A Date in Cornell Basketball History: Big Red vs. Jimmy V.

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.

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Recruiting News

In this post, some recruiting updates from around the Ivy League.

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Chris Paul 2011 All Star Game.

chris paul 2011 all star game.

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News and Notes: Friday Edition

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.

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How important is Ryan Pearson to George Mason this season?

With all that has gone down with the program over the last couple of months it's difficult to predict just what kind of season the Patriots will have on the court this year. However George Mason is still considered to compete in the CAA and maintain their mid-major elite status despite what has happened.  With Cam Long, Luke Hancock, and most likely Andre Cornelius gone the team's back court situation is currently up in the air.  With that in mind, a strong front court presence will be vital to help the younger and less experienced guards at the beginning of this season. This puts pressure on Ryan Pearson, Mike Morrison, and even wing Sherrod Wright to produce more and not just on the scoreboard. Of those three I think most would be in agreement that Pearson is the most irreplaceable guy on the roster and a lot will be expected of him this year.

It goes without saying that George Mason will need more than just an All-CAA performance from Ryan Pearson to win the conference but I think a lot of what they will try to do this year will start with him.  Over the last two seasons Pearson's effectiveness in the post created numerous opportunities for his teammates, most notably from behind the three-point line.  In the early goings this year I'd imagine teams will double Pearson and force the younger guards to beat them from the outside. Luke Hancock and Cam Long made a living off this last season and hopefully someone like Sherrod Wright can this year.  

Statistically the Patriots were an efficiency machine last year and as Michael Litos writes, it will be hard to replicate that.  Ryan Pearson was a big factor in their efficiency and with him on the floor they have a chance to get close to those numbers again.  Three-point shooting was a big part of those numbers and although Pearson took the occasional shot from behind the arch that task will rest on the shoulders of Bryon Allen, Corey Edwards, Vertrail Vaughns, Vaughn Gray and Sherrod Wright. However it difficult to think this team will start off hot from the three-point line in the early part of the season under Hewitt.

Speaking of statistics, below is a chart with data by John Pudner of Cracked Sidewalks of the top returning Mason players and how they rank nationally in terms of what % of his team's overall scoring he added to and the % of points he took away from his opponent's scoring. For more explanation on the stats and how this was calculated you can read up on it here. As you can see Ryan Pearson is ranked 62 out of 4,472 players in college basketball (Drexel's Samme Givens is 31) and I think Pudner's work shows how valuable certain players are to the team's overall success. You can also see that Pearson is almost just as valuable on the defensive end as he is on offense.



Pearson is the team's most valuable player because of the different things he does on the court. Say what you want to about his leadership skills but he is a lefty who can score in a variety of ways, get to the free-throw line, and be a relentless rebounder against bigger forwards.  He also possesses more intangibles than anyone else on the team. However, the question this season will be can he make the younger players around him better?

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NBA 2k12 Soundtracks :Download, Listen & List

basketball

2K Sports revealed the full soundtrack for NBA 2K12. Though the game makes extensive use of retired NBA greats, the soundtrack is composed of contemporary hits. Eminem, Royce Da 5'9", Travis Barker, Busta Rhymes, Lil Jon, Twista, Cee-Lo, and Q-Tip are among the artists lending their talents to the game. The 28 track soundtrack features a few original songs and remixes created specifically for NBA 2K12, including Freddie Gibbs' "Look Easy" and Pharoahe Monch and Smif N Wessun's "Shout The Winners Out." Alex K. and D.J.I.G., who collaborated on "Now's My Time" for the soundtrack, were the winners of a Duck Down contest. They were chosen by fans to create an original song for the game. They beat out thousands of producers and MCs in the contest. Here you can view the track list, listen to its songs and even download them.

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News and Notes: Thursday Edition

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..

