This was a season of firsts for the men's basketball team.
The Jumbos had their first-ever 23-win season, their first-ever shot at a NESCAC championship, and their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Sweet 16.
Despite perhaps the most successful run in the history of the program, one recurring problem plagued the Jumbos late in the year and cut their dream season short: an inability to win at LeFrak Gymnasium, Amherst's home court and the spawning ground of Tufts basketball nightmares.
The team enjoyed an 11-1 record at home, with the only blemish an 82-80 loss to Williams on Jan. 20. On the road, however, the Jumbos were forced to take on Amherst three times, and they came up short each time.
The timing of these losses couldn't have been worse for Tufts. The Jumbos fell once for the NESCAC regular season title on Feb. 11, once in the NESCAC tournament finals on Feb. 26, and one final time on Friday night in the Sweet 16, when a 90-85 overtime loss at LeFrak ended the Jumbos' season. In that game, the Jumbos were one second from victory when Amherst sophomore Andrew Olson made a circus-shot three pointer to send the game to overtime.
"That was a tough way to go out," senior tri-captain Brian Fitzgerald said of Friday's loss. "But I guess that's just how the cookie crumbles."
Still, it's hard for the Tufts squad to be disappointed with a season that saw a record number of wins, tremendous team chemistry, and the consistently dominating play of Tufts' seven stars.
Senior tri-captains Dan Martin and Fitzgerald were solid post players for the Jumbos all season, while junior Brian Kumf and sophomore Jake Weitzen shared time on the floor as forwards. Meanwhile, junior tri-captain Dave Shepherd turned in another strong season as the team's point guard, while sophomores Ryan O'Keefe and Jeremy Black completed the Jumbos' reliable backcourt.
All seven players averaged over 20 minutes on the floor each game, and their strong chemistry was one of the main factors to Tufts' unforgettable season.
"All year long, they've just been coming together as a team," coach Bob Sheldon said. "They step up with all the weapons and fire on all cylinders."
Statistically, Martin carried the team. In his fourth and final year with the program, the 6'8" center transformed from an important contributor to a solid and at times unstoppable go-to man in the paint. Martin recorded 17.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per contest, both team-highs, and he was recognized as a two-time NESCAC Player of the Week.
He was also the center for the All-NESCAC First Team.
Fitzgerald was the quieter captain offensively, averaging 5.4 points a game, but his presence as a defender and a rebounder (5.7 per game) will be missed. Fitzgerald's 15-point second-half performance against Bates on Feb. 4 provided one of the most electric moments of the season.
With just two seniors on the roster, the Jumbos are loaded with returning talent. Kumf had an outstanding junior season, averaging 9.4 points per game and pulling down 6.1 rebounds, second only to Martin. O'Keefe exploded late in the season, leading the Jumbo offense during their dazzling postseason run and finished third on the team in scoring with 12.0 points per night.
Weitzen was second on the team in scoring with 15.0 points per game, adding some long-distance firepower with a sparkling 47.4 shooting percentage from beyond the arc. Black, who sat out his freshman season with a torn ACL, got his first taste of college basketball this year and meshed quickly with the team's style. By season's end, he was averaging 7.2 points per game and leading the team with 4.4 assists per contest.
Next year's squad may be a talented one, but the departure of Martin and Fitzerald means that it will lack the size down low of the 2005-2006 team.
"I don't know who's going to replace them," Sheldon said of his two seniors. "Someone's going to have to step up."
The two remaining centers on the team - sophomore Pat Sullivan and freshman Carl Onubogu - will compete for time as the team's big men next year. But they will be jumping in quickly, as neither averaged more than 10 minutes per game this year.
Sheldon adds that the team will lose more than just floor production when Martin and Fitzgerald walk in May.
"Points and rebounds and stuff are no problem," Sheldon said. "We can put the points on the board. But what they did for us as leaders - I don't know if we're going to be able to replace it."
The answer to that question likely lies with Shepherd. In addition to serving as a team captain in his junior season, he led the team in minutes for the second consecutive season and contributed 10.3 points a game.
The guard became known as the team's go-to player in tough situations. His clutch shooting in the final seconds was a recurring theme this season, as his clutch last-second shooting helped the team sink opponents like Springfield, Brandeis, Trinity and NCAA tournament opponent SUNY-Cortland. Shepherd will bring his court vision, consistency, and some continuity as he returns for his senior season.
With the young core returning to build on the progress made during the 2005-2006 season, Tufts students have good reason to be optimistic about their basketball team's future.
"We made a lot of strides forward," Fitzgerald said. "And that feels really good."
A win over Amherst would feel even better, and the returning veterans will assuredly be thinking about that over the next seven months.
