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ITHACA, N.Y. – Junior Ryan Wittman (Eden Prairie, Minn.) was named the Big Red's most valuable player for the 2008-09 season when the awards were announced at the Cornell men's basketball banquet on April 18 at the Moakley House at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Course. Senior Jason Battle (Wilmington, N.C.) was selected as the recipient of the Rebounder's Club Award, while freshman Chris Wroblewski (Highland Park, Ill.) earned the James D. Paul II Award.
For the second year in a row, Wittman was a unanimous selection to the All-Ivy first-team. He led Cornell and ranked second in the Ivy League in scoring (18.5 ppg.), while chipping in 3.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 0.9 steals and a 1.5:1 assist-turnover ratio in 30 starts for the 21-10 Big Red. Already the school's career leader in 3-point field goals (268), he is second in Ivy League history with a full season to go. Now a three-time All-Ivy selection, including a unanimous first-team pick the last two seasons, Wittman ranks third on the school's career scoring list with 1,432 points, is first on the 3-point percentage list (.433) and also is in the top 10 in field goals made (fifth, 488) and attempted (eighth, 1,081), free-throw percentage (fourth, .851) and games started (sixth, 85). Wittman set the school's single-season scoring record with his 572 points, while his 97 3-pointers also broke his own record set in 2006-07. Wittman matched the school's single-game 3-point record with nine makes as part of a 33-point effort at Syracuse, part of his 30 double-figure scoring games in 2008-09. He was named first-team all-district by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), becoming the first Big Red player to earn a pair of all-district citations in their career.
Battle earned the Rebounder's Club Award in a vote of his teammates to recognize his hard work and leadership. Battle provided four years of excellent leadership while serving as one of the most versatile players in head coach Steve Donahue’s tenure. Battle was a two-time captain who saw action in 105 contests with 11 starts. A 49 percent career shooter from the floor, the lefthander was an all-tournament selection at the William & Mary Tip-Off Classic in 2006-07, averaging 17.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in leading the Big Red to the championship game. Included was a 21-point, nine-rebound effort in the title game against the host school. During his four-year career, Battle helped lead the Big Red to a 72-42 overall record and a 42-14 mark in Ivy play, the most wins in both categories by a Cornell team over a four-year span.
Wroblewski earned the James D. Paul II '88 Award as the top contributor off the bench for the Big Red. The award is named for the late James Paul, who lettered two seasons on the court and was known for his dunking ability. Wroblewski was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Year and was unfazed despite playing right away on a veteran championship team. He took over as the team's starting point guard three games into the season until Louis Dale returned from injury and continued to play a key role off the bench the rest of the season, averaging 25.6 minutes per game. For the season, Wroblewski is averaging 6.7 points, 2.6 assists and 2.3 rebounds while adding 24 steals and a 1.6:1 assist-turnover ratio. His 44 percent shooting from 3-point range paced the Ivy League, while his assist total ranked 10th. Wroblewski was even better against league opponents, averaging 7.9 points, 2.7 assists, 2.8 rebounds and hitting 22-of-42 3-pointers, good for 52 percent. He earned two Ivy League Rookie of the Week awards during the season. The rookie was in double figures eight times and led the team in assists seven times. He became the seventh Big Red player to earn conference Rookie of the Year honors and the fourth recruited by head coach Steve Donahue, joining Lenny Collins in 2003, Adam Gore in 2006 and Ryan Wittman in 2007.
The Big Red posted a 21-10 mark, claimed its second straight Ivy League title with an 11-3 record and became the first Ivy League school other than Penn or Princeton to earn the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Cornell set team records for points (2,281), 3-pointers (241) and blocked shots (121) this season and will return all five starters and eight of the team’s top nine scorers for the 2009-10 campaign.
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