Above, the A.P. game recap and the game program from Cornell's January 3, 1988 defeat to Jim Valvano's N.C. State team in Raleigh. N.C. State featured several future NBA players, including Vinny Del Negro, Charles Shackleford, Chris Corchiani, Chucky Brown and Rodney Monroe. Cornell would finish the season as Ivy League champions and clinch a bid to the 1988 NCAA Tournament.Above, the A.P. game recap and the game program from Cornell's January 3, 1988 defeat to Jim Valvano's N.C. State team in Raleigh. N.C. State featured several future NBA players, including Vinny Del Negro, Charles Shackleford, Chris Corchiani, Chucky Brown and Rodney Monroe. Cornell would finish the season as Ivy League champions and clinch a bid to the 1988 NCAA Tournament.
Rodney Purvis, a 6-foot-4 combo guard and one of the top recruits in the Class of 2012, opted for North Carolina State over UConn and several other suitors.
“There’s no place like home,” Purvis, a Raleigh, N.C. native, said at a press conference broadcast Friday afternoon on HighSchoolOT.com.
Purvis had visited UConn on Sept. 16. He was also recruited by Memphis, Ohio State and VCU among others. He originally gave an oral commitment to Louisville, but rescinded that when assistant coach Tim Fuller left the Cardinals’ staff.
Can’t get ‘em all, UConn fans.
“There’s no place like home,” Purvis, a Raleigh, N.C. native, said at a press conference broadcast Friday afternoon on HighSchoolOT.com.
Purvis had visited UConn on Sept. 16. He was also recruited by Memphis, Ohio State and VCU among others. He originally gave an oral commitment to Louisville, but rescinded that when assistant coach Tim Fuller left the Cardinals’ staff.
Can’t get ‘em all, UConn fans.
Below, some news and notes for Friday...- Interesting little fact about the 2011-2012 Cornell Big Red. The team's roster includes four seniors: Chris Wroblewski, Max Groebe, Anthony Gatlin and Andrew Ferry. However, of this group, only Wroblewski attended Cornell as a freshman. Groebe transferred in from UMass, Gatlin from Centenary, and Ferry from Valparaiso via a brief stop at Palm Beach State College, a junior college. The remainder of the roster does not include any other transfers. And if Cornell does not add a transfer this season though recruiting, the 2012-2013 Big Red, next year's team, would be the first Cornell team since the 2002-2003 season to play without at least one transfer.
- Last evening we spoke with Anthony Morgan, head coach of Plano West High School and coach of committed Cornell recruit, Holt Harmon (Plano West HS), Plano, TX, 6-9, F (class of 2012). See our updated profile of Harmon for some quotes from Morgan.
- Below, a news piece produced by Ithaca College Sports (ICTV) that we just located from last March on Cornell's Chris Wroblewski.
- Below, our Tweets of the Day from the world of Cornell Basketball on the twittersphere during the last 24 hours.
| Shabazz Muhammad | No. 1 recruit in 2012 |
| Dajuan Coleman | No. 11 recruit in 2012 |
| Archie Goodwin | No. 13 recruit in 2012 |
| Alex Poythress | No. 16 recruit in 2012 |
| T.J. Warren | No. 22 recruit in 2012 |
| Willie Cauley | No. 28 recruit in 2012 |
| Andrew Harrison* | No. 4 recruit in 2013 |
| Aaron Harrison* | No. 7 recruit in 2013 |
| Derek Willis | No. 33 recruit in 2013 |
| Xavier Rathan-Mayes* | No. 62 recruit in 2013 |
| Andrew Wiggins* | No. 1 recruit in 2014 |
| Dakari Johnson | No. 3 recruit in 2014 |
Below, some news and notes for Thursday...- Last night we had the opportunity to speak with Ron Richards, the head basketball coach of Plum High School about Nolan Cressler (Plum HS) Plum, PA, 6-4, G (class of 2012) a committed Cornell recruit. Cressler joins Holt Harmon (Plano West HS), Plano, TX, 6-9, F (class of 2012) and Tim Higgins (Paul VI HS) Fairfax, VA, 6-10, C (class of 2013) in Cornell's list of committed recruits. Visit our updated profile on Nolan Cressler for new quotes and insight from Richards about Cressler.
- For those starving for some Cornell basketball footage from the 2010-2011 season, ESPN3.com has full archived games of Cornell's visits last season to Seton Hall and Syracuse.
