On their first birthday, many kids get building blocks, new outfits, and a small cake. Ian Sheldon got his first regulation-sized basketball.
A four-sport athlete in high school, the 6-foot-5 Traverse City native played defensive end on Hillsdale College’s football team for three seasons before transitioning to basketball for his last two years of college. Today, he plays professional basketball for TV Langen Giraffen, a German team based about ten minutes south of Frankfurt. He is the fourth Hillsdale College basketball player to play professionally overseas.
“Basketball has always been my favorite sport,” said Sheldon, who graduated with a marketing/management degree in May. “I knew I could play in college but it would take a lot of hard work.”
Sheldon said he realized how much he missed basketball during his junior year when he watched a couple of his younger brother’s live games. After discussing his decision with Hillsdale’s football and basketball coaching staffs, Sheldon tried out for the Chargers’ basketball team during the spring of his third year and made the cut.
“Coach Tharp said he’d give me a shot and it ended up working out. I owe a lot to him. He gave me a chance that most coaches wouldn’t,” Sheldon said. “Hillsdale was an incredible experience. The coaches always spent time making sure everyone was doing well academically, socially, and with basketball. They expected a lot out of you, which was good.”
Sheldon spent the spring of 2013 conditioning during individual and group workouts, practices, and open gym. During the next 18 months, he lost 85 pounds.
“He really had an unreal work ethic,” teammate and Hillsdale alumnus Darius Ware ’15 said. “He’d be at practice before everybody and stay there after doing cardio. Ian had a real passion for strength and conditioning. He’d do it himself when no one would ask him to.”
Sheldon’s role on the team was primarily defensive, with the broad responsibility of guarding key opponents regardless of whether they played point guard or wing.
“I have so much admiration for Ian. He almost became a poster child of our program in terms of dedication. When you think about what he did, it tells you something about his tremendous work ethic and passion to be the very best possible,” Hillsdale College basketball head coach John Tharp said. “He just kept on getting better and better—we just couldn’t keep him off the court. If he keeps working like he did when he was with us, who knows what he could do in the future.”
During his senior year, Sheldon’s father suggested he attend the Slammers Basketball Pro Exposure Combine, a three-day camp in Bonn, Germany for athletes who want to play professionally.
“When my dad asked me if I wanted to give it a shot, I decided it was something I wanted to try. Better to try and fail than have never done it,” Sheldon said.
From June 5 to 7, coaches across Europe watched a live stream of Sheldon and about 60 other athletes competing in a series of games and called the camp if they were interested in recruiting a player.
“I played the worst basketball game of my life the first game,” Ian said, laughing. “I was really nervous, put a lot of pressure on myself, and didn’t play well. But I made up for it in the second and third games.”
Sheldon received a 9-month contract offer from TV Langen Giraffen after the first day of tryouts. He immediately accepted the offer and was later named MVP of the camp.
The 2015-16 season starts on Sept. 19 and lasts until April 15. Sheldon’s role on the team is a 2-3 guard, a position that combines some of the responsibilities of a shooting guard and small forward.
“If you believe in yourself and are willing to sacrifice everything for your dream—it’s within your grasp,” Sheldon said. “It all comes down to how hard you are willing to work for your dream. Believe in yourself and don’t listen to the people who doubt you and call you crazy. They just don’t see what you see.”