In 18 seasons as head coach of the men's basketball team, Bob Sheldon has amassed a career record of 273-179 with the Jumbos and has reached three NCAA tournament berths.
After back-to-back wins in the opening rounds of this year's March Madness, Sheldon's team is headed for the Sweet 16 and a rematch with the Amherst Lord Jeffs, a team that's beaten Tufts twice already this season. Before last night's practice, Sheldon sat down with The Daily to discuss the past, present, and future of Tufts men's basketball.
Tufts Daily: The team is facing Amherst again this weekend in the Sweet Sixteen, and they haven't lost a game in two months. What do you see as the secret to finally knocking off the Lord Jeffs? Does their team have a weakness you can exploit?
Bob Sheldon: You know, I think their weakness is inside a little bit. Their interior defense, we've been watching it on film all week, and we think we can go in to [senior tri-captain] Dan Martin, and in to Fitz, and get [sophomore forward] Jake Weitzen inside. I think if we can slow them down, and make them grind it out, we can stop them. And then we attack them on the offensive boards.
We've won 12 of our last 14 games, and that goes back almost two months too. And the only two losses would be to Amherst. So take them out of the mix, and we've done almost the same thing they've done.
TD: [Senior guard] John Bedford has been on fire for Amherst recently - he scored 30 against Hamilton in the first round of the tournament. Do you think your defense has what it takes to stop him?
BS: You know, we're not going to hold Bedford to six, or eight, or 10. But we're going to start with Ryan O'Keefe on him ... and we're going to do the best we can. If he gets 20, he gets 20, but he's got to earn every one of them ... it's not one guy that's going to stop him - it's going to be the team.
TD: In the win column, this year's team is the best in Tufts history with 23 wins. Where do you think your squad ranks among the best you've ever coached?
BS: This is the best team I've ever had; we have a lot of different weapons. I've had better individual players - I've had teams that have had two or three better players - but from top to bottom, this is the best team as far as talent, chemistry, and having a common goal.
TD: Even with three losses in NESCAC play this year, Tufts still had a strong enough team to make the Sweet 16. Do you think that says something about how tough the NESCAC was this season?
BS: Yes, it does. We try to go out each year and play the best schedule in New England. Outside of the NESCAC, we play the top teams in the Little East, the top teams in the NEWMAC [New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference], and the top teams in the other leagues. It prepares us for the end of the season. If we're not good, we're going to lose a lot of games. But if we are good, it's going to get us tournament-ready.
TD: This year, Tufts is appearing in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1997. Was this kind of postseason run something you expected from this team, or has it surprised you?
BS: I'm surprised we made it to the Sweet 16. I thought we had the talent and the personnel, but with every team, chemistry's a big thing ... You've got to have the skill, and you've got to have the players, but it's the chemistry that's going to mean whether it's special, or just an average season. And there's no telling about that until the season goes. I knew we had the talent - I just didn't know if we could put it together.
TD: Have you started to look beyond the Amherst game, and if so, who do you think are the other teams to beat in this year's tournament?
BS: Well, St. John Fisher has already beaten Utica three times this season. If I had to bet - which I wouldn't do, since it's an NCAA violation - I would bet on St. John Fisher. But to be honest with you, we have not looked past Amherst. Because you know, the Final Four's our goal, and we don't care who we play there.
TD: Coming into this season, there was a lot of talk about how your team lost [former tri-captain] Reggie [Stovell] and [former tri-captain] Drew [Kaklamanos] to graduation last year. What was the biggest improvement the team made this year to bounce back from those losses?
BS: They were big losses ... but you know, everybody coming back had played a lot of time. Those two seniors played, but all the juniors and all the sophomores that play now had gotten big minutes. [Junior tri-captain] Dave Shepherd was playing 35, Fitz [senior tri-captain Brian Fitzgerald] was getting 15 to 20, [sophomore guard] Ryan [O'Keefe] was playing 15 to 20 ... everybody was getting their 20 minutes a game. What we did is we replaced their points, and their leadership, with experience.
TD: Is there anything else you'd like to tell the Tufts student body?
BS: About tickets [at Amherst, Friday night at 8PM] - you can come down to the athletic office and get your tickets. The place holds 1400, and they're only giving us 230 tickets. It's going to sell out, so if you want to go out to the game, which we hope you do, you want to come down here and buy the ticket before you go.
I want to tell everyone, we've felt a lot of support from the e-mails and the people who have come to our games. So I want to say keep it up. Support us for one more weekend, and maybe we can make it down to Virginia [the Division III Final Four begins in Salem, Va. on March 17].