- Speaking of old footage, below, some raw video of ESPN Sports Center's highlights of Cornell's narrow 2010 defeat at No. 1 Kansas on January 6, 2010.
- Below, our Tweets of the Day from the world of Cornell Basketball on the twittersphere over the last 24 hours..
UConn isn't worried about a report today by the Norwich Bulletin that Andre Drummond's eligibility might be at issue.
The Bulletin reported that Drummond could face NCAA sanctions after appearing in a video at www.stacktv.stack.com in which he appears to be promoting the adiCrazy Light Shoe.
But UConn officials are confident that by simply asking the site to take the video down, Drummond won't face any NCAA discipline. He certainly won't be missing any games over the matter, a source said.
A statement from the school:
UConn was made aware of the video in question late this afternoon and has reviewed it. Our compliance staff is comfortable that the video was made in advance of Andre’s enrollment at UConn. Our next step is to simply follow up with the website on which it is posted and ask that it be removed, which we have already done.
The Bulletin reported that Drummond could face NCAA sanctions after appearing in a video at www.stacktv.stack.com in which he appears to be promoting the adiCrazy Light Shoe.
But UConn officials are confident that by simply asking the site to take the video down, Drummond won't face any NCAA discipline. He certainly won't be missing any games over the matter, a source said.
A statement from the school:
UConn was made aware of the video in question late this afternoon and has reviewed it. Our compliance staff is comfortable that the video was made in advance of Andre’s enrollment at UConn. Our next step is to simply follow up with the website on which it is posted and ask that it be removed, which we have already done.
A Date in Cornell Basketball History: The Cornell Dynasty of 1912-1914, a National Player of the Year and Almost a National Championship
In our continuing series, A Date in Cornell Basketball History, we look back to the golden era of Cornell Basketball during the 1910s. In both 1912-1913 and 1913-1914, Cornell captured the Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League (the "EIBL"-- the predecessor of the Ivy League) championships. Above, a clipping from the Wisconsin Daily News from March 1913 shows that the Wisconsin Badgers passed on the opportunity of facing Cornell for the 1912-1913 national championship. Cornell finished the '12-'13 season 11-4/7-1 EIBL and the '13-'14 season 14-2/8-2 EIBL.Gil Halstead (class of 1914) was a member of Cornell's back-t0-back '13 and '14 EIBL championship teams. In addition to being named 1st Team All America in 1912-1913 and 1913-1914, Halstead was the 1913-1914 National College Player of the Year his senior year. These honors were selected by the Helms Foundation.
In 1941, the Helms Foundation retroactively selected national champions for the years 1901-1941 (after the NCAA created the first NCAA Tournament in 1939). The Helms Foundation ultimately designated Navy (9-0) as the national champion for 1912-1913. However, the Midshipmen did not face Cornell during the 1912-1913 season.
In 1941, the Helms Foundation retroactively selected national champions for the years 1901-1941 (after the NCAA created the first NCAA Tournament in 1939). The Helms Foundation ultimately designated Navy (9-0) as the national champion for 1912-1913. However, the Midshipmen did not face Cornell during the 1912-1913 season.
Below, some news and notes for Wednesday...- Cornell will have at least three games televised during the 2011-2012 season as Maryland announced yesterday its January 3rd game against Cornell will be broadcast on ESPN3. Cornell's 2011-2012 schedule will also feature televised games at Illinois (ESPN3) and at Penn State (Big Ten Network). Time Warner Cable, VerizonFios1, and Comcast Sports are among other networks that may also pick up Cornell games against Ivy League opponents such as Columbia, Princeton and Penn.
- The Baltimore Sun profiles Davon Sandler of Delaware and notes that as a freshman last season he scored 15 points in a losing effort at Cornell.
- The Washington Post notes that Paul VI High School in Fairfax, Virginia has four players already committed to Division I programs with two other players already holding Division I offers. Paul VI is the high school of committed Cornell recruit, Tim Higgins (Paul VI HS) Fairfax, VA, 6-10, C (class of 2013). Higgins joins Holt Harmon (Plano West HS), Plano, TX, 6-9, F; and Nolan Cressler (Plum HS) Plum, PA, 6-4, G (class of 2012) among Cornell's commitments.
- Former Cornell assistant coach Ricky Yahn and his Longwood Lancers, a Division I independent, are seeking a conference affiliation according to ESPN.
- Below, our Tweets of the Day from the world of Cornell Basketball on the twittersphere over the last 24 hours.
With First Night only a little more than two weeks away, it's time to put last year's incredible season in the scrapbooks and gear up for the 2011-12 campaign.
The Huskies have been feted by President Obama at the White House, thrown first pitches at Yankee Stadium (Kemba Walker) and Fenway Park (Jim Calhoun) and generally basked in the glow of the school's third national title. There are, however, a couple more celebrations of the 2010-11 national championship to go.
On Oct. 6, UConn will host a celebration dinner, hosted by Jay Bilas, at the Connecticut Convention Center, at which the Huskies will receive their championship rings. Tickets are still available for this event and can be done so here. Or fans can call the UConn Athletic Department Foundation at 860-486-3863 or fax 860-486-3521, or email at ucadf@uconn.edu to reserve your seat.
Dinner starts at about 7 p.m.; Kemba will be there.
And, of course, UConn's national championship banner will be unveiled at the team's regular-season opener on Friday, Nov. 11 against Columbia at Gampel (7 p.m.).
After that, it's all about 2011-12.
The Huskies have been feted by President Obama at the White House, thrown first pitches at Yankee Stadium (Kemba Walker) and Fenway Park (Jim Calhoun) and generally basked in the glow of the school's third national title. There are, however, a couple more celebrations of the 2010-11 national championship to go.
On Oct. 6, UConn will host a celebration dinner, hosted by Jay Bilas, at the Connecticut Convention Center, at which the Huskies will receive their championship rings. Tickets are still available for this event and can be done so here. Or fans can call the UConn Athletic Department Foundation at 860-486-3863 or fax 860-486-3521, or email at ucadf@uconn.edu to reserve your seat.
Dinner starts at about 7 p.m.; Kemba will be there.
And, of course, UConn's national championship banner will be unveiled at the team's regular-season opener on Friday, Nov. 11 against Columbia at Gampel (7 p.m.).
After that, it's all about 2011-12.
Below, some news and notes for Tuesday...- The preseason magazine, Athlon College Basketball 2011-2012 Preview (now available on newsstands), published courtesy of Scout.com the nation's top 300 freshmen. Only the top 100 were enumerated with rankings while 101-300 were listed alphabetically. Ivy League recruits ranked in 101-300 range included Shonn Miller (Cornell), Henry Brooks (Penn), Wesley Saunders (Harvard), Kenyatta Smith (Harvard) and Jonah Travis (Harvard). Noteworthy, Brooks is recovering from an ACL tear suffered last March. Check out The Cornell Basketball Blog's Season Preview Index for a listing of 2011-2012 Cornell and Ivy League basketball season previews.
- As we reported last night via Twitter, Jeff Foote ('10) and Ryan Wittman ('10) have negotiated themselves out of their contracts with the Polish club, Zastal. Neither player felt a connection with the club's system and are seeking other opportunities in Europe and the U.S. See the Google translation of a report from Radio Zielona Gora. The below image, which includes Foote and Wittman, is the main banner on the Zastal website.
- Below our Tweets of the Day in the world of Cornell Basketball from the weekend and Monday...
Below, some news and notes for Monday...- A reminder, Cornell's Red-White Game, the annual open-to-the-public intersquad scrimmage is scheduled for October 22 at Newman Arena. Game time is TBA.
- Cornell's 2011-2012 schedule will feature several televised games including at Illinois (ESPN3), at Penn State (Big Ten Network), and at Maryland on a to be determined network.
- Check out The Cornell Basketball Blog's Season Preview Index for a listing of 2011-2012 Cornell and Ivy League basketball season previews.
- Harvard had a successful recruiting weekend with several top players visiting the campus. Although no commitments have surfaced yet, the Crimson feel good about the show they put on for their prospects. The Recruit Scoop has a good summary of what was well covered on the twittersphere over the weekend. The Recruit Scoop notes of Harvard's weekend, "Not since the 2009-2010 Cornell squad that made the sweet sixteen has there been a more interesting storyline in the Ivy League."
- In alumni news, in South America, Jason Hartford ('08) and his club Cader (Uruguay) lost their regular season opener 80-79 to Bohemios on Saturday. "J-Hart" earned the start and finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Also starting their regular seasons and pro careers on Saturday, Adam Wire ('11) and Aaron Osgood ('11) both started for Vaerlose (Denmark premier league) in a 73-70 defeat to Aalborg. Osgood finished with 12 points and 5 rebounds while Adam Wire picked up 5 points, 3 assists and 9 rebounds. Also in Europe, Ryan Wittman ('10) did not make appearances in either of Zastal's (Poland, PLK League) tune-up exhibition games over the weekend. Fellow Cornellian and pro teammate, Jeff Foote ('10) notched 4 points for Zastal in the 88-87 exhibition win over PBG Basket Poznań on Friday, then followed the performance with 7 points in a 78-69 exhibition loss to the same team on Saturday. Further below in this post, additional updates on Cornell alumni playing professionally overseas.
- Speaking of Wittman, Jeff Potter, Owner and President of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants (NBA D-League), where Wittman played last season, writes on his personal blog, "Ryan Wittman: The aforementioned sharp shooter will be taking his talents to Poland this season. I really think Ryan is a talented player, and I am sure he will do very well over there. There are very few players in the world with his ability to knock down jumpers, and he will have a long, successful career because of it. I was really hoping we could get Ryan back, but I wish him well and will dream of Ryan in a Mad Ants jersey next season!"
- Check out The Cornell Basketball Blog's profiles of Cornell's three committed recruits from the classes of 2012 and 2013, Holt Harmon (Plano West HS), Plano, TX, 6-9, F; Nolan Cressler (Plum HS) Plum, PA, 6-4, G (class of 2012); and Tim Higgins (Paul VI HS) Fairfax, VA, 6-10, C (class of 2013).
- On Cornell's 2011-2012 schedule, several websites have already started with daily countdowns of preseason national rankings. Below are the Cornell opponents ranked thus far:
The Sports Bank- Top 111
-Penn State (No. 109)
-Yale (No. 84)
-Maryland (No. 78)
CollegeSportsMadness.com- Top 144
-Lehigh (No. 134)
-Boston U. (No. 118)
-Maryland (No. 108)
-Bucknell (No. 91)
-Princeton (No. 89)
-Illinois (No. 63)
TheHoopsReport.com- Top 68
-Princeton (No. 59)
-Maryland (No. 58)
-Harvard (No. 41)
-Illinois (No. 35)
- If you have not had the opportunity to check it out yet, take a look at the exclusive Inside Tour of Cornell Basketball. The tour video was produced by the staff of Slope Media with background music performed by Cornell alumnus, Alex Kresovich. The background song, "The Return" will also be the main theme song for the upcoming 2012 version of the video game, NBA2K. Also a must see-- check out the three-year combined highlight video package produced by Slope Media from the '08-'09, '09-'10 and '10-'11 Big Red seasons.
- Below is an updated directory listing of some Twitter feeds associated with the Cornell basketball program. You can also follow The Cornell Basketball Blog on Twitter.
-Josh Wexler ('88)
-Steve Cobb ('05)
-Ryan Rourke ('06)
-Andrew Naeve ('07)
-Jason Canady ('08)
-Khaliq Gant ('09)
-Conor Mullen ('09)
-Ryan Wittman ('10)
-Pete Reynolds ('10)
-Jon Jaques ('10)
-Louis Dale ('10)
-Alex Tyler ('10)
-Geoff Reeves ('10)
-Jeff Foote ('10)
-Andre Wilkins ('10) (inactive)
-Aaron Osgood ('11)
-Adam Wire ('11)
-The Cornell Rebounders Club
-Max Groebe ()
-Andrew Ferry ()
-Peter McMillan ()
-Errick Peck ()
-Josh Figini ()
-Galal Cancer ()
-Ned Tomic ()
-Dominick Scelfo ()
-Jake Mathews ()
-Dwight Tarwater ()
-Manny Sahota ()
-Dave LaMore ()
-Shonn Miller ()
-Devin Cherry ()
-Nolan Cressler (committed recruit)
-Tim Higgins (committed recruit)
-Assistant Coach Mike Blaine ()
-Assistant Coach Marlon Sears ()
-Assistant Coach Arlen Galloway ()
-Brian Delaney, WPIE/ESPN Radio Ithaca ()
-Cornell Daily Sun Sports ()
-Slope Sports ()
-WVBR Sports ()
-Former assistant coach, Jay Larranaga ()
-Former head coach, Steve Donahue ()
-Former assistant coach, Nat Graham ()
-Former assistant coach, Woody Kampmann ()
-Former Assistant Coach Ricky Yahn ()
-Former Intern Assistant Ryan Woerner ()
- Throughout the year we provide periodic updates on Cornell's alumni playing professionally. Below, some updates:
-Jeff Aubry ('99) (Halcones Rojos, LNBP Mexico premier league/Arecibo Capitanes, BSN Puerto Rico premier league)-Aubry, a 6'11" center, splits his time in both the Mexican and Puerto Rican professional leagues. Aubry, a well traveled pro player spent several seasons in the NBA D League in the early part of his career with the Fayetteville Patriots and Florida Flame and earned honorable mention all D-League in 2002. During his more than a decade of pro experience, Aubry has also played professionally in the ABA (Miami Tropics) and abroad in Puerto Rico (Arecibo, Leones de Ponce, and Santurce, BSN Puerto Rico), Spain (Tarragona, LEB Gold Spain 2nd Division), Mexico (Halcones Rojos and Chihuahua Dorados, LBBP Mexico premier league), Poland (Slask Wroclaw, PLK Poland premier league), Argentina (Libertad Sunchales, Liga A Argentina), Uruguay (Hebraica, LUB Uruguay )and Peru (Alas Peruanas, Peru).