Maurice "Tony" Sheals is entering his second season as Associate Head Men's Basketball Coach at Florida A&M University. The accomplished coach was recently inducted into the Lakeland Sports Hall of Fame, as a former Kathleen High School coach.
Sheals, whose coaching career spans over 20 years in both the high school and collegiate ranks, brings a wealth of experience to the FAMU Men's Basketball Staff.
Two seasons ago, Sheals served as the Head Boys Basketball Coach at Florida A&M University Developmental Research School (FAMU DRS or FAMU High) in Tallahassee, Fla., where he helped guide the Baby Rattlers to an 18-12 record and a Regional Championship.
Sheals began his coaching career in 1984 at Kathleen High School (1984 -90) in Lakeland, Fla., where he amassed a career record of 156-70. He led his teams to three State Tournament Finals appearances (1986, 1987, 1989), posting one 31-win (1986) season and two 29-win seasons (1987, 1990).
After a six-year stint on the high school level, Sheals ventured to the junior college realm, where he was named Head Men's Basketball Coach at South Florida Community College (1991-92) in Avon Park, Florida (1990-92). There he led the Panthers to 18-14 record and No. 8 ranking in the State of Florida in 1990-91, then followed that up with a 19-13 record and a conference tournament final appearance in 1991-92.
In 1992, Sheals was named the Assistant Men's Basketball Coach at Bethune-Cookman University (1992-93) in Daytona Beach, Fla.
After one season as assistant men's coach, Sheals was named the Head Men's Basketball Coach at B-CU (1993-97), where in four seasons he tallied a record of 45-69.
Sheals then ventured north, where was named the assistant Men's Basketball Coach at Towson University (1997-99) in Towson, Md. While at Towson, he was responsible for recruiting the consecutive number one recruiting classes in the America East Conference.
In 1999, Sheals was named the Head Men's Basketball Coach at Delaware State University in Dover, Delaware. There his 1999 recruiting class was rank No. 98 nationally by "Hoop Scoop." In addition, his first signee was named the 2000 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year.
After one season at DSU, Sheals moved to the professional ranks as he served as the Assistant Basketball Coach of the Tampa Bay Thunder Dawgs (1999-2000), in St. Petersburg, Fla., of the American Basketball Association.
Sheals then returned to the collegiate ranks in 2001 as he was named the Director of Basketball Operations at the University of Miami (2001-2002) in Coral Gables, Fla., under head coach Leonard Hamilton.
In the fall of 2002, Sheals began his first tour of duty in Tallahassee, when he was named Assistant Men's Basketball Coach at Florida State University (2002-06), under Hamilton. In 2003, Sheals helped the Seminoles bring in the No. 1 Recruiting Class rank by Consensus Top 25 recruiting classes yearly.
After four seasons at FSU, Sheals returned to South Florida as he became the Head Men's Basketball Coach at Palm Beach Community College (2006-09) in Lake Worth, Fla.
In the 2006-07 season, Sheals led PBCC to a 17-15 record and an appearance in the Southern Conference Tournament Championship game.
He also had four players to earn first team all-conference honors, and one all-state selection. In addition, Sheals had four players to be named to the 3.0 Academic Team.
Sheals holds a B.S. degree in Health and Physical Education from Bethune-Cookman University (1980), where he finished Magna Cum Laude.
He is also a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), Black Coaches Association (BCA), Bethune-Cookman Alumni Association and Kappa Psi Fraternity, Inc.
|
