From Buckeyes to Bobcats, the Sheldon family is loaded with athleticism and optimism

By Aaron Blankenship | Photos courtesy of Duane Sheldon

Ajay Sheldon routinely mesmerizes fans, frustrates opponents and lights up Dublin Coffman scoreboards using his blend of athleticism, quickness and basketball skills.

The senior point guard combines a deft scoring touch on long-range shots with slick ball-handling moves to weave his way past defenders, then contorting his body in midair to create enough space to score a layup or jump shot.

With this arsenal of abilities at his disposal, Sheldon has developed into one of the top offensive players in the state the past two seasons, as he is averaging 23.5 points as a senior after averaging a team-record 23.5 points and 4.8 assists as a junior.

He was recently nominated for the McDonald's All-American Game and is a contender to be named Ohio Mr. Basketball.

“Ajay has found a way to score night in and night out, and he’s doing it against the best possible athletes and coaches in the state,” 20th-year Coffman boys basketball coach Jamey Collins said. “What’s unique is how Ajay scores a lot of his points, because he has a level of creativity and athleticism that allows him to do things that few other people are capable of doing.

“He has great balance, and he can improvise on the fly. He’s almost like a gymnast at times, the way he can bounce around and adjust in the air, and his coordination level is so high that he’s able to finish.”

Sheldon credits his close-knit family, including his parents Duane and Laura, for playing a major role in his success.

Laura was a standout track and field athlete at Baldwin Wallace University in the early 1990s who excelled as a sprinter, long jumper and triple jumper.

Duane Sheldon, Coffman’s athletic director, played shooting guard at Baldwin Wallace from 1989 to 1993. Duane then enjoyed a successful career as a basketball coach, beginning with leading Middleburg Heights Midpark to a 78-42 record and more than 80 program records in five seasons.

After being an assistant coach at Baldwin Wallace from 1999-2002, Duane coached Heidelberg College for six seasons before returning to Baldwin Wallace as head coach in 2008. While coaching his alma mater for seven seasons, Duane led the Yellow Jackets to a 98-83 record before heading to Coffman.

“Having my dad coach basketball obviously was huge for me growing up, because I spent a lot of hours in the gym after school every day while he was coaching, and I learned a lot from him,” Ajay said. “My dad was a good basketball player, but honestly, a lot of my athletic genes come from my mom, because she was a great athlete.”

Sibling revelry

Ajay said his sisters, Jacy and Emmy, have had an equally large effect on his basketball career.

Jacy Sheldon — a 2019 Coffman graduate — is leading Ohio State in scoring this season, averaging 20.2 points, 3.4 assists and two steals per game. 

The junior guard is the current Big Ten Co-Player of the Week after averaging 32.5 points, 6.5 assists, 5.5 rebounds and two steals in league victories over Michigan State and Minnesota.

She also had 24 points and 10 assists to help lead OSU to a 95-89 upset victory over No. 12-ranked Maryland on Jan. 20, as the Buckeyes improved to 14-3 overall and 6-2 in the Big Ten.

Jacy has scored 1,001 points in her three seasons at OSU, and Ajay has scored more than 900 points for Coffman.

Ajay and Jacy spent countless hours playing basketball together throughout their youth, with Jacy getting the best of her younger brother in nearly every contest.

“Jacy and I played one-on-one a lot, and we would even make up our own games,” Ajay said. “I didn’t win anything, but a lot of my work ethic and good habits came from her, because Jacy’s one of the hardest-working people that I know, and she sets a great example.”

Jacy said the siblings have always pushed each other to be better players.

“We’ve been competitive our whole lives,” Jacy said. “I beat him a lot over the first 15 years of his life, but he grew taller than me and finally got me, so I won’t play him anymore. He’s taught me a lot of moves, and we’re a huge part of each other’s success. We critique each other’s games and still try to outdo each other on the court.”

'The real superstar'

Emmy Sheldon, a 14-year-old with Down syndrome, continues to be a huge inspiration to both of her siblings.

“Emmy’s the real superstar of our family,” Jacy said. “When she came along, she changed the way I look at a lot of things. She’s not going to get all of the same opportunities to play sports like we do because of Down syndrome, and understanding that has pushed me to work as hard as possible to be the best I can be.”

Emmy attends almost all of her siblings’ games, where she can be heard cheering loudly for Ajay and Jacy. Before Ajay��s games, she often stands on the sidelines, slapping players’ hands during warmups.

Emmy also has been known to stand in front of the student section, with pompoms in her hands, imitating Coffman’s cheerleaders.