-Cody Toppert ('05) (Ourense, LEB Silver Spain 3rd Division)-Toppert currently plays in Spain with Ourense. Like Aubry, Toppert, a 6'4" guard, is a veteran of the NBA D League, a former Albuquerque Thunderbird. During his pro career, Toppert has also played in England (Plymouth Raiders, British Basketball League), Italy (Forli, LegaDue Italy 2nd division), the CBA (Great Falls Explorers), as well as in Portugal (Barriernese, LCB Portugal premier league), Germany (Goettingen, BBK Bundesliga Germany premier league) and New Zealand (Taranaki Mountain Airs, NBL New Zealand premier league).-Jason Hartford ('08) (Cader Rocha, LUB Uruguay premier league)-Hartford currently plays in Uruguay with Cader. The 6'9" Hartford also has played professionally in Portugal (Ginasio, LCB Portugal premier league), Finland (Huima, Korisliiga Finland premier league) and Mozambique (Maxaquene, D1 Mozambique premier league).-Louis Dale ('10) (Goettingen, BBK Bundesliga Germany premier league)-Dale is in his second season in Germany with Goettingen.-Ryan Wittman ('10) (Zastal, PLK Poland premier league)-Wittman currently plays in Poland with Zastal. He played the 2010-2011 season in Italy (Forli, LegaDue Italy 2nd division) and the United States (Fort Wayne Mad Ants, NBA D-League).-Jeff Foote ('10) (Zastal, PLK Poland premier league/Maccabi Tel Aviv, Loto League Israel premier league)-Foote currently plays in Poland wth Zastal. He played the 2010-2011 season in Spain (Melilla, LEB Gold Spain 2nd division) while on loan from Euro League powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel.-Adam Wire ('11) (Vaerlose, Denmark BBK premier league)-The 2011-2012 season is his rookie year with Vaerlose of Denmark.
-Aaron Osgood ('11) (Vaerlose, Denmark BBK premier league)-The 2011-2012 season is his rookie year with Vaerlose of Denmark.
Visit The Cornell Basketball Blog's Community Forum and Message Board to interact with other fans of Cornell and Ivy League basketball. Membership is free! You may also follow us on Twitter.
Fans of the basketball program in the Ithaca area should not miss the opportunity to join the Cornell Rebounders Club.
Above, the Athlon Sports College Basketball 2011-2012 preview of the Ivy League.
It's been a spate of bad news for UConn basketball lately. The latest: Tate George has been arrested and charged with operating a Ponzi scheme.
Here's the release sent out this morning by Paul Fishman, U.S. Attorney from New Jersey:
C. Tate George, former NBA basketball player and the chief executive officer (CEO) of purported real estate development firm, The George Group, surrendered this morning to federal authorities for allegedly orchestrating a more than $2 million investment fraud scheme, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
George, 43, of Newark, surrendered in Newark to special agents of the FBI and postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) on a criminal complaint charging him with one count of wire fraud. He is scheduled to appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Patty Shwartz in Newark federal court.
According to the criminal complaint unsealed today:
George, who once played for the New Jersey Nets and Milwaukee Bucks, held himself out as the CEO of The George Group, claiming to have more than $500 million in assets under management. George pitched prospective investors, including several former professional athletes, to invest with the firm. George represented to these prospective investors that their money would be used to fund The George Group’s purchase and development of real estate development projects, including projects in Florida, Illinois, Connecticut and New Jersey. George represented to some prospective investors that their funds would be held in an attorney escrow account and personally guaranteed the return of their investments, with interest.