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NBA 2k11 Soundtracks Download, Listen, List

NBA 2k11 Soundtracks : List, Listen & Download

NBA 2K is the basketball game that everyone plays, from NBA athletes to celebrities to music artists.  Snoop has been a long time fan of the NBA 2K series and because music is such an integral part to the gameplay experience, it was a perfect fit for this year's title - one of the greatest rappers making an exclusive track for the greatest NBA game," said Jason Argent, vice president of marketing for 2K Sports. "With basketball

we hope to exceed expectations by featuring both an impressive array of established artists like Big Boi, Kid Cudi and Drake who definitely balance the hoop action, alongside emerging talent, such as the winners of our national MC/producer contest

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Chris Paul Knicks Trade.

chris paul knicks trade.

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NBA 2k12 Xbox360 Full Game Download Free

The NBA 2K12 demo is available now for the  Xbox360.

•     Miami Heat vs. Dallas Mavericks (Can only play as the Mavericks)
•     No commentary
•     1 - 4 Minute Quarter
•     Can't run plays
•     No sliders, options, camera views, etc.

Click below Links to Download

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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.

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News and Notes: Wednesday Edition

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.

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NBA 2K11 New York Knicks My Player Patches

basketball

Do You Want To Play As Players of New York Knicks In NBA 2k11?

From Here You can Download the My Player Patches Of Players like Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire etc.

NBA 2k11 Carmelo Anthony My Player Patch 

basketball

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Chris Paul Wants A Trade From

Chris Paul wants a trade from

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George Mason in the running for a 7-footer?

Rivals recruiting profile

When reading the scouting profile for Blaise Mbargorba, the 7-0 230-pound center out of Highstown, NJ, you'd think the Patriots or any other mid-major would have no shot at landing him. However according to Rivals.com, George Mason is in his top 5 and he wants to make a decision before the season begins.  Virginia Tech is the biggest name also in the running and is coming at him hard but I think Paul Hewitt and his staff have a legitimate shot at landing him. From reading the write-ups on him it seems that he would certainly be a project and Mason could have an advantage with new assistant coach Roland Houston, who is labeled a big man specialists.  Mbargorba might be raw but his physical attributes would something we've never seen in at George Mason.

UPDATE 10/21:

Blaise commited to SMU

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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar : Wallpapers, Career and Stats

KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR

basketball

One of the NBAs Greatest Players or Legends
Position: Center ▪

Height: 7-2 ▪ 

Weight: 225 lbs.
Born: April 16, 1947 in New York, New York
High School: Power Memorial in New York, New York
College: University of California, Los Angeles
Draft: Milwaukee Bucks, 1st round (1st pick, 1st overall), 1969 NBA Draft
NBA Debut: October 18, 1969
Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 1995

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News and Notes: Tuesday Edition

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...

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New

new

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NBA 2k11 My Player Boston Celtics Patches

basketball

Do You Want To Play As Players of Boston Celtics In NBA 2k11?

From Here You can Download the My Player Patches Of Players like Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen & Shaquille O'Neal etc.

NBA 2k11 Rajon Rondo My Player Patch 

Download

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News and Notes: Monday Edition

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.

Blueprint for Success, the yearbook commemorating Cornell's memorable 2009-2010 season is now on sale and available for delivery. Visit the Cornell Athletics website to order your copy today! Or pick up a copy sold in the Cornell Store on campus.

Fans of the basketball program in the Ithaca area should not miss the opportunity to join the Cornell Rebounders Club.

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Paul Hewitt's speaks to the George Mason supporters

Last week Paul Hewitt spoke to the Patriot Club supporters about this upcoming season and the state of the basketball program. He briefly discusses the Andre Cornelius situation, his coaching philosophy, Mike Morrison's diet, the backcourt, and more.

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Athlon Sports' Ivy League Preview

Above, the Athlon Sports College Basketball 2011-2012 preview of the Ivy League.

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Fishtail Braids For Black

Fishtail Braids For Black

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Iverson Hairstyles Where The

Iverson hairstyles where the

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Paul Hewitt and his staff are targeting Greece's Ioannis Papapetrou

This summer we talked about how Paul Hewitt coaching the U19 United States FIBA team could help bring some international players to George Mason.  The first international recruit's name that has been linked to Mason's staff is 17 year old Ioannis Papapetrou. A 2012 prospect from Greece, Papapetrou is described as an outstanding outside shooter. He has played some high school basketball here in the states in Melbourne, Florida but the bulk of his recent experience comes from the 2010 U16 FIBA European Championship were he averaged 11.4 points per game.  He already has interest from Florida, Texas, and Kansas so there will be some stiff competition for his services. Rumor has it the Hewitt and his staff are flying to his home in Greece this weekend to meet with his parents. 

At 6'7" Ioannis Papapetrou is the ideal type of shooter Paul Hewitt often covets.  He likes taller players that can shoot well from the perimeter (i.e. Brian Oliver) and will no doubt be looking for this type because of the  mismatches they pose in the CAA. Papapetrou is also described as having a "tremendous basketball IQ" and being a good facilitator. We've heard about Hewitt's recruiting abilities and we will soon start to see just how much talent he can bring to Fairfax. 

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News and Notes: Friday Edition

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...

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Allen Iverson Braid Haircuts

Allen Iverson braid Haircuts

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News and Notes: Thursday Edition

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.

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Paul Hewitt talks about his impressions of the team

Yesterday Jon Rothstein talked with Paul Hewitt about his impressions of this year's George Mason squad and his new opportunity in Fairfax.  Rothstein who works for the MSG network and CBS, often comments on George Mason basketball and always provides good insight.  Here are some of the highlights:

On this year's team:

"I'm really impressed with what I've seen so far because they're so open to new ideas and new philosophies. We're not changing everything that was done here but we're going to add some new stuff"

On freshman Vaughn Gray:

"He's shooting the ball really well in indivdual workouts. It's been a nice surprise."

On freshman Erik Copes:

"He's where I thought he'd be. He's got a great jump hook but I know freshman have a learning curve."

On freshman Corey Edwards:

"Our big men are going to run harder because of how he pushes the ball. He makes you go faster."

On Ryan Pearson:

"He's got some outstanding face up skills. He's great from 17 ft and in.  He can fade and use the up and under as well."

On Sherrod Wright:

"He's got an unbelievable motor and work ethic. He's shooting it better than people said he would."

On Vertrail Vaughns:

"He's shooting the heck out of it. There's no doubt the experience he had last year helped him."

On the makeup of the team:

"I like our front court but Andre Cornelius is our only perimeter player with experience."

[via @JonRothstein, CAAZone]

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Allen Iverson 2011 Team

allen iverson 2011 team

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Recruiting News

In this post, some recruiting updates from around the Ivy League.

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News and Notes: Wednesday Edition

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.

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It hasn't been a great couple of months for George Mason basketball

Back in early March the George Mason Patriots were flying high and achieving feats that even bested the 2006 Final Four squad. They finished 16-2 in conference play and held the nation's longest active winning streak for weeks until eventually falling to VCU in the CAA tournament semifinals. Despite the early exit from the conference tournament the Patriots still earned an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament as an #8 seed, the highest seed ever achieved in school history. 

The team went on to face Villanova in their first game in Cleveland and we all know how it ended.  Sophomore Luke Hancock had a heroic three-pointer to all but seal the victory for George Mason and giving them their first NCAA tournament win since 2006. After which fans had nothing by high hopes for Jim Larranaga and the Patriots as they began to break out their Final Four t-shirts and hats.  But as we all know soon after Hancock sank that three-pointer and George Mason became that first round darling again things started to head south for the team. Things are not spiraling out of control but they aren't good.

Let's recap:

Luke Hancock gets a food illness before the Ohio State game. Minutes before the tip-off of the Patriots second tournament game we learned from local media that Luke Hancock wasn't even at the arena warming up due to an illness.  Apparently it was so bad he could barely get out of bed and the team started the game without him.  The hero of the win over Villanova and all around "glue guy" was sidelined leaving the already over-matched Patriots a man short. We later learned it was some sort of food illness/poisoning and it gave us another reason to hate the city of Cleveland.

