Below, some news and notes for Wednesday...- In its Patriot League preview, Rush The Court advocates the creation of an Ivy League-Patriot League challenge. RTC writes:
The ACC and Big Ten does it, and the Big East and SEC are beginning to do it, so why can’t the Patriot League and Ivy League do it? The “it” I am referring to are conference challenges. It is almost too natural for the Patriot League and Ivy League to engage in such a challenge with one another. When the Patriot League was formed, it was essentially modeled after the Ivy League—a group of schools who value academics and learning more than wins and losses on the playing field. Wouldn’t it be great then to have “the brains” go head-to-head with each other? Each league has eight teams, and there would not be excessive travel as no team falls outside of the New England or Mid-Atlantic states. Who can I call to make this happen?
- The Worcester Telegraph & Gazette writes that former Cornell head basketball coach Steve Donahue "didn’t post a winning season for the first six of his 10 years at Cornell, but he credited athletic director Andy Noel with sticking by him. Most coaches don’t enjoy that luxury."
- A Cornell Daily Sun columnist opines, "Of course, it’s impossible to compare major football and basketball programs to Cornell and the Ivy model because of stark differences in revenue and the fact that major schools operate teams as businesses."
...Donahue doesn't seem a bit overwhelmed by the task that lies ahead. The former Ivy League coach talks about the high character of this group and how he's been pleasantly surprised by its talent level and competitiveness. Yet he knows this team will take its lumps. "I have high expectations for myself and the team, but I'm also realistic that these guys are going to make more mistakes because they're going to be thrown into the fire so early," he said. The positive is the core of this team will remain together for four years because it's unlikely there are any early entry NBA candidates on the roster. Donahue has experience dealing with a situation similar to the one he faces now, although that was back in his days at Cornell. Now he's going up against Duke and North Carolina in what will once again become the most high-powered college hoops league in America the moment Syracuse and Pittsburgh are officially welcomed. Donahue recalls Ryan Wittman and Louis Dale's freshman campaign at Cornell -- when the team's leading returning scorer, Adam Gore, tore his ACL in the opener against Northwestern. Cornell went onto go 9-5 in league play and finish third in the Ivy League. "That's when people saw our group coming together," Donahue said. And what followed was an incredible three-year run in which the Big Red won the league each of the next three seasons and wound up going to the Sweet 16 in 2010. While the blueprint for Donahue and his staff is to rebuild the BC program in a similar fashion, there is no shortage of critics who feel as though the Eagles could anchor themselves in the ACC cellar this year -- and maybe beyond.
Finally, our Tweets of the Day from the world of Cornell Basketball.
Below, some news and notes for Wednesday...
Finally, our Tweets of the Day from the world of Cornell Basketball.
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