Based on George’s representations, investors invested more than $2 million in The George Group between 2005 and March 2011, which he deposited in both the firm’s and his personal bank account. Instead of using investments to fund real estate development projects as promised, George used the money from new investors to pay existing investors in Ponzi scheme fashion. He also used some of the money for home improvement projects, meals at restaurants, clothing and gas. In reality, The George Group had virtually no income generating operations.
If convicted, George faces a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Fishman praised special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward, and postal inspectors of the USPIS, under the direction of Postal Inspector in Charge Philip R. Bartlett, for their work in the continuing investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Kelly of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
Here's the release sent out this morning by Paul Fishman, U.S. Attorney from New Jersey:
C. Tate George, former NBA basketball player and the chief executive officer (CEO) of purported real estate development firm, The George Group, surrendered this morning to federal authorities for allegedly orchestrating a more than $2 million investment fraud scheme, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
George, 43, of Newark, surrendered in Newark to special agents of the FBI and postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) on a criminal complaint charging him with one count of wire fraud. He is scheduled to appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Patty Shwartz in Newark federal court.
According to the criminal complaint unsealed today:
George, who once played for the New Jersey Nets and Milwaukee Bucks, held himself out as the CEO of The George Group, claiming to have more than $500 million in assets under management. George pitched prospective investors, including several former professional athletes, to invest with the firm. George represented to these prospective investors that their money would be used to fund The George Group’s purchase and development of real estate development projects, including projects in Florida, Illinois, Connecticut and New Jersey. George represented to some prospective investors that their funds would be held in an attorney escrow account and personally guaranteed the return of their investments, with interest.
Based on George’s representations, investors invested more than $2 million in The George Group between 2005 and March 2011, which he deposited in both the firm’s and his personal bank account. Instead of using investments to fund real estate development projects as promised, George used the money from new investors to pay existing investors in Ponzi scheme fashion. He also used some of the money for home improvement projects, meals at restaurants, clothing and gas. In reality, The George Group had virtually no income generating operations.
If convicted, George faces a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Fishman praised special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward, and postal inspectors of the USPIS, under the direction of Postal Inspector in Charge Philip R. Bartlett, for their work in the continuing investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Kelly of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
Below, some news and notes for Friday...- The Yale Daily News published an article on some of the challenges facing student-athletes at Yale and in the Ivy League.
- The Harvard Crimson published an article about a group of prospects visiting Cambridge this weekend.
- In our continuing series, A Date in Cornell Basketball History, we look back at the last time that Cornell played a nonconference game after the Ivy League season concluded. Heading into the 1988-1989 season, Cornell was scheduled to face Southern Methodist University (SMU) on December 27, 1988 in Dallas. During that 1988-1989 school year, the SMU athletic department was without a football team as their Mustangs' program was the recipient of the infamous NCAA "death penalty" for committing egregious recruiting violations. Nevertheless, SMU's basketball team was flourishing and was coming off a 1987-1988 Southwest Conference championship. But a massive snow storm forced the teams to cancel the December 27 game as the Big Red were stranded in a Chicago airport when their flight to Dallas was grounded. But Cornell did not return to Ithaca. The team continued it southern road trip and made its way to Duke where the Big Red were hammered, 94-59 on December 29, 1988 in freshman Christian Laettner's first collegiate start. A rescheduled SMU game was later played on March 6, 1989 after Cornell finished its entire Ivy League slate. The Mustangs won the game in Dallas, 67-59, and Cornell ended its season 10-16 overall and 7-7 in the Ivy League. Below, a clipping of the Cornell Chronicle shows the scheduled December 27 game with SMU. Also an A.P. article recaps the Duke game and Cornell's travel woes. Also below, the cover of Cornell's 1988-1989 media guide.
Below, our Tweets of the Day from the world of Cornell Basketball...
Below, some news and notes for Thursday...- In exactly one month, on October 22, 2011, the Big Red take the court for the first time in front of their home fans, Newman Nation, for Cornell's annual Red-White Game, the traditional intersquad scrimmage. Above, Cornell's heralded freshmen class is led by "diaper dandies" Devin Cherry and Shonn Miller.
- The Columbia Spectator writes, " If Columbia invested a little bit more in its major sports, the potential buzz that could surround the particular Columbia team would be unfathomable. Consider: when Cornell made a run in the NCAA basketball tournament in 2010, they became media darlings and drew a large contingent of support because of the extreme underdogs they were. And that is for a team in the middle of nowhere, not to mention a team that had already made the tournament in the two previous years."