George Mason gets absolutely dominated by Ohio State in their second tournament game. The excitement didn't last long from the thrilling Villanova win as the under-manned Patriots got throttled by the Buckeyes three-point shooting and strong inside play. There was not an area of the game the Patriots weren't dominated in. After the dust settled the boxscore showed a 98-66 beat down that was the team's worst tournament loss in school history.  

Head coach Jim Larranaga bolts for University of Miami and the ACC. After 14 years in Fairfax and bringing a program out of the CAA basement to NCAA glory, head coach Jim Larranaga left for Miami.  Fans and media were shocked as most thought he would end his career in green and gold but he stated the lure of the ACC, where he started as an assistant at UVA, was just too much of an opportunity to turn down. Later we found out Larranaga and athletic director Tom O'Connor didn't quite see eye-to-eye on where the basketball program was going at George Mason.  That left fans wondering if Larranaga could have been retained if the school had showed more signs of investing in the basketball program. Which also brought up the question of how committed the university is to having a continually winning basketball program.

Paul Hewitt is hired, mixed reviews follow.  Overall the hiring of Paul Hewitt is probably the best the program could have done to keep things running smoothly.  However the fact remains that they have taken on a coach that hasn't owned a winning conference record since 2004.  A lot fans wanted a young up and comer, the next Shaka Smart or Brad Stevens maybe. Instead the program got someone whose last employer  is coughing up $7.2 million just to get rid of them. Not quite the back story you want from your new head coach, especially considering he often possessed rosters with future NBA talent. Can he replicate Larranaga's success in the CAA? It's certainly going to be quite a task for him.

Photo by John Powell

Luke Hancock transfers to Louisville. Paul Hewitt was able to retain both of Larranaga's 2011 recruits but not returning starter Luke Hancock. This one hurt almost as much as Larranaga leaving because the hopes for next season were high with the squad returning most of their core from a promising season. It didn't help that the speculation of whether he was staying or going went on for what seemed like weeks. While Larranaga didn't have much coaching left, an encore to follow up the 2010-2011 would really boost the program and junior Luke Hancock was expected to be a big part of that. At the time media members were projecting Mason in their Top 30 rankings for next season. He was probably the most irreplaceable guy on the team other than maybe Ryan Pearson. He just simply made things happen and would have been the team's top assist leader and second scorer. He and Cam Long facilitated a lot of the Patriots' offense in one form or another.  With Long gone a lot was expected of Hancock in the backcourt entering into this season.

Johnny Williams is most likely going to redshirt this season.  The promising junior forward showed flashes of his scoring talent against Villanova but off season shoulder surgery might very well keep him off the court this year. There's a quote from Hewitt in yesterday's Post article on the redshirt situation saying "It's very much a possibility". Fans were hoping for a break season from Johnny, who might not be a bruiser like freshman Erik Copes but definitely has a scoring touch the Patriots will need after Ryan Pearson and Mike Morrison leave. It's great to keep him for another season after those two leave in retrospect but it does leave the team a little thin at forward this year. Many times last season I wondered how much better the team could have been if Sherrod Wright was playing and I have a feeling I will be wondering that about Williams this year.

Photo via John Powell

Senior guard Andre Cornelius is arrested for credit card fraud. And this brings up to the present where we are only left with more question marks heading into the season.  Mason Madness is 24 days away and yesterday we found out the team's starting point guard was arrested and summarily suspended by the university. It's dark cloud over the program and something they don't need as they will be looking for a new identity in this post-Larranaga era. Even with Cornelius, who isn't quite a true point guard, the backcourt had many question marks.  I talked about the point guard position back in June and now it's even more up in the air. Best case scenario is that Cornelius misses a few games at the beginning of the season, worst case is that he's is dismissed from the team. Either way they are most likely going to have to try to win games without their most experienced guard in the rotation. As one of three seniors on the team with a new coach there was no doubt that the staff was expecting him to be one of the team's leaders. Cornelius hasn't really played that role in his career here and if the charges against him are true than the point is more than validated.  Regardless, it will most likely open the door for a few young players, especially sophomore Bryon Allen and freshman Corey Edwards, who played well over the summer.

Things can only go up from here right?

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