Junior forward Jake Weitzen is much more than a sixth man, and he's ready to prove it.
Weitzen, who stands 6'3" and weighs in at 265 pounds, is the leading scorer among returners to the men's basketball team. He averaged 15 points per game last season - despite never starting a game and ranking sixth on the team in minutes played. Now, with the graduation of former tri-captain center Dan Martin, Weitzen will finally get his chance to join the starting five.
Weitzen is a nightmare for opposing defenses. With his size and strength, he can post up smaller defenders inside, but against larger defenders he'll step out and shoot the three - he did so at a sparkling 47 percent clip last year, the third-best mark in the NESCAC. Double-teaming Weitzen has its own perils, as he's not afraid to find an open teammate for a basket. He averaged 2.8 assists per game last year, which was the highest average among all NESCAC forwards.
All this offensive potency comes from a guy who looks like he should be putting on shoulder pads rather than a basketball jersey.
"It's the story of my life," Weitzen said with a laugh. "A lot of times, it works to my advantage because they can't believe a guy my size can step out and hit a jumper. High school was even better. Teams wouldn't guard me, even after I had been scoring all day on them."
Though he'll be shifting to the starting lineup for the first time in his Tufts career, Weitzen doesn't anticipate his role changing significantly this season. However, as an elder statesman on the team, he knows he has to shoulder a larger leadership position.
"It's easier to come off the bench and get into the flow of the game because you're fresh and the rest of the guys are a little tired, but I'll adjust," Weitzen said. "Being an upperclassman and a leader, you have to set the tone for the rest of the team. You have to be ready for every practice and every game because the guys are looking to you as an example."
The Jumbos as a team led the NESCAC in rebounding last year, pulling down over 42 rebounds a game, but how the team combats the absence of the 6'8" Martin on the glass will dictate its fortunes this year. Weitzen, who pulled down 5.4 boards a game last season, fourth on the team, dismissed the idea that he'll step into Martin's shoes in the paint.
"I'm not going to replace Dan Martin - nobody is," he said. "It's going to have to be a team effort on rebounding this year. The coaches have really emphasized getting to the boards, and if we do well, then we could be very good. If we don't, we'll probably underachieve."
Having a player with Weitzen's offensive punch coming off the bench is a boon to any coaching staff, but he is confident that the second unit will still put points on the scoreboard. The Jumbos' bench will be led by two guards, junior Jeremy Black and freshman Dan Cook, in addition to a new post presence - sophomore Jon Pierce, who joins the team after transferring to Tufts from Drew University.
"Jon's very good," Weitzen said. "He's 6'5" and more athletic than me, and he has a great post game down low. He's an excellent three-point shooter. I think he'll step right into my role as bench scorer."
Pierce isn't the only one with a chance to emerge as a key bench scorer. Black averaged 7.2 points a game last year and posted a career-high 17 in the NESCAC title game at Amherst, and Cook, while untested so far, appears to be one of the team's best pure shooters.
"This is a very deep team," Weitzen said. "We're returning almost everybody from last year's team, and the freshman recruits have come in almost game-ready."
Weitzen stressed that with this year's deep roster, there will be less pressure on him to return as the leading scorer. Putting points on the board is a team effort, and Weitzen knows it.
"We have five or six guys who can score 20-plus points in a given game," Weitzen said. "For example, [junior guard] Ryan O'Keefe carried us through the [NCAA] Tournament, and [senior co-captain Dave] Shepherd was our go-to guy in the clutch last season."
And with Weitzen transitioning into the starting lineup with a solid seven players returning from last year's squad, the Jumbos may be poised for their first-ever NESCAC Championship.
