The role as playing the favorite is nothing new to Cornell. The Big Red were projected to finish on top by the Ivy League media in both the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 preseason polls. The Big Red came through both seasons.
But what makes this Cornell team especially intriguing for next year and beyond is the group of new players, especially the transfers. Only insiders with the program have had the opportunity to become familiar with or get to see these players on a regular basis.
In newcomer Max Groebe, a 6'4" shooting guard/small forward transfer from UMass, the Big Red could have the league's most explosive scorer. Pretty scary thought for opponents when Cornell already carries lethal scorers in Ryan Wittman and Louis Dale, a pair of two-time First Team All-Ivy League selections.
Groebe has three years of eligibility with the Big Red.
With Mark Coury, a 6'9" 245 lb. power forward/center transfer from the University of Kentucky, Cornell adds a player who started all 31 games for the Wildcats during 2007-2008. Coury who is very mobile and athletic by Ivy League standards, was specifically utilized by former KU head coach Billy Gillespie as the team's "enforcer"-- the guy that would scrap and bring toughness and energy to the floor, especially at the start of games to set the tone for the Wildcats.
Because Coury red-shirted last season at Cornell and also sat out a season after high school, his age is equivalent to a 5th year senior. He maintains two years of eligibility for Cornell.
Among the freshmen, Errick Peck is an explosive athlete and fundamentally strong on both ends of the floor as an interior player on the blocks. At 6'6", Peck plays above the rim and attracted scholarship offers from more than a dozen schools at competitive levels far above the Ivy League or comparable conferences.
Peck appears to be the most highly sought after incoming freshman recruit that Steve Donahue has brought into the program during his tenure.
Speaking of Coach Donahue, he along with assistant coaches Zach Spiker, Nat Graham and Woody Kampmann have established the "gold standard" in identifying and successfully recruiting the very best talent in the Ivy League. In fact, Cornell rookies have won the 2003 (Lenny Collins), 2006, (Adam Gore), 2007 (Ryan Wittman), and 2009 (Chris Wroblewski) Rookie of the Year Awards.
Penn, Princeton, and Harvard and the other Ivies barely recruited any of those players.
The balance of Cornell's incoming freshmen class has tremendous upside and each are capable of earning immediate playing time despite Cornell's veteran roster depth next season.
With Miles Asafo-Adjei, a 6'1" guard from Nashville, Cornell gets a point guard with blazing speed (at Louis Dale velocity levels). Miles can create his own shot and has a knack for getting himself into the paint on dribble drives. But what makes him truly special is his defense. Asafo-Adjei was widely considered one of the mid-south region's top defensive point guards. Because he was focused on only attending an Ivy League school, he ignored many other D-I college suitors that did not fit his academic ambitions.
Like Asafo-Adjei, incoming metro-Washington, D.C. freshman Eitan Chemerinski, a still-growing 6'9" forward ignored most college recruiters from outside of the Ivy League. Chemerinski is slender and lacks competitive basketball experience. But his Ivy League upside is tremendous in light of his guard-like skills. At 6'9" he can handle the ball, shoot off the dribble, and score from the perimeter. He will only get bigger and better with each passing day as he practices with Cornell's veterans.
The Minnesotan rookie, 6'8" Josh Figini also brings a similar body-frame as Chemerinski with the same guard-like skill set. If he had 20 pounds more muscle on his frame, perhaps Figini is playing on scholarship at a much higher level. Certainly Tubby Smith, head coach of the Minnesota Gophers recognized the upside. The Gophers offered Figini an opportunity as a preferred walk-on, perhaps with an opportunity of getting an academic scholarship to the University. But Figini did not need or want to "sell himself for free" and opted to go someplace that valued him as a prize basketball recruit. That school was Cornell.
Last but not least, Cornell adds Pete McMillan, a 6'7" perimeter oriented forward from Los Angeles, California. Coach Donahue's Cornell teams are known for their shooting and McMillan can shoot the basketball. With improved defense and ball handling, he can turn himself into an elite Ivy League player.
Finally, it is worth noting that Cornell has several sophomores and juniors that were good enough last season to start or earning significant minutes at some other Ivy League schools. These players will get their opportunity to play once Cornell graduates nine seniors in May 2009. But make no mistake about it, younger players such as Wroblewski, Adam Wire, Alex Hill and Aaron Osgood have the talent, but have had to sit out patiently and wait their turns while Cornell's older classes shine for one last season.
Below are some links to older posts on
The Cornell Basketball Blog discussing Cornell's transfers:
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On May 9, OnLineSportsFanatic.com ranked Cornell's Ryan Wittman (No. 20 above) as the 86th best player in the country heading into the 2009-2010 season. The site's ranking of the Top 150 players does not include any other representatives from the Ivy League. OnLineSportsFanatic notes as follows:
