UPS men’s basketball coach Shelton optimistic heading into year three
University of Puget Sound men’s basketball coach Aubrey Shelton is hoping year three at the helm of the Loggers’ program will be the best yet — that’s if there is a season, of course. With UPS moving toward a remote-learning approach for the fall semester, there are few students on campus.
The Northwest Conference, of which UPS is a member in NCAA Division III, has announced it won’t hold conference basketball games until January. As of now, the NCAA says practices can begin Oct. 1, though that’s still up in the air for UPS. Currently, all that’s certain is that nothing is certain.
“Are we going to have a season, not have a season?” Shelton said. “Is it going to be pushed back and if so, what’s it going to look like?”
As of now, UPS men’s and women’s basketball players, along with athletes from other sports, aren’t able to access Field House to practice on their own or in small groups.
“Right now, I’m actually telling our guys that if you have a gym that you have access to, it’s better to stay home,” Shelton said.
Shelton is going into his third year as the head coach of UPS, his alma mater, after spending 11 years as the coach at Lincoln High School, where he played his high school ball. The Loggers posted a 12-13 record in the 2019-20 season, with a 6-10 mark in the Northwest Conference. While UPS wasn’t a conference title contender last season, the Loggers were more competitive than the record suggests. UPS went 2-2 in its final four games, with the two losses coming by a combined three points — one in overtime.
It was the result of starting slow in a number of games, which Shelton attributes to having a young roster. Shelton said a sports analytics company provided the UPS coaching staff with information for the entire season. Among the most telling statistics in the report was the team’s Plus/Minus — a metric often used to evaluate individual performances and a player’s value to the team while he’s on the court — but in this case, broken down teamwide into four-minute stretches of the game.
It’s a concept that has floated around the college game in recent years: breaking games down into 10 “four-minute wars,” encouraging players to exert maximum effort between media timeouts.
“Our best was in the last four minutes of games,” Shelton said. “Our worst was the first four minutes. … We had a lot of great comebacks, made games really close at the end.”
Shelton addressed the discrepancy with his team and said it’s something they’re aware of and hoping to improve on during the 2020-21 season.
“A lot of it was just youth, young guys not understanding the value of each possession,” Shelton said. “That’s something I have to get better with as a coach, helping our players learning that experience of valuing every possession.”
Shelton said his knowledge of the South Sound high school basketball landscape has been an asset with recruiting, despite Division III schools not able to offer athletic scholarships.
“My first couple years, I’m recruiting guys we played against (at Lincoln),” Shelton said. “I know this guy could hoop because he destroyed us. Or knowing this guy is a great coach and has a great program. Those relationships with the coaches around here matter a lot.”
Because UPS is unable to offer athletic scholarships, it makes finding the right fit that much more of a challenge for Division III schools.
“It’s the No. 1 obstacle in recruiting, for sure,” Shelton said. “We can find guys that are great fits and the cost can be a burden.”
There are ways UPS is able to mitigate that financial burden. The school offers a Tacoma commitment scholarship, where the university will meet the financial needs of a student-athlete who has been in Tacoma high schools for at least three years. There are other need-based and academic scholarships available, as well. Because UPS doesn’t offer athletic scholarships, Shelton and his staff aren’t allowed to coach the team year-round.
“It actually gives you the freedom to be a full human being,” he said. “Our guys do internships, travel, guys can double-major, do drama, music, all kinds of things they wouldn’t have time to do at the Division I or II level. … We’re really academically focused, but at the same time, we’re trying to win a national title.”
It makes finding self-driven basketball players a priority.
“One of the first things we look for is: how much does this kid love basketball?” Shelton said. “Will he in the gym working on his game? Is he self-driven, motivated, where it doesn’t matter if we get to practice or not? That’s a huge thing we’re looking at, is their love for the game. … Guys that love basketball, but are also really good in the classroom. Guys with high character. And we’re always looking for guys that come from winning programs.”
In year three — again, if a season happens — Shelton said he expects the Loggers’ youth movement to mature and take a step forward.
“I fully expect us to compete for a conference championship,” Shelton said. “That’s the objective, of course. I’d be very disappointed if we weren’t in that top two or three battle. I think it’s going to take our guys being focused, motivated in the offseason. Still working out, getting shots up, staying motivated, hungry. Whenever the time comes to get back on the court, getting ready to go. I have a lot of hope and belief this could be a great year for us.”
