SUPER BOWL 2012

Watch live action of committed Cornell recruit, Braxston Bunce (Kelowna Secondary School) Kelowna, BC, Canada, 6-11, on Wednesday evening at 8:15 pm (local time) at Langley, British Columbia, Canada in the AAA B.C. Provincial Tournament.

According to multiple public media sources, Robert Mischler (Mishawaka HS) Marian, IN, 6-2, G, committed to Cornell after visiting the campus the weekend of January 27-29, 2012. Before choosing Cornell, he was considering Navy, Army and non-Division I programs such as DePauw, St. Francis, Washington University in St. Louis and Hope College (Mich.). In addition to Navy, Mischler also received a nomination and offer to Army. He told the Indianapolis Star on his commitment, "It’s been my dream to play in an NCAA Tournament so to have that chance to play Division I basketball is great...It’s a great feeling.” Sources confirmed for The Cornell Basketball Blog that Mischler visited Navy and Army before committing to Cornell.

With Cornell graduating shooters Chris Wroblewski, Drew Ferry and Max Groebe in the spring and Mischler boasting a robust jump shot to go along with a 4.3 GPA (in an intensive honors program) and 1770 on the SATs, the commitment seems to fit in well with the Big Red's needs.

Mischler, known as a pure shooter and one of the best in the Hoosier State, averaged 12.9 points per game as a junior during 2010-2011 while shooting 41% beyond the arc. He was 2nd Team All Northern Indiana Conference as a junior and was selected to play in the 2011 Indiana Class Basketball All-Star Classic (48 juniors in State selected) where he netted a game high 25 points on a 5/7 shooting performance from beyond the arc. He was also the quarterback for the school's football team.

As a senior Mischler was a repeat 2nd Team All Northern Indiana Conference selection.

The Cornell Basketball Blog spoke with Mischler's high school coach, Rob Berger about the commitment.

Referring to Cornell's games in the last two seasons at Minnesota, Illinois and Penn State, Berger said, "Out here [in Indiana] we get the Big Ten Network and we've seen a lot of Cornell, how they run up and down the floor and shoot three-pointers. So we are familiar with their system. And I think in that type of system Robert is a good fit, it fits his game well." Berger explained, "He's just a terrific shooter, I mean literally unlimited range. He hits 25 foot shots for us, well out there." Berger continued, "Over the years, he's really worked on his athleticism, he's good at coming off screens, has a very quick release, but he's also improved in his ball handling and he's good at taking one or two dribbles, shot faking and pumping, and pulling up, has a good mid range game." "Bobby's shattered all of our three point shooting records with more to go [in the season]." On the other side of the ball he added, "I'd say he is 6-2 and about 170 pounds... he works hard defensively, he is our second leading rebounder."

Berger stressed however that Mischler needs to continue to work on creating his own shot, a developing part of his game and defending opposing shooting guards. He also mentioned that Mischler works well in his high school backcourt with Demetrius Jackson (class of 2013) who already holds offers to Michigan State, Notre Dame, Butler and Xavier among others. "Cornell spotted Bobby last summer in one of his tournaments... I'd say they really came into the picture in the late fall. [Cornell assistant coach] Mike Blaine was really the guy involved. He and Cornell's head coach [Bill Courtney] later came out again to see us in January [and evaluate Mischler] and watched one of our games... From there Bobby [visited Cornell and] told Navy he was going to commit to Cornell [and he subsequently cancelled a planned official visit to Annapolis]."

Expressing similar feedback, Midwest Basketball Academy's Rod Creech, Mischler's AAU coach, evaluated Mischler as follows:

"Robert Mischler is one of the most complete basketball players that I have ever coached. Even more impressive than that, he is an even better student (4.3 g.p.a. on a 4.0 scale), person, and leader. Robert is a 6’2 wing player that averaged 4 rebounds and 3 assists per game this season. His definite strength is his ability to shoot the ball. He has unlimited range and his ability to shot fake and take a pull-up jumper makes him very difficult to guard. He broke the school record for 3 pointers made this season with 64 while shooting 40% from beyond the arch. He also shot 76% from the free throw line while averaging 14 points per game. With another off-season of hard work, there is no doubt in my mind he will only continue to get better"

Below, a pair or highlight videos from two of Mischler's games this season:

Below, some references in the media to the "signings" yesterday of Cornell's three committed class of 2012 recruits: Braxston Bunce (Kelowna Secondary School) Kelowna, BC, Canada, 6-11, Holt Harmon (Plano West HS), Plano, TX, 6-9, F; and Nolan Cressler (Plum HS) Plum, PA, 6-4, G (class of 2012).