“My two sisters are my best friends, and I’m so grateful for Emmy and the presence she has in my life,” Ajay said. “Emmy teaches me life lessons every day, and I don’t look at Emmy’s Down syndrome as a negative. It’s closer to a superpower, because she has this amazing ability to affect people in a positive way. She has this great energy where she’s always happy, to the point where you can’t have a bad day when she’s there. Even after a tough loss, Emmy’s the one who can cheer me up.”

As a relatively short and thin player throughout most of his youth, Ajay honed his ball-handling and passing skills at a young age.

“I was always the shortest guy on my team, so I had to be crafty and find ways to help my team score, because when you’re 5-1 and the dude you’re playing is 6-3, you need to know how to get around them because you aren’t going to finish over many people,” Ajay said.

Ajay grew 7 inches over the 12 months leading into his freshman season at Coffman, shooting up to 5-9. However, he played for the Shamrocks’ junior varsity squad as a freshman because Coffman already had two outstanding point guards in 2019 graduate and University of Washington recruit Dominiq Penn and 2020 graduate and Wofford College recruit Keaton Turner.

After growing 3 more inches during the offseason, Ajay started at shooting guard for Coffman’s varsity squad, and was named second-team all-Ohio Capital Conference-Central Division and honorable mention all-district as a sophomore.

“Dominiq and Keaton both used to kill me in practice every day, but I got used to it, and I actually started to embrace getting cooked by those guys because I learned so much from them, and they were making me better,” Ajay said. “I broke my (left) foot during the last practice of my freshman season, and it took a long time to recover from that. I was still really thin my sophomore year, but that was a much better season for me, and I learned so much from playing with Keaton that season.”

The following offseason, Ajay took his game to another level by training with Coffman assistant coach Tyrel Jackson multiple times a day. Jackson, a 2013 Coffman graduate, played basketball at Capital University from 2013-17.

“The one name most responsible for my development into the player I am today is Tyrel Jackson,” Ajay said. “While the (COVID-19) pandemic was a setback for most people, that time was a huge jump for me, because I got to train with Tyrel one to three times a day, and I trained a total of three to four hours every day. We did a lot of skill workouts to improve my shooting and moves, and I lifted to get bigger, stronger and more athletic.”

Future Bobcat

As a 6-1, 175-pound junior point guard, Ajay gained the attention of several college basketball coaches while setting a new team scoring average record, tying Coffman’s single-game record for most steals (nine), and being named first-team all-league and all-district, as well as third-team all-state.

Ajay considered accepting scholarship offers to play basketball at Elon, Furman and Wofford before choosing to sign a national letter of intent on Nov. 10 to play for Ohio University. 

“I’m a huge people person, and the coaching staff and players at Ohio University have a super-cool environment, where it’s a bunch of hoopers hooping together,” Ajay said. “The fact that it’s close to home, so I can still see my family when I want, is awesome, too.”

Ajay is enjoying a strong senior season for the Shamrocks, who are 7-5 overall and 3-2 in the OCC-Central.

In a key league game at Upper Arlington on Jan. 7, Sheldon scored a career-high 38 points — including 12 points in the final five minutes — to help the Shamrocks upset the Golden Bears 57-52. Entering that game, UA was 10-0 and ranked fifth in the Division I state poll.

Coffman senior shooting guard Aidan Dring, who defends opponents' top perimeter scorers, said Sheldon has developed into the best offensive player he’s ever defended.

“I’ve gone up against some great players, but Ajay’s the toughest,” Dring said. “No one comes close to him, really. His change of speed and direction makes him impossible to guard. In the blink of an eye, he can blow past you for a layup or pull up for a 3.”

Ajay isn’t afraid to display his emotions on the court and admits to having “a little more swag and flavor to my game” than his sister, who is more reserved.

“My sister calls me cocky, but I’m just confident in myself,” Ajay said. “When I finally beat her for the first time, I brought it up to her every 20 minutes for the next week, but she’s not afraid to tell me how good she is, even though she’s the most humble person I know.

“I’m not an instigator, but I’ll talk a little (trash) with another player if I’m spoken to. I don’t get bothered by it. I laugh at some of the things other players say or I hear from the student section, because it’s part of the fun, and I enjoy it.”

Ajay is enjoying his final season of high school basketball, and he’s set some lofty goals.

“I want to help our team win our conference and make a run in the tournament,” Ajay said. “Personally, I want to be first-team all-state and the conference player of the year. In college, I want to make the best possible impact I can make on our program, and help my team make it to the NCAA Tournament so we can make a run. 

“I also absolutely want to (play professionally), too. I’ve always had that dream, and I’m pretty confident in myself that I can get there if I keep working hard.”