Jeff is a senior guard for the Purple and White (choose a mascot already), and has started every game under Coach Dave Hixon this season. He is averaging 7.2 PPG in 28.3. MIN/G so far in his senior campaign to go along with 2.2 REB/G. While he’s a knockdown three-point shooter, Jeff’s maturity, efficiency and leadership are what make it so difficult for Hixon to take the leader off the court, as he has contributed greatly to Amherst’s success in the 2016-2017 season thus far.
Pat is a freshman center for the Jumbos who has stepped into quite a big role in the last couple weeks. While he was splitting time at the backup center spot at the beginning of the season, with recent the injury to Tom Palleschi ’17 a couple weeks ago, Pat has been called on as part of a double-barreled post presence for Tufts. Coach Bob Sheldon has been using Pat and senior center Drew Madsen ’17 interchangeably over the last couple of weeks, relying on the freshman for big minutes off the bench.
Pat: For sure. I’ve been competing against him my whole life, but this will be the first time it really means something.
R: When is the last time you you played in a real game with or against your brother?
J: We play pickup together all the time but the last time we played with each other formally was my last game at Ridgefield high school in 2013.
P: I played with Jeff freshman and sophomore years of high school, and actually played pickup with the Amherst team last spring when I came up to visit for the weekend.
R: Do you talk to your brother much about basketball? Or do you guys keep your basketball careers pretty separate now that you play for opposing teams?
J: We talk a decent amount about basketball. Even though we play on different teams, our basketball experiences are very similar so we actually talk more than we used to about it because we can better relate.
P: Yeah we definitely talk about basketball, but it doesn’t dominate the conversation. At this point he’s a NESCAC vet so his advice can be helpful at times.
R: Did you ever consider going to Amherst? Why did you choose Tufts over playing with your brother?
P: When I decided to embark on the 5-year plan and repeat my junior year at NMH [Northfield Mount Hermon], I ended up visiting Amherst a decent amount. Prep school felt like a jail at times so it was nice to have Amherst to hang with Jeff and the team, although I never took a real basketball visit there. I wasn’t really sure where I wanted to go to school at that point but after the 2nd visit there it was fairly obvious western mass didn’t have much to offer compared to being in Boston.
R: Did you try to get Pat to go to Amherst? Were you disappointed when he chose Tufts? Or were you pumped that you’d be able to continue the sibling rivalry in a whole new way?
J: I tried. He went to high school not too far away, so he visited a bunch to the point where I think every player on the team knows him pretty well. In the end, I think he got a great sense of what Amherst had to offer, but with all things considered, I think the both of us knew that Tufts was a better fit for him personally. I couldn’t have been more excited for Pat when he chose Tufts. It’s an awesome school and I was pumped that we would get to play against each other at least once.
R: As the older/younger brother, do you feel more or less pressure to play well? Or is that not relevant in your mental approach to this game?