 rebounds over 28 games last season as a freshman en route to being named Second Team All-Region. His 450 total points off the bench were a team high, and he also connected at a 54-percent clip (161-298) from the floor, a 75-percent rate from the free throw line (78-104) and shot a gaudy 47.6 percent (50-105) from 3-point range. One of those triples was a game-winner as he lifted TJC to a win over #24 Trinity Valley Community College in February.
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Wells opened his junior college career emphatically, scoring 29 points on 10-12 shooting and 5-6 from the charity stripe in a career-opening win over Brookhaven. That was the first of eight contests in which he scored 20 or more points last year, helping lead TJC to a 23-7 record and a berth in the Region XIV Tournament semifinals.
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In the first four games so far this year, Wells has reached double-figure points each contest, including a 20-point outing, as the Apaches – the Region XIV East Zone favorites – are off to a 4-0 start to the 2019-20 campaign.
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"Shahada will bring us toughness, athleticism and play-making abilities," stated Ogden about his lone expectant early-signing commitment. "We expect him to be an impact player for us. Shahada comes from a program led by Mike Marquis that we as a staff know very well, and they get guys ready to play at the Division-I level."
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Mike Marquis is the father of current UTA redshirt freshman McKade Marquis. Current seniors Brian Warren and TiAndre Jackson-Young both spent their freshman and sophomore seasons at TJC before joining the Mavs last year.
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"Shahada is a terrific young man, a good student and a very good basketball player," added Mike Marquis, who had four early D-I signees this fall. "He's explosive athletically, can score at all three levels of the court and adds a lot of spirit to a team. Shahada is really good in transition; he's proven to be a good scorer and shooter in the half court, but he's diversified his game a lot and can also act as a true point guard now."
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A product of Tascosa High School, Wells was named the Amarillo Globe-News Super Team Player of the Year as a senior in 2017 after averaging 21.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game at the highest Class 6A level. He made 48 percent of his 3-point attempts, produced 3.6 steals and scored a season-high 38 points during the playoffs. A multi-sport talent, Wells was also a member of Amarillo Tascosa's track and field team.
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The Mavs have four seniors on their 2019-20 roster, but have a pair of players redshirting this year – freshman Tre Jones (Mansfield HS) and sophomore Grayson Carter (Georgetown transfer) – who are expected to join the lineup in 2020-21.
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PURCHASE TICKETS
Season tickets start as low as $99, and tickets for all home games are available by visiting UTATickets.com, calling the UTA Box Office at (817) 272-9595 or by stopping by the College Park Center during regular business hours.
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FOLLOW ALONG
For updates, behind-the-scenes photos, videos and more engaging and personal content, be sure to follow the men's basketball program on Twitter (@UTAMavsMBB), Instagram (@UTAMavsMBB) and Facebook (/UTAMavsMBB).
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A Preseason All-American this year as a sophomore, Wells (first name pronounced: SHUH-haad-uh) will have two years of eligibility with UTA, beginning next fall as a junior.
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The 6-foot, 176-pound guard averaged 16.1 points, 3.4 assists and 2.6 rebounds over 28 games last season as a freshman en route to being named Second Team All-Region. His 450 total points off the bench were a team high, and he also connected at a 54-percent clip (161-298) from the floor, a 75-percent rate from the free throw line (78-104) and shot a gaudy 47.6 percent (50-105) from 3-point range. One of those triples was a game-winner as he lifted TJC to a win over #24 Trinity Valley Community College in February.
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Wells opened his junior college career emphatically, scoring 29 points on 10-12 shooting and 5-6 from the charity stripe in a career-opening win over Brookhaven. That was the first of eight contests in which he scored 20 or more points last year, helping lead TJC to a 23-7 record and a berth in the Region XIV Tournament semifinals.
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In the first four games so far this year, Wells has reached double-figure points each contest, including a 20-point outing, as the Apaches – the Region XIV East Zone favorites – are off to a 4-0 start to the 2019-20 campaign.
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"Shahada will bring us toughness, athleticism and play-making abilities," stated Ogden about his lone expectant early-signing commitment. "We expect him to be an impact player for us. Shahada comes from a program led by Mike Marquis that we as a staff know very well, and they get guys ready to play at the Division-I level."
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Mike Marquis is the father of current UTA redshirt freshman McKade Marquis. Current seniors Brian Warren and TiAndre Jackson-Young both spent their freshman and sophomore seasons at TJC before joining the Mavs last year.
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"Shahada is a terrific young man, a good student and a very good basketball player," added Mike Marquis, who had four early D-I signees this fall. "He's explosive athletically, can score at all three levels of the court and adds a lot of spirit to a team. Shahada is really good in transition; he's proven to be a good scorer and shooter in the half court, but he's diversified his game a lot and can also act as a true point guard now."
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A product of Tascosa High School, Wells was named the Amarillo Globe-News Super Team Player of the Year as a senior in 2017 after averaging 21.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game at the highest Class 6A level. He made 48 percent of his 3-point attempts, produced 3.6 steals and scored a season-high 38 points during the playoffs. A multi-sport talent, Wells was also a member of Amarillo Tascosa's track and field team.
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The Mavs have four seniors on their 2019-20 roster, but have a pair of players redshirting this year – freshman Tre Jones (Mansfield HS) and sophomore Grayson Carter (Georgetown transfer) – who are expected to join the lineup in 2020-21.
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PURCHASE TICKETS
Season tickets start as low as $99, and tickets for all home games are available by visiting UTATickets.com, calling the UTA Box Office at (817) 272-9595 or by stopping by the College Park Center during regular business hours.
Â
FOLLOW ALONG
For updates, behind-the-scenes photos, videos and more engaging and personal content, be sure to follow the men's basketball program on Twitter (@UTAMavsMBB), Instagram (@UTAMavsMBB) and Facebook (/UTAMavsMBB).
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