D3hoops.com: Notables

By Matt Florjancic
D3sports.com

BEREA, Ohio -- Despite Thomas Wolfe's book title and opinion that 'You can't go home again,' former Heidelberg men's basketball coach and athletic director Duane Sheldon has other ideas.

On Wednesday afternoon, Sheldon was announced as the 21st head coach in Baldwin-Wallace men's basketball history, replacing his mentor and former coach Steve Bankson, who retired from the school in April after 28 years in Berea.

The man who took the Heidelberg Student Princes from 20-58 during his first three seasons to a 23-6 record and the 2007-2008 Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament championship will now focus his efforts on leading Baldwin-Wallace back to prominence.

"There's always that special feeling you would love to go back and be a part of Baldwin-Wallace College, but now that I have the chance to think about it, now that's its happened, I think it's a dream come true," Sheldon said. "It's a great position to be in at, in my opinion, one of the best institutions in the country. I'm very pleased to be here.

"I'll steal a line from coach Bankson that it's a privilege to coach at a place like Baldwin-Wallace College, but it's also a privilege and honor to follow someone like coach Bankson," added Sheldon. "He's a legend and I'm proud to be able to do that. I'm excited to extend that tradition that he's established."

Not only is he taking over for his former coach, Sheldon is continuing to cement his family's legacy at Baldwin-Wallace.

"I'm from a football family," Sheldon said. "Both my father and father-in-law played for coach (Lee) Tressel back in the '60s. My dad is Duane Sheldon Sr. and my father-in-law is Jim Laut. They were both teachers and football coaches, so I kind of get made fun of on holidays that I picked the wrong sport. My grandfather, Clarence Kobie played basketball and football here in the late '30s."

While he is looking forward to the opportunity to coach at Baldwin-Wallace, Sheldon did not enjoy informing his Heidelberg players that they would be playing under a different coach in the fall.

"That made it really tough," he said. "It was tough because I had to call them. I couldn't do it in person because they're done with finals. You had to get a hold of them before they heard it from another source. We're very excited to come here, but there's also some disappointment and some sadness when you're leaving people that have been that good to you."

In addition to his championship experience, Sheldon brings a high-powered offense to Baldwin-Wallace. He knows the history of the Yellow Jacket offense and wants them to continue pushing the ball up the floor.

"I don't think you can do the same thing year-to-year," he said. "Maybe, if you're giving scholarships and you can sign kids that are perfect for your system. You might have that freedom. At our level, we have some concrete things and some core things that we believe in. How we play is going to be determined by No. 1, your talent and No. 2, your depth. Sometimes, a lot of it is who has the most guys and who has the most depth. That's whose left standing.

"Ideally, we'd like to be that way," added Sheldon. "They wanted to get as many possessions as they could with Tori (Davis). I would've too. I think the guys like to play in our motion offense, but you've got to adjust."

Baldwin-Wallace has lost eight seniors to graduation in the last three
seasons, including the program's all-time leading scoring and shot blocker in Davis. Soon after taking the job, Sheldon began to focus on his new players and will try to add to the roster before the first practice in the fall.

"That's going to be one of the first things to do in the coming days is to get a hold of them," Sheldon said. "I'd like to meet them face-to-face as well. The good thing is, I do know a lot of them through the recruiting process, but that's probably only about half of them.

"It's kind of late to recruit," he added. "We're trying to figure out if we can get a few more guys in late. We've got some guys that we're still working on (that) I think can make a difference, but it's going to be tough. This year, we might have to take it on the chin and get started next year."

As for the message his team will hear in the locker room when it is time to step onto the court at Case Western Reserve on Nov. 15, Sheldon will remind them why they came to Baldwin-Wallace and what the tradition means.

"You represent more than just yourself, especially at an institution like this," he said. "I've always told our guys back at Heidelberg this and they'll hear it here, especially with my background here, Baldwin-Wallace College is bigger than any of us. (It's) bigger than any one coach, any president, any one player.

"You represent and you have that responsibility to represent Baldwin-Wallace College and all the people that have attended here," Sheldon concluded. "Our guys are going to hear that whether they like it or not because I probably know that more than most about B-W just because of my family situation. It's a special place and you always have to keep that in mind."