Men's Hoops Ready To Build On Last Season's Sweet 16 Campaign

MEDFORD, MA (November 13, 2024) - The Tufts University men's basketball team begins their 2024-25 campaign on Friday, November 15 with a trip down to Bridgewater State University for a 5:30 pm tipoff.

After a heartbreaking defeat in the Sweet 16 last season, the Jumbos are back with the same goal in mind - win. The graduating class last season saw the departure of only two seniors, Casey McLaren and Jay Dieterle. Losing two starters has not deterred head coach Brandon Linton, who says there is "a lot of excitement" surrounding this year's squad. Three weeks of preseason preparation has shown Linton that this year's team is "a very motivated group."

"Obviously, having success last year and a taste of the Sweet 16 with a generally young group led to a very impactful offseason where guys came in this year, right away, trying to do even better than we did last year. It definitely made for a fun, competitive preseason training camp," said Linton. 

As the Jumbos look to improve on last season's 21-8 record, Linton expressed his desire to practice good habits. "We have all the pieces and people in the circle, so it's a matter of going about our day to day the right way and not wasting any chances," said Linton.

With months to go before conference play begins, Linton made sure to emphasize the importance of the non conference schedule. Opening the season against Bridgewater State, who was selected as the top team in their conference's preseason poll, is certainly a challenge, but "something that we try to do is find [out of conference] teams that are going to be really good in their league [or] really good nationally."

As far as his player's view of the early challenge, "Our guys, quite frankly, enjoy it."

"They hate the games against the quote, 'teams you should beat,'" so the Jumbos go looking for challenges. "It just works all around, it keeps our guys sharp, and then obviously it gets us ready for NESCAC play - it's the best league in the country," said Linton. 

While the departure of McLaren and Dieterle directly impacts the starting five, there are still three Jumbos returning to the starting lineup.

Joshua Bernstein, James Morakis and Scott Gyimesi all return to the lineup for their junior seasons after starting the majority of last season's games.

Bernstein returns as the starting center after a strong showing last season. The 6' 11" big man averaged 8.6 points per game with 7.2 rebounds per game, the second highest rebound average on the team. "He's just an enigma," said Linton. "Every second that he's out on the basketball court just gets better and better," said the head coach, "He wants to be coached and has taken on a leadership role as well."

Morakis finished last season as the second best scorer on the team. The 6' 4" guard worked for 11.2 points per game with 3.8 rebounds per game and a healthy .355 three pointer percentage. He will also face increased responsibility as an upperclassman. "James is a guy who's play a lot of times speaks for itself," said Linton, "He's taking a step in trying to be more vocal and doing some of the soft leadership skills that you look for."

Gyimesi has already picked up a preseason accolade, being named to the D3Hoops.com preseason All-America team. Last season he picked up a slew of awards, including a D3Hoops.com All-Region 1 Second Team honor, an All-NESCAC First Team selection and an NABC All-District 1 Second Team selection. He averaged a double-double last season, with 13.1 points per game and 11.0 rebounds per game. He will play a massive role for the Jumbos this season. "He's one-of-one in a lot of ways," said Linton, "he can almost seem too unrealistic because he's seemingly doing everything perfectly, and at a high rate for the betterment of the team."

The Jumbos are filling in the two holes left by McLaren and Dieterle by adding four freshmen to the mix. Lukas Schmid, Evan Reeves, Isaac Friedman and Robbie Nyamwaya each join the team for their first season of college basketball.

A breakdown of the position groups is below:

Guards:
After graduating two starting guards last season, the Jumbos backcourt will look new once again. There are returners and new faces alike vying for the starting spots.

Sophomore Jon Medley returns for his second season with the Jumbos. He had a great season off the bench last year, averaging 5.9 points per game and 3.3 rebounds. He made exactly one third of his three pointers last season, sinking 20 of 60 attempts. The sophomore will look to take the next step forward after a strong first year. Medley is also one of the best perimeter defenders in the nation.

Sophomore Liam Kennelly saw 21 games off the bench last season, scoring 45 points and collecting 25 rebounds in his first season of college ball. He returns to the lineup ready to make a larger impact this year.

Fellow sophomore Dylan Reilly returns to the Jumbos as well, after posting 46 points and 11 rebounds last season. His .316 three point percentage from last season was done efficiently, making 12 of 28 attempts.

Senior Quinn Cain was a sharpshooter for the Jumbos last season, making half of his three point attempts. He returns for his fourth season with the Jumbos.

Junior Theo Liu was also an important sharpshooter as well, shooting for .462 from three. He returns for his third season.

Junior Sidney Wooten returns as well, after making 15 appearances his sophomore season. His ball handling skills are some of the best on the team, and will play a huge part in his play this season. His 11 assists last year are a direct result of his ball skills.

Sophomore Zion Watt bridges the gap between guard and forward, playing a role in both positions as needed. An effective, athletic shooter, Watt will take a step forward this year.

Seniors Michael Berluti and Jackson Patton saw limited minutes last season, with just 13 combined appearances. They are both experienced players, however, and Berluti is of course a highly competitive record-breaking quarterback with athleticism to spare. Patton is athletic as well, but also possesses a high basketball-IQ, an important skill to have.

The staff is also excited about the additions of Schmid and Friedman, each who have different skill sets and continue to get better each day. Schmid can handle the ball and is a very strong perimeter scorer and defender, and Friedman is a long, athletic wing that guards well. 

Forwards
The Jumbos return their entire frontcourt for the 2024-25 campaign. A talented group with tons of scoring ability, this will be a frontcourt to look out for.

Joining Gyimesi and Bernstein as upperclassmen forwards are Trumann Gettings and Bobby Stewart. Back for his senior season, Gettings has proven to be one of the most effective shooters on the roster, posting a .543 field goal percentage in just 14 appearances last season. Stewart was also a great shooter and passer off the bench, posting a .458 field goal percentage in 27 appearances last season.

First-years Evan Reeves and Robbie Nyamwaya have been strong in preseason, and both should help strengthen an already deep and talented frontcourt for the Jumbos. 

Coaching Staff
Head coach Bradon Linton returns to Cousens Gymnasium for his fourth season with the Jumbos, and sixth season at the helm of a college basketball team. After reaching the Sweet 16 last year, Linton returns for the 2024-25 season with the same group of assistants in James Holmes and Chris Lydon working with him, adding Claudio Buratti as well to the staff. All signs point to a new year of building off the past's successes.

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The Jumbos will start their season this Saturday with a trip down south to Bridgewater State University to play the Bears in their gym, tipping off at 5:30 pm.