• FlagrantFouls.com (Braxston Bunce)
• Dallas Morning News (Holt Harmon)
• Plano West Blue Prints (Holt Harmon)
• Pittsburgh Post Tribune (Nolan Cressler)
  

Harry Parmar, Bunce's high school coach at Kelona Secondary confirmed the commitment for The Cornell Basketball Blog.

Each of Canada's major recruiting services consider Bunce, a 260 pound wide-bodied post, one of the country's top players. The site FlagrantFouls.com ranks Bunce as the No. 9 overall player in Canada's class of 2012 and also ranks him the No. 1 center. Additionally, Northpole Hoops also ranks Bunce as the No. 1 center in Canada and No. 10 overall. Consistent with these rankings, HoopStars Canada ranks Bunce No. 12 in Canada's class of 2012 while TheHoop-La.com also placed Bunce on its Second Team All Canada for all grade years and positions.

As a high school junior, Bunce averaged 13.4 points and 10.4 rebounds per game for the Kelowna Owls. This past summer he played AAU/club basketball for Basketball B.C. and was a member of Canada's Under 19 National Team competing in Lithuania and Latvia. In international competition, playing alongside national team players such as 7'4" Sim Bhullar (New Mexico State), Negus Webster-Chan (Missouri), 6'9" Stephan Jankovic (multiple BCS offers), Olivier Hanlan (multiple BCS offers), and Kevin Pagos (Gonzaga), Bunce averaged 2.1 points and 2.6 rebounds per game for Team Canada in the U-19 World Championships and was the youngest member of the team.

Bunce burst onto the grassroots basketball scene somewhat later than most high school students. He explained to Rivals.com affiliate site, UDubNation.com (a Washington Huskies fan site) during January 2011 that hockey was always his favorite sport growing up. As a 16 year-old (he is now 17), he stood 6'6" and wore size 16 custom-made skates. As he sprouted another 5" in the last two years--- he dropped competing on the ice and opted for the hardwood.

Tucked away in Kelowna in western Canada, nearly 4.5 hours from Vancouver, Bunce had been somewhat of a hidden talent from NCAA basketball recruiters. His profile blew up however with a tremendous performance at the AAU event, the Las Vegas Fab 48 this past summer. He told Crown Magazine, "Playing for Canada helped my game out in so many ways being the youngest on the team. I had great coaches and teammates which helped me kick off an overall good summer for me. The Las Vegas AAU tournament was really good for me, boosted my stock a lot."

In Speaking with The Cornell Basketball Blog, Ross Tomlinson, Director of Athlete Development with Basketball B.C., Bunce's club team, told us that Bunce initially started playing basketball in 8th grade. His skill development and exposure to recruiters was halted, however, his sophomore year of high school when Bunce had to undergo a pair of knee surgeries, missing the entire year. Tomlinson also noted that Bunce missed approximately one month of AAU exposure last July while he was training and traveling with Canada's U-19 National Team.

When he did finally see some competition on the AAU circuit, NorthpoleHoops.com evaluated Bunce in Las Vegas last summer and wrote, "It's amazing what a few months can do to a player's development. We last witnessed Bunce in action in February where he didn't look nearly as effective as he did in Vegas. Bunce is fresh off the world championships with the Canadian Junior National team and seems to be as confident as he's ever been, both on and off the court. If he gets the ball on the block, he will attack the rim hard, which he displayed on one particular play, catching and maneuvering his way for a two hand flush. At nearly, 7'0 with proven skill, Bunce must make it a priority of his to put up a minimum of ten shot per game. Most of the time, his touches rely on entry passes which is his team's responsibility collectively. Overall, Bunce looked very good and we are looking forward to see more of him this week at nationals!"

Bunce's high school coach at Kelowna, Harry Parmar told The Cornell Basketball Blog, "He's a legitimate 6'11"... and did grow an inch in the last year. His doctors recently told him... based on the spacing between his [bones] that he could continue to grow." Parmar added, "Right now, Braxston is actually a few pounds lighter than what he was [last year] as he runs more and continues his conditioning. He's already strong... but he looks like a kid, he can become even more [physically] developed."

When asked about Bunce's offensive skill set, Parmar immediately noted, "He is great with his back to the basket. He can turn right or left and shoot with a variety of hooks and up and under moves. If he gets the ball on the blocks, he is virtually automatic." On Bunce's footwork and coordination, Parmar indicated, "He's already there. He's very coordinated and moves well in the post. Right now, I think Braxston's goal is to improve his mid range game and become automatic at 15 feet.... We are also looking to improve his free throw shooting, he was about a 66% shooter for us last year, we think he can get up into the 80s."

Asked about Bunces's aggressiveness and assertiveness, Parmer said, "Oh, he will go to the basket. We are asking him to do it more, but yeah he is aggressive and I think his experience on the national team really bolstered his confidence."

"He's a good passer as well, he will find the open man on the arc, but right now, the area we really want to develop is his outlet passing. We want him to develop that Kevin Love skill set," said Parmar.

Parmar also said, "Defensively, Braxston is a total space eater, he's long, he plays smart, he doesn't try to block everything, and he is a very good defensive rebounder."

Confirmed from several sources closely involved, including by Parmar, Bunce accumulated more than a dozen Division I offers since January 2011, many of which were made in the fall of 2011 after his stellar summer performances. His offers were from Penn, Columbia, Washington State, Nevada, Hawaii, Boise State, Utah State, New Mexico State, Montana State, Eastern Washington, UCSB, Cal Riverside, Portland, Portland State, Colgate, Maine, Lafayette, Arkansas State, Denver, and North Dakota. In addition, in just the last week before his commitment to Cornell, schools such as Marquette and Virginia Tech began to get more involved and extended offers for official campus visits, while others already involved included Boston College, Washington, Missouri, Purdue, Stanford, George Mason, Princeton and Harvard.

Before choosing Cornell, Bunce officially visited Penn on September 16 and then visited Ithaca officially during Cornell's homecoming weekend. Prior to his Ivy visits, he took unofficial visits during late August to Washington State, Nevada, Boise State, Montana State and Eastern Washington.

In an interview with the Daily Pennsylvanian (the "D.P."), Tomlinson said, "[Braxston is] sort of an old school post player. When you see him play, he has a real finesse game, so he likes to go to the jump hook a lot, and he's got some really good up-and-under moves. You see some aspects of his game that you don’t tend to see a lot anymore, that he's really worked on. And he's very good going left-handed or right-handed ... He [also] has good anticipation skills, and he sets himself up really well underneath the basket and takes up good space, so he likes contact and he really establishes contact to get position ... I think as he gets older, his timing is going to get stronger as well. He gets off the floor fairly well, but that's one of the areas where I think as his body matures, he's going to get stronger and stronger in that particular area."

Bunce told the D.P., "I'd say right now my strengths would definitely be my low-post play, running the floor ... Rebounding both ends of the floor and just being a defensive presence, taking up space in the key, altering shots, blocking shots, stuff like that. As far as weaknesses, I'd say, right now, I'm really working to get my jump shot consistent. [And] for me, I can always ... continue to add muscle and continue to work on my conditioning."

On his college decision-making process, Bunce also told the D.P., "It's tough to pass up an athletic scholarship, but I think financially [an Ivy degree] is just as good. Obviously, you're not going to get a better education than the Ivy League, so it's very important for me. So definitely it will be heavily weighed on my mind when I'm making my decision." His mother, Cheryl Bunce added, "We know that if he graduates from an Ivy League school that he will be recognized worldwide with having a degree that’s very marketable and [that will] help him get a really good job, so I know that’s important to him.l

Bunce turns 18 years of age on January 19. He has a 4.0 GPA.

Below, an interview with Bunce at Basketball B.C.'s Media Day from July 2011:



Below, an interview with Bunce from August 2011 just after his play in Las Vegas:



Below, highlights of Bunce from international basketball competition with Team Canada as well as from AAU and high school games.

