46 // VARSITY April 17, 2014
climb. Hopefully this one is a little taller."'
Last season's climb has already paid dividends.
"It gives feedback to our players that, if you're in
all the way and you're sacrificing for each other and
putting the work in, great things can happen," Shef-
field said. "We were talking the other day that it was
the best feeling that they've ever had in their entire
life those last few matches. And that feeling kept in-
tensifying and they want to experience that again.
"It gives them confidence and support that if they
go about things in a certain way, there is some pay-
off," he said before attaching an asterisk. "It's just not
guaranteed."
An NCAA championship match appearance can do
wonders for recruiting, too.
"When you talk to somebody, face to face, and you
say, 'Everything you want, you can experience here
at Wisconsin' ― it's not a pipe dream anymore," he
said excitedly. "It's something tangible. They believe
that, they know that, they don't have to go dreaming
with you. The best players in the sport will at least
consider this and it means an awful lot.
"Now, the trick is to be like the San Antonio Spurs
or Bo Ryan's squad. Can you be consistently good
over time? Those are the programs that I respect."
Sheffield has the utmost respect for Ryan, who
took the Badgers on their own Final Four run.
"Shoot, I plan on picking his brain," he said. "That
guy has been places where I certainly would love to
be. That's coaching, what he has done. Nothing is
more impressive than those teams that go on those
losing streaks and then the coach finds a way to reel
them back in.
"What he did this year (after the Badgers lost five
of six Big Ten games), every coach in any sport sits
back and admires him because they know how hard
that is."
Three of Sheffield's players are looking forward to
busy offseasons.
In late June, Dominique Thompson will train with
WALT
MIDDLETON
