For the men's basketball team, this winter will be an attempt to return to the winning ways of two years ago.
For a team that shattered program records with 23 wins, 2,480 points and two wins in each of the NESCAC and NCAA Tournaments in 2005-06, last year was a step in the wrong direction.
Despite returning all but one member of their 2005-06 roster, the Jumbos suffered several lopsided defeats on the road and finished 15-10. Their 5-4 conference mark earned them the sixth seed in the NESCAC Tournament, where they were bounced in the first round by eventual champion Williams. For a squad that found itself in the thick of March Madness the previous year, the season screeched to an early halt on Feb. 17.
"We absolutely felt like we underperformed last season," said senior Jake Weitzen, the team's second-leading scorer in each of the last three years. "The frustrating thing was that we didn't really know how to fix it at the time. There were really more deeply-rooted problems than any one quick fix could solve. It was a disappointing season."
This year, however, Weitzen will grow into a bigger leadership role as he attempts to guide the Jumbos back to the top tier of the NESCAC. Weitzen, classmate Ryan O'Keefe and graduate student Ross Trethewey will serve as the team's tri-captains, filling the voids left by last year's three senior leaders.
Two of those departed seniors are center Brian Fitzgerald and forward Brian Kumf, two of the team's top rebounders. Without the interior presence of those two big men, the Jumbos will have to look elsewhere for production in the paint. Junior forward Jon Pierce, who pulled down 5.3 boards a game but was also a solid perimeter defender, will be forced inside, sharing time in the paint with Weitzen.
"Jake's going to be in the post sometimes, and Pierce will be there sometimes," said Bob Sheldon, who enters his 20th season as coach of the Jumbos. "They'll rotate in and out together. That way they both can have the outside and the inside game. We'll be all right."
Weitzen and Pierce are double-threats for the Jumbos in that they can both dominate the low post and step outside to hit the occasional jumper. The trick is striking the balance between the two roles - Weitzen, Pierce and O'Keefe all hit at least 30 threes last season, and the Jumbos' offense will depend on the production of all three leading scorers.
"The way we have set up our offense this year, we're running kind of a four-out, one-in offense," Weitzen said. "I think Jon and I are both talented enough in the post to make up for the offensive loss. But with rebounding and defense in the post, it's going to be a defense-by-committee system."
Aside from Fitzgerald and Kumf, the Jumbos' third significant loss to graduation was point guard Dave Shepherd, who led the team in minutes in each of his final three seasons. Waiting in the wings behind the team's workhorse, backup point guard Jeremy Black made just three career starts during Shepherd's tenure. Now a senior and the team's starter, Black will step into a bigger role.
"Jeremy Black made a recommitment to the team after last year," Sheldon said. "He's lost some weight - he's down at 180 where he should be, and he's actually never played better. I think he's finally out of Dave Shepherd's shadow, and he's going to establish a little bit of his own personality."
With all the returning scorers, the post presence of Weitzen and Pierce and the floor leadership of a resurgent Black, the Jumbos have a solid nucleus in place. They will build around it with a pair of backup big men in senior Pat Sullivan and sophomore Tom Selby, a pair of young forwards in sophomore Dave Beyel and rookie Sam Mason, and a plethora of reliable guards. Trethewey, junior Aaron Gallant and newcomer Matt Galvin are among the options Sheldon has on his bench to spell guards Black and O'Keefe.
With the depth that they carry into the 2007-08 season, the Jumbos have good reason to feel confident about a return to the top of the NESCAC. Two years ago, they reached the final game of the conference tournament before falling 94-86 in overtime to Amherst. The Lord Jeffs are once again the favorites to emerge atop the conference after winning the Div. III national title last season, but Tufts hopes to be right up there with them.
"I honestly think that we can beat everyone," Weitzen said. "I know Amherst is obviously at the top of the league right now, but we should have beaten them the last three times we've played them. I really feel that we're No. 2 in the league right now behind Amherst."
Trinity and Williams, the only two teams to beat the 30-2 Jeffs last season, both have the returning talent to contend again.
Meanwhile, Middlebury returns a lot of the young talent from last year's fourth-place team and should be a factor as well. While Sheldon acknowledges the Lord Jeffs' status as the frontrunners, he also wants to see his Jumbos in the mix for the top spots.
"I've got to put Amherst up there - they're a notch ahead of everybody else," Sheldon said. "But a lot of what happens is depending on where you play - that'll be an important thing. We're on the road with Trinity, but we've got Williams at home and Middlebury at home, and those are the four teams we're really fighting with. I'd like to see us in the top three."