- In response to a message James Maye sent out on Twitter, The Polish newspaper, The Gazetta, speculates (and we stress "speculates") that the club, Zastal, might attempt to bring back its former player in Maye to replace Ryan Wittman ('10). See the Google translation of the article from the Gazetta. Maye, a 6'7" UNC Greensboro graduate and a D-League veteran, currently plays in the Dominican Republic. Maye averaged 14.6 points per game for Zastal last season. Below, video highlights of Zastal's home opening exhibition last weekend.
- Cornell assistant coach Mike Blaine notes above via Twitter that Rob Hill ('91) stopped by to visit the basketball office this week. Hill, who is a senior vice president with the Nielsen Co. is one of many former players who still follow the program. Above, a photo Hill in action against Syracuse in 1989. Below, a photo from 2008 of Lee Morton '54, former Cornell head coach Steve Donahue, Hill and Eric Kates '78 at a Cornell Club event. Morton was the Cornell men's basketball co-captain in 1953-1954, when Cornell captured its first Ivy title in 30 years. At that point, Morton was Cornell's all-time high scorer and was named an All-American.
Below, Tweets of the Day from the world of Cornell Basketball...
Below, highlights produced by Slope Media from Cornell's Senior Night win last season in Ithaca over Yale.
"I Never Made it This Far"
Mystics fans need no reminder that this is the first playoff season in three years in which Washington and its fans are on the outside looking in. But tonight, as the second round of the WNBA playoffs get underway, there are a few alumnae of the Mystics whose teams are still in post-season competition, and the BCs are enjoying watching them play.
In particular, we could not be happier for Nakia Sanford that -- for the first time ever -- she has the opportunity to play in a Conference final playoff series, after her Phoenix Mercury beat the defending champion Seattle Storm in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs on Monday.
Sitting in the locker room that night after the decisive third game, Nakia buried her face in her jersey, overcome with emotion. Teased by her teammates, Nakia said, "I never made it this far." (Video here). For the BCs, who have followed Nakia for her entire, improbable, WNBA career, it was also a very emotional moment.
Yes, Nakia's improbable WNBA career. Nakia graduated from the University of Kansas in 1999, having played for the Jayhawks on the team that won the first Big 12 title. But Nakia was not signed by any WNBA team, and she went overseas to play. Several years passed. No WNBA teams came knocking, and it is likely that Nakia thought she would never play professionally in the United States. Fortune, however, smiled. Nakia was playing one off-season on a team in South Korea with Chamique Holdsclaw, where she was spotted by the Mystics' then-Head Coach, Marianne Stanley. (Our recollection, in fact, is that it was actually Mique who told Coach Stanley she needed to come take a look at Nakia.) In April 2003, the Mystics signed Nakia as a free agent.
The rest, as they say, is history. Nakia spent the next 8 seasons with the Mystics, often as a reserve, although she was thrust into a starting role early in the 2007 season when the Mystics suddenly traded away starting Center Chasity Melvin to the Sky (in exchange for Mo Currie).
Nakia was always one of the most fan-friendly players. She has a great sense of humor, does wonderful charity work, and, maybe because of her improbable late arrival to the WNBA, she never seemed to take the fans or the experience of playing in the U-S of A for granted. Nakia may not lead the league in on-court statistics, but if we were ranking players on how they represented the league, their team, and their city . . . Nakia would be right up there at the top of the list.
During the past off-season, when GM/HC Trudi set in motion her "rebuilding with youth" strategy, Nakia was not re-signed by the Mystics. She found a new home in Phoenix (as a reserve). Bench player or not, tonight Nakia gets to do something she's never done . . . play in a Conference championship series.
The BCs could not be happier for her. Go Kia!
The annual Husky Run will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 12 at 2 p.m. outside of Gampel Pavilion's East Entrance. The general public is invited to compete in the 3.4-mile run around campus, and the first-place finisher will receive a UConn NIKE sweatsuit.
All runners will receive a free t-shirt and food after the race.
All runners will receive a free t-shirt and food after the race.
For whatever reason, UConn prez Susan Herbst wanted to relay this message to UConn fans and supporters:
“The past several days have magnified the period of instability that exists today in the world of college athletics. I want to say thank you to all of our loyal supporters and fans of UConn and our athletic programs for their patience during this time.
