KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Park Hill graduate and Kansas City native, Landry Shamet showed that dreams of playing in the National Basketball Association are achievable.
Shamet, a 21 year-old redshirt sophomore guard at Wichita State, was selected 26th overall in the first round by the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday June, 21 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Shamet had a highly-decorated playing career at Park Hill where he received national-attention for his play on the court. He was a two-time district and conference player of the year for the Trojans and earned all-state honors during his junior and senior seasons, taking the Trojans to the state playoffs in 2014, ending a 20-year drought.
“It’s been kind of a whirlwind going from Park Hill to the NBA so quickly,” Shamet said. “I would be lying if I said during my senior year at Park Hill or freshman year at Wichita State that I would leave school early and be a first-round pick, I probably wouldn’t have believed that. I have made a lot of strides and put in a lot of work to make that happen.”
He honed his skills playing for the Trojans, as he became a well-rounded player by the end of his senior season for coach David Garrison, when he averaged 18.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. He had his sights set on playing with WSU and their senior-duo of Fred VanVleet (Toronto Raptors) and Ron Baker (New York Knicks), who led the Shockers to the Final Four during their freshmen season in 2013.
When Shamet inked his national letter of intent he became Coach Gregg Marshall’s highest-rated recruit at Wichita State, according to Rivals when he inked with No. 88 recruit in the fall of 2014.
Just three games into his freshman season at WSU, Shamet, who was averaging 8.7 ponts per game in 19 minutes of action, went down with a stress fracture in his foot costing him the remainder of the season but allowing him a medical redshirt year. However, Shamet credits that time away from the game and being around Baker and VanVleet as invaluable.
“With Ron (Baker) and Fred (VanVleet), I didn’t play with them, but they were a huge-part of why I went to Wichita State,” Shamet said. “Getting hurt my freshman year and having to sit out and watch I think was one of my biggest blessings in disguise. Who’s to say I would be here if I didn’t have that experience getting to learn from a different light there and I think that was huge for me they (Baker and VanVleet) have both been in touch with me, it’s been a blessing for sure.”
With 6-foot-5 Shamet on the court for two seasons, the Shockers went 56-13 reaching the National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament twice. He led the Shockers from the point-guard position, where he received numerous accolades for his play on the court.
He overcame a summer injury, leading the Shockers with 14.9 points and 5.2 assists per game, with 44-percent shooting from the 3-point range this season.
He left No. 2 in school history in 3-point shooting percentage at .437 and second in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.64).
Shamet became an honorable mention Associated Press All-American after being named first-team All-American Conference as a redshirt sophomore. When the Shockers were upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Shamet declared for the NBA Draft.
His gamble paid off, when the Philadelphia 76ers and coach/GM Brett Brown chose to add Shamet as a part of “The Process” with the No. 26th selection in the first round becoming the Shockers’ first first-round pick since Xavier McDaniel went to Seattle in 1985.
He is the first Shocker early-entry to be drafted since Cliff Levingston went No. 9 to Atlanta in 1982.
Shamet becomes the first Park Hill product drafted and the fourth to play pro basketball, following John Kiely, Rick Muller and current Park Hill coach Chad Jones, who all played in Australia.
He will be joining the team’s core of Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Dario Saric and Markelle Fultz, last year’s No. 1 pick. The 76ers finished third in the NBA’s Eastern Conference during the 2017-2018 season reaching the second round of the playoffs. Shamet just hopes he can fit in and contribute with his Kansas City fans’ support.
“It’s phenomenal going to a young group with a young core and a playoff contender with a group of guys I can grow with and hopefully contribute with as an off-the-ball shooter in coach Brown’s system,” Shamet said during an autograph signing appearance Sunday at McFadden’s Sports Saloon in Kansas City. “I appreciate the support of the fans up to this point and I hope they continue to follow and support me. I always try to represent Kansas City the best I can and I hope new fans will form and follow me.”