Ponds pondering ‘hard’ NBA decision
Shamorie Ponds joined elite company Wednesday morning as the Haggerty Award winner, given to the area’s top college player. In another month, the St. John’s sophomore will have to decide if he’s ready to join another elite club, as a professional basketball player.
Since announcing on March 24 he would test the NBA draft waters without hiring an agent, the 6-foot-1 Ponds has worked out with a personal trainer and continued taking classes at St. John’s. He has workouts with the Cavaliers and Celtics in the works and is hopeful to get invited to the NBA Draft Combine, which will be held May 16-20 in Chicago. Invites go out on Friday, and Ponds has until May 30 to either return to school or sign with an agent.
“I definitely think that’s a factor,” Ponds said of the combine invite in a phone interview. “But there’s also workouts, and things of that nature that plays a big part also.
“It’s hard decision right now. It’s probably 60/40 [staying in the draft]. It’s a decision that could set me and my family for life. We’re not the wealthiest. We’re not poor. I could move me and my [family] out of the projects, put my brother and sister in good positions.”
Ponds is the first St. John’s Haggerty winner, which is voted on by the Met Basketball Writers Association, since Sir’Dominic Pointer in 2015, and the 23rd Red Storm player to win the award. He beat out Seton Hall star big man and last year’s winner Angel Delgado, the winner of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar winner as the nation’s top center, and the Big East’s all-time leading rebounder. Ponds will be honored Wednesday night at the 85th All-Met Haggerty Awards Dinner at the Westchester Marriott in Tarrytown.
While Wright-Foreman and Delgado were stars on winning teams — Delgado helped Seton Hall reach its third straight NCAA Tournament and pick up its first win in the dance in 14 years — Ponds put up prolific all-around numbers, keying St. John’s late-season surge. He led the Big East in scoring at 21.6 points per game and averaged 5.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.3 steals. He led the Red Storm to a strong finish after an 0-11 start in league play, keying upsets of elite opponents Duke and eventual national champion Villanova.
“It’s big — it’s big for St. John’s, big for me,” he said. “It’s a cool accomplishment. … I’m not sure who was going to win it. I was confident with what I did, even without the team’s success. I think I had an overall solid year.”