Above, Cornell freshman, Galal Cancer. Below, Greg Kristof, the Director of Hoop Mountain wrote his personal review of the Ivy League recruiting classes for Ivy Hoops Online. Here is his review of Cornell's freshmen:

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:

Holt Harmon (Plano West HS) Plano, TX, 6-9, F, committed to Cornell during homecoming weekend.

Harmon, a 240 pound power forward had offers from more than 30 Division I programs and narrowed his choices to Cornell, Utah State, Cal Santa Barbara (UCSB), and Boston U before committing to Cornell during homecoming weekend according to several sources. Harmon canceled his scheduled visits to his other finalists after committing to Cornell. According to TexasHoops.com and Rivals.com, the other schools recruiting Harmon included: Penn, Army, Western Kentucky, Air Force, Citadel, Pepperdine, UC Davis, American, Lehigh, Iona, Furman, and Arkansas State.

The Cornell Basketball Blog spoke with Harmon's high school coach, Anthony Morgan of Plano West High School about Harmon's recruitment and skill set. Morgan indicated that in addition to the schools listed above, he fielded calls from Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma State, Cal, USC, Gonzaga and Missouri State. And the list of interest did not surprise him either. He indicated that Harmon received double digit offers after some stellar play in Las Vegas, He also noted that Penn tried to make a late push to get Harmon, but the recruit was locked in on Cornell. When asked which schools were most serious about him and worked the hardest to recruit him, in addition to making offers, Morgan listed Western Kentucky, Utah State, UCSB, Boston University and American.

As a junior at Plano West, Harmon averaged 10.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game on route to being named 2nd Team All District (8-5A). Morgan said, "Our team was very balanced scoring [indicating he had several Division I players on his team in recent seasons]." He continued, "Holt is really skilled, he shoots 'the three,' he's great on the blocks, dymanic turnaround jumpshot, he defends, willing to bang and put a body on the opponent. He's also such a strong kid, benches more than 265-270 pounds, he is an easily at least 6'8" 245 [indicating that Harmon is probably accurately listed at 6'9" in sneakers]."

As a senior, Harmon was named 1st Team All District (8-5A).

When we asked Morgan if Harmon was a power player or a finesse player, Morgan sort of chuckled and said, "He's actually both." Morgan added, "His real talent is passing, just such a great interior passer and he'll find you on the perimeter." When asked about his free throw shooting, Morgan did not pause, "Outstanding. He shot at least 83% for us last year, you want him on the line."

When asked about Harmon's weaknesses or areas needed for improvement, Morgan had to think. "Well, there is not much, I mean, with big guys, they can always work on their footwork and post moves, but Holt's solid. He's not your overpowering super athlete, playing above the rim, but he is a great player."

TexasHoops.com wrote on September 4, 2011 of Holt Harmon:

Head coach of the Assault squad, Vonzell Thomas recognized Harmon's dedication and improvements over the summer and told TexasHoops.com, "Holt showed that he wanted to win. He worked harder than he ever has and improved his overall game. Having Holt out on the court is like having another coach. His basketball IQ is one of his attributes that doesn't get mentioned. He plays with a high skill level that gives him a lot of advantage, because of his size."

TexasHoops.com ranks Harmon as the No. 32 prospect in Texas, a state that typically produces roughly one hundred (100) Division I players per year. and describes Harmon as, "Holt is a thick and strong player with a good inside/outside game. He can catch and shoot it from the 3 point line, has a nice touch from 15 foot, can score on the low block with strong moves and can operate as a pick and pop player. He has the size and strength to hold his position down low, is a good passer, moves well for his size, is an intense player and goes to the board hard."

Harmon was also ranked No. 12 in the Dallas Metroplex area by MetroplexHoops.com.


See the story on Harmon's commitment to Cornell in the Plano Star.


Below, TexasHoops.com's September 4, 2011 story on Holt Harmon followed by the story recapping his commitment to Cornell:


Below some highlight videos of Holt Harmon:

Below, highlights from when Harmon 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 past 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.

For a list of recruits committed to attending Ivy League schools, including detailed profiles of the committed Cornell recruits, and a listing of Cornell's prospective recruiting targets, click here. For a separate general list of Ivy League prospective recruiting targets, click here. Please note that we update these lists regularly.