Shahid Uses Self-Isolation To Pass Along Training

Former Bison Vinnie Shahid 20' finds a clever way to hone his own skills while helping others improve there own

FARGO, ND – You know him as a face of Bison Basketball these last two years. A 2x summit league tournament M.V.P., the team leader in several stat categories, and only the 2nd ever to eclipse 1,000 points in just two seasons. But the Summit League title game wasn’t Vinnie Shahid’s last encounter with a ball and hoop. The Minnesota native recently asked the Fargo Basketball Academy if he could use their gym in an attempt to stay fresh. They said yes, and decided to make the benefit two-fold.

“He would be willing to present this fourteen day training and he didn’t even hesitate,” said Josh Johnson, Director of the academy. “He was just so gracious and thankful that we had an ability to let him work out.”

“The idea was to give kids an opportunity to, one, learn while this quarantine is going on while they don’t have an opportunity to be around coaches or be around somebody that can teach them and, two, to give a kid the opportunity to build their creativity,” Shahid said.

“We were beyond thankful that Vinnie was able to use his presence and celebrity to endorse what we had. To be associated with that program and what coach Richman is doing up there. To have that be attached to us and Vinnie’s character and the character of that whole program is truly phenomenal from our standpoint,” Johnson said.

For Vinnie, it helps him make the best impression he can.

“It just shows what kind of person I am and it shows a lot about my character and it’ll help me in the future when I’m trying to get a job or sign deals with people or anything like that, it’ll help me in different ways like that,” Shahid said.

After a star-studded career in green and yellow, the former captain has his sights set pro basketball.

“At the end of this month, I’ll be in Arizona doing my pre-draft workouts with a couple guys that are signing with my agency. So I’ll be out there and they’ll have me doing these workouts and depending on what the N.B.A. does,” Shahid said.

A lot are uncertain how to live through a time of self-isolation and limited interaction but Shahid has found a clever way to do so: help others improve their skills while also honing his own for that hopeful next step.