Since graduating from Tascosa in 2017, Shahada Wells has been pursuing basketball in locations near and far, with some that could even be considered exotic.
This summer, though, Wells is putting his name on his hometown in a way which could last even longer.
Thursday and Friday at the Tascosa Activity Center, Wells hosted the inaugural Shahada Wells Basketball Clinic for boys and girls from third through ninth grades. Eight years after playing his final game at Tascosa, Wells is using his experience to help teach the game to potential future Rebels, among others.
It’s a long way from where Wells has been playing professionally the last two years in Europe, but he feels it’s exactly where he belongs.
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“I’m just trying to give back to the community,” Wells said. “I’ve done a lot. I’ve been in summer league, I’ve been overseas and all these different places. I want to show the community that they can do it as long as I did.”
Wells played at Tyler Community College, UT Arlington, TCU and McNeese State after graduating from Tascosa. He then took his show across the Atlantic to Kosovo and last year played for Karditsa of the Greek Basketball League.
That didn’t mean Wells had permanently put Amarillo in his rearview mirror, even basketball-wise. For the past couple of years, the possibility of holding a summer clinic at his high school alma mater had been brewing, and he sought the help of his former Tascosa coach Steve Jackson to make it happen.
“It’s kind of been a couple of years in the making and (Wells) has always wanted to do it,” Jackson said. “This was the first opportunity we had to put it together. We’re thankful for the AISD for letting us do something like this and use their facilities. It’s great for an alum like Shahada to come back and do something like this for us.”
Wells finished his Tascosa career by averaging 21.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.8 assists a game, and was also a track standout, finishing seventh in the state in the long jump. At Tyler JC, he was an NJCAA Division I first-team All-America selection, averaging 21.6 points and 6.0 assists as a sophomore.
At Arlington, Wells averaged 16.8 points a game in his lone season there, and he finished his career at McNeese by averaging 17.8 points a game.
In 2025, Wells is coming full circle. While he still plans on going back to play in Europe next year, he’s remembering his Amarillo roots with the lessons he learned which started here.
“I was supposed to go to (Palo Duro) but I came to Tascosa,” Wells said. “I always went to PD’s camps and Amarillo High’s camps, and they were kind of run the same way. My cousin Jayqualyn (Gilbreath), Amari White were all helping and I appreciate those guys for leading the way for me.”
It’s natural that Wells would approach Jackson about conducting a clinic at the same gym where Wells played for Jackson. Like Wells, Jackson is a Tascosa alum and knows the value of local tradition.
“For Hada to be where he is right now shows that if you really apply yourself and put your mind to it you can accomplish anything,” Jackson said. “He’s done great things for himself, his family and his school. It’s another thing for him to be able to show up and help these kids out who are maybe on the fence about basketball or are unsure about what’s going on in their lives.”
About 35-40 youngsters were in attendance over the two days, with a few girls thrown in as well. There were some individual drills as well as some scrimmages broken down into age groups.
Wells has enough name recognition among local basketball afficionados to draw the youths to his camp.
“It’s big,” Wells said. “My name is buzzing around the city right now. A lot of kids look up to me and they know me. They see me out and I shake their hand and hug them and take pictures with them. They can come to the came and meet me instead of seeing me online.”
Wells is in Amarillo for the summer and isn’t sure yet where he’ll play basketball next, although he intends to resume his competitive hoops career. He said that returning to Greece is a possibility along with teams in Poland, Spain and Dubai.
There’s a structural difference to the game which Wells learned starting in Amarillo and the one he’s played the last two years in Europe.
“I feel there’s a bit more freedom over here,” Wells said. “They’re more structured (in Europe) but I feel like our athletic ability is better. There’s a lot of talented people over there and some of them could be going to the NBA this year.”
This past week, though, Wells was focused on his hometown and what was going on in the gym he used to call home. It was just a start for something he’s hoping becomes bigger.
For now, though, he’s satisfied with it.
“The numbers were excellent,” Wells said. “I just want as many kids to show up as possible. I don’t want to force kids to show up because I need money or anything like that, I just want to do it for the community. If it was just two kids it still would have been a great day for me.”
Wells wants to make the clinic an annual event and make it bigger each year. He said that while Tascosa is home to the clinic, young athletes from all over the area are welcome to attend.
Jackson is anticipating using his gym to accommodate all comers to a clinic.
“Hopefully we can do it again next year and invite all ages and genders to just have a good time,” Jackson said. “I’m looking forward to it. These kids are having fun and Shahada really loves them.”
