Season Record: 13-12 (6-4), lost to Amherst in NESCAC Quarterfinals
When our dear forefathers, Damon Hatheway and Jeff Hetzel, put together their preseason predictions, they put Tufts as their #1 team citing the oodles of talent on the roster. The Jumbos certainly didn’t look like the best team in the conference when they started the season 2-7 against a tough schedule. Then suddenly, when the conference season began, Tufts turned into the team Damon and Jeff thought they would be. They blew out Middlebury and Amherst before going on the road and handing Trinity their only conference loss even though the Jumbos made only one three pointer all game. Tarik Smith ’17 became unstoppable for defenses during this stretch. Tom Palleschi ’17 and Hunter Sabety ’17 were coexisting in the middle. Then Smith started to come back to earth, and Sabety suffered a knee injury. The Jumbos managed to beat Colby in the final weekend to secure a home playoff game, but they ran into a buzzsaw in the quarterfinals.
So how good of a team was Tufts really? They were certainly better than their 13-12 record would indicate. It took a long time to figure out how all the pieces fell together for them, but once Coach Bob Sheldon shuffled the starting lineup, this was one of the better teams in the NESCAC. However, the injury to Sabety made any type of NESCAC tournament run out of the question. Damon and Jeff might have simply been a year early in their prediction. Ben Ferris ’15 is the only contributor who graduates, and the Jumbos have a lot of other talented perimeter players like Vincent Pace ’18 to replace him.
High Point: 58-55 win at Trinity Saturday, January 17
The Jumbos were the best team in the NESCAC for the first two weeks of conference season. This win over Trinity, the Bantams only loss in conference play, came the day after Tufts absolutely rolled Amherst 80-53 at LeFrak. The game against Trinity was a low-scoring, hard-fought affair that was won on an elbow jumper by Palleschi with 13 seconds left. The victory lifted Tufts to 3-0 in the NESCAC, and the Jumbos were the only team still undefeated in league play. Though they are not traditionally known for their defense, Tufts held Middlebury, Amherst and Trinity to an average of 57.0 PPG over those three games. Tufts finished 3-4 the rest of the way, but their potential was clear for that stretch.
MVP: Forward Tom Palleschi ’17
First of all, Hunter Sabety ’17 would have won this if he had remained healthy, but it is impossible to give it to him since he only played in 60 percent of Tufts’ games. Palleschi’s story is well known, and he truly overcame a lot just to get back on the court. That he returned and ended the year playing some of his best basketball is just another statement about his personal strength and will. Palleschi finished the NESCAC conference season with 13.9 PPG. Along with Chris Hudnut ’16, he has the most diverse offensive game in the league, capable of hitting shots from 15 feet or using his footwork in the lane to get easy buckets. He also was a terror in the paint averaging 2.4 BPG, the most of anybody in the NESCAC. Palleschi will likely spend much of the offseason extending his range out to the three point line in order to help Tufts have better spacing for next season. Another year removed from surgery, he should be even better in 2015-2016.
Player to Watch: Small Forward Stephen Haladyna ’16
Dominating the paint is great, but it is hard to win without good shooting from outside, especially because that shooting opens things up on the interior. A big reason for the Jumbos’ early season struggles was they couldn’t shoot as they made the least amount of threes of any NESCAC team out of conference. Haladyna was supposed to be a leading shooter for Tufts, but he finished the season shooting an abysmal 23.6 percent from deep . Yet he actually shot 37.5 percent from three in conference play. The odds of him shooting such a low percentage overall again next season are slimmer than the chances that he is at least a respectable shooter. After all, he did shoot 36.2 percent from three as a sophomore. A bounce back season for Haladyna will give Tufts the balance they need on the offensive end.