“Please know that we will always do what is in the best interests for the University of Connecticut.
“We remain committed to our ideals and principals in intercollegiate athletics and will continue to achieve excellence academically and athletically.”
“The past several days have magnified the period of instability that exists today in the world of college athletics. I want to say thank you to all of our loyal supporters and fans of UConn and our athletic programs for their patience during this time.
“Please know that we will always do what is in the best interests for the University of Connecticut.
“We remain committed to our ideals and principals in intercollegiate athletics and will continue to achieve excellence academically and athletically.”
Below, some news and notes for Wednesday...- Below, a news story publish in the Plano Courier-Star on the commitment of Holt Harmon (Plano West HS), Plano, TX, 6-9, F to Cornell University.
- ESPN's Andy Katz, in writing about former Columbia head coach Joe Jones' move to Boston Universtiy notes, "Jones never finished above fourth in his seven seasons at Columbia. But that was Columbia, in a conference where Penn and Princeton dominated for so long -- and then toward the end of Jones' tenure, Cornell made a nice three-year run."
- If Cornell was to finish winless in the Ivy League this season, the Big Red would still own at least a .500 record against every Ivy League team over the last five seasons. Below, SlopeTV's highlight videos from Cornell's season sweep of Penn during the 2010-2011 season. Cornell has won seven of its last eight meetings with the Quakers.
A bit fatigued by all the conference realignment rumors and innuendo lately? Here's a brief respite, while still giving you a UConn fix: a little update on Shabazz Napier from today's Register.
Anyone want to hear what John Swofford has to say about poaching Syracuse and Pitt (and, soon, maybe others) from the Big East? Here ya go
And Jamie Dixon's take? Here 'tis.
And Jamie Dixon's take? Here 'tis.
CornellBigRed.com, the official website of Cornell Athletics has a new look. Check it out and visit the men's basketball page.
Below, some news and notes for Tuesday...
- TexasHoops.com published the above story on the commitment of Holt Harmon (Plano West HS), Plano, TX, 6-9, F to Cornell. Parsing The WAC blog, notes, "Texas prep frontcourter Holt Harmon has given a verbal to Cornell and cancelled his other trips, one of which was to be Logan [for Utah State]." The Parsing the WAC site previously speculated of Harmon and Utah State, "Based on his current skills set and potential, he looks like a priority recruit."
- Aaron Osgood ('11) and Adam Wire ('11) report from their blog, Danish Duo, that their first game is on Saturday. Osgood and Wire play for the Vaerlose club in Denmark. Vaerlose will face the Aalborg Vikings in the opener which features a familiar face to the Cornellians, former Lehigh stalwart point guard, Marquis Hall. Below, Louis Dale ('10) defends Hall in 2008 while in the background, Wire and Osgood watch the action from the bench.
- The Bleacher Report writes on the topic of "Showdowns We Can't Wait to See" in regards to the newly aligned ACC and states of a highly anticipated Boston College vs. Syracuse match up, "Boston College coach Steve Donahue has faced Jim Boeheim a handful of times in the past while coaching the underdog Cornell Big Red- and he gave the Orange a run for their money."
- Below, our Tweets of the Day from the world of Cornell Basketball...
I love looking at ride layouts or diagrams. If you've ever wondered what the overheadride layout of the Amazing Adventures of Spiderman at Universal's Islandsof Adventure looks like this is the best one I've seen. Attached is a diagramof what is probably the layout, at least it looks like it is pretty accuratefrom what I can remember. It's a very disorienting ride. Number 50 is theunload and load stations. How does Spiderman work? The ride basically usesa six axis Stewart platform mounted to a vehicle chassis with the added ability to rotate dueto a ring and pinion gear system. Attached are a few drawings from thepatent for this amazing amusement ride vehicle.
UK will play on an ESPN 16 times (8 on ESPN, 2 on ESPN2, 3 on ESPNU, 1 on ESPN3.com, and 2 flex options for ESPN/ESPN2) and on CBS 5 times.
Click photo to enlarge.
Click photo to enlarge.
Incoming Cornell recruit, Holt Harmon (Plano West HS), Plano, TX, 6-9, F (No. 33 above) was a starter for his elite AAU team, Texas Assault, which faced Dream Vision of California in the Adidas Super 64 Championship Game in Las Vegas, Nevada this summer. The game which featured multiple top 100 recruits was televised on CBS College Sports. Harmon's first half performance propelled Texas to the 93-78 championship victory. Highlights are below:
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