Doron Sheffer ( he, דורון שפר; born 12 March 1972), is an Israeli retired professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
player. He spent most of his club career playing with
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...
. During his playing career he played at the
point guard and
shooting guard positions. During his playing days, his nickname was "The Iceman".
Early career
Sheffer first gained fame at age 21, in the
Israeli Premier League
The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...
, when he led
Hapoel Galil Elyon
Hapoel Galil Elyon ( he, הפועל גליל עליון), also known as Hapoel Nofar Energy Galil Elion for sponsorship reasons, is an Israeli basketball club. The team competes in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, the top tier of Israeli b ...
to a victory in the Israeli League semifinals, over powerhouse
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...
, in 1993.
College career
Following fellow Israeli
Nadav Henefeld, Sheffer then played
college basketball
In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
, under head coach
Jim Calhoun
James A. Calhoun (born May 10, 1942) is a longtime college basketball coach. He is best known for his tenure as head coach of the University of Connecticut (UConn) men's basketball team. His teams won three NCAA national championships ( 1999, ...
, at the
University of Connecticut
The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...
, with the
UConn Huskies
The UConn Huskies (or Connecticut Huskies) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Connecticut, located in Storrs. The school is a member of the NCAA's Division I and the Big East Conference. The university's foo ...
, from 1993 to 1996. In the 1993–94 season, Sheffer was the
Big East Conference Rookie of the Year. While at UConn, Sheffer formed a trio with fellow starters
Ray Allen
Walter Ray Allen Jr. (born July 20, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in ...
and
Kevin Ollie
Kevin Jermaine Ollie (born December 27, 1972) is an American basketball coach and former player. Kevin is the head coach for Overtime Elite, a professional basketball league co-founded by Dan Porter and Zack Weiner for top players between 16 and ...
, that won the Big East basketball championship in three straight years.
He is the only player from UConn with 1,000 points and 500 assists, in three varsity seasons.
He was named to the school's All-20th Century team.
Professional career
Sheffer was selected in the
1996 NBA Draft
The 1996 NBA draft was the 50th draft in the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was held on June 26, 1996 at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. In this draft, NBA teams took turns selecting college basketball playe ...
, by the
Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...
, with the 36th overall pick, but he chose to sign with
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...
. After four years with Maccabi, where he won four straight
Israeli League championships and played in the
2000 EuroLeague Final Four
The 2000 FIBA EuroLeague Final Four was the FIBA EuroLeague Final Four tournament of the 1999–2000 season. It was the second to last edition of the FIBA EuroLeague Final Fours that were organized by FIBA Europe. For the next edition of the tou ...
, Sheffer retired suddenly, walking away from the public's eye, to travel the world, to
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
, and
Costa Rica. During this time, he had a
cancerous tumor
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
removed from his testicles.
Despite the illness, and the time away from basketball, Sheffer decided to make a comeback. After finishing his contract with Maccabi, he signed with
Hapoel Jerusalem
Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem. Today, the club's leadi ...
. In 2004, he won the
ULEB Eurocup (
EuroCup) championship with Hapoel.
[Sheffer Biography](_blank)
UconnHoopLegends.com Sheffer retired again in 2005, and then made another comeback in 2006. He then retired again in 2008.
5 years later, in 2013, he made a final comeback to the game, before finally retiring in 2014.
National team career
Sheffer was a member of the senior
Israeli national basketball team
The Israel men's national basketball team ( he, נבחרת ישראל בכדורסל) represents Israel in international basketball tournaments. They are administered by the Israeli Basketball Association. Israel is currently ranked 33rd in the ...
. With Israel, he played at the
1993 EuroBasket
The 1993 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1993, was the 28th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It was held in Germany between 22 June and 4 July 1993. Sixteen national teams entered ...
, the
1995 EuroBasket
The 1995 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1995, was the 29th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 1996 Summer Olympics, giving a berth to ea ...
, the
1997 EuroBasket
The 1997 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1997, was the 30th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 1998 FIBA World Championship, giving a be ...
, and the
1999 EuroBasket
The 1999 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1999, was the 31st FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 2000 Olympic Tournament, giving a berth ...
.
Doron SHEFFER (ISR).
/ref>
References
External links
*
Euroleague.net profile
Israeli League profile
Mccabi Tel Aviv profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheffer, Doron
1972 births
Living people
Baalei teshuva
Israeli Orthodox Jews
Point guards
Shooting guards
Israeli men's basketball players
Sportspeople from Petah Tikva
Hapoel Galil Elyon players
Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. players
Hapoel Jerusalem B.C. players
Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C. players
Israeli Basketball Premier League players
Israeli expatriate basketball people in the United States
All-American college men's basketball players
Los Angeles Clippers draft picks
UConn Huskies men's basketball players