Kobe Bryant: Wife And Kids

Kobe Bryant: Wife and Kids

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Paul Hewitt and his staff pick up commitment from 2012 SG Patrick Holloway

Not too long ago I wrote about Paul Hewitt appearing to look outside of the DMV area for recruits, looks like I was dead wrong as they picked up a verbal from Patrick Holloway of Paul VI high school in Fairfax. This is George Mason's first commitment for the 2012 class and Paul Hewitt's first recruit as new head coach. Holloway has been  playing for Team Takeover in the AAU circuit in DC and been written up as an excellent shooter.  It was obvious from most of the recruiting sites that Hewitt and his staff were looking to bring in a shooter as the team currently lacks a knockdown three-point shooter outside of senior Andre Cornelius. He's on the small side at 6'1" 160 lbs but ESPN says "he's got the look of a young Steph Curry" and that sounds just fine to me.  The write-up on him seems to suggest that he isn't just a pure shooter and has the ability to handle the ball and create.  Obviously he will have to hit the weight room but that's something most high school players have to face when moving on to Division I.

Members of the CAAZone have already begun to pull up info and video on Holloway, including this article from his hometown newspaper where his high school coach says he's the best shooter he's ever coached:

After transferring from Colonial Forge after his freshman season, the 6-foot guard has averaged 15 and 17 points per game in consecutive seasons for Paul VI.

He's made 190 3-pointers, the most in the Washington area.

"He's the best shooter I've ever had and I've had over 50 Division I players and a couple of NBA guys," Paul VI coach Glenn Farello said. "He's as good as it gets shooting the ball."

He's again compared to Stephen Curry towards the end of the article. His stock rose over the summer as he has been showing off his "sweet stroke" from the outside.

Some video of Holloway (#10 in white) while playing for his AAU squad Team Takeover:



From December 2010 Paul VI vs Bendictine (#10 black):



Also here's HoopGroup.com interviewing him at the Pitt Jam Fest, guess who he says he compares to on the court:



See also the write-up from the Washington Post

[Photo via Reza Marvashti/The Free Lance-Star]

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News and Notes: Wednesday Edition

Below, some news and notes for Wednesday...

• Congratulations to Jeff Aubry ('99) (No. 42 above) as his Arecibo Capitanes defeated Quebradillas 79-74 on Tuesday to capture their second consecutive BSN title, the premier basketball league of Puerto Rico. Aubry, a former Cornell captain, played 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 and abroad in Mexico, Poland, Argentina, Uruguay and Peru.
  

• In an article on the David Salinas investment scandal, the Quad City Times notes that former Cornell head coach, Scott Thompson, "retired from coaching during a bout with cancer in 2000 and now is senior director of the health sciences development team at the University of Arizona Foundation in Tucson." Thompson coached at Cornell between 1996 and 2000 following head coaching stints at Rice and Wichita State.

• The Daily Pennsylvanian writes, "File this under things you should mildly care about: Cornell announced its 2011-12 men's basketball schedule... highlights on Cornell's non-conference schedule include early season matchups with America East champ Boston University and American University. They'll then take a tough December road trip with stops at Illinois, Penn State, Patriot League champ Bucknell and concluding with ACC powerhouse Maryland."
  

• The Washington Times notes, "The Maryland basketball team will face Cornell on Jan. 3 at Comcast Center. The Big Red released their schedule Tuesday. It will be the second meeting between the teams. Maryland won 92-41 in a November 1993 game at Cole Field House. It will also be Maryland's first game against an Ivy League school since a BB&T Classic defeat of Princeton on Dec. 2, 2001."

• Also on the topic of Cornell's 2011-2012 schedule, the Ithaca Journal's Rachel Stern published the following article:

Cornell basketball coach Bill Courtney

CU's basketball challenge: Improve vs. better competition

One word came to mind for second-year coach Bill Courtney when asked to describe the 2011-12 Cornell men's basketball schedule:

Challenging.

"We tried to make sure we had a few more home games this year in the beginning, so we are happy about that," he said. "But there is a daunting stretch there where we are on the road and play three BCS teams. That will really challenge our guys and give us a great idea of where we are at heading into Ivy League play."

The schedule was released Tuesday by the athletics communications office. Cornell opens on Nov. 11 at St. Bonaventure, a team that finished 16-15 last season, 8-8 in the Atlantic 10 and lost in the opening round of the College Basketball Invitational. Cornell returns to Ithaca for its home opener against Binghamton on Nov. 14. The Bearcats are coming off an 8-23 season.

Missing from Cornell's schedule is a matchup with nearby Syracuse University. Cornell typically schedules a road game against the Orange, but this year the teams could not find a date that worked, Jeremy Hartigan, director of athletic communications, said.

The daunting stretch Courtney referred to tips off Dec. 19 with two straight road games against Big Ten teams. The Big Red will play at Illinois Dec. 19 and then travel to University Park, Pa. to play Penn State, Dec. 21. Illinois and Penn State tied for fourth in the Big Ten a season ago, with each squad earning an NCAA tournament bid. Cornell wraps up the five-game road trip with a game at Maryland.

In between the Big Ten games and the game in College Park, Md. Cornell will play at Bucknell -- a team Courtney said could be the toughest on the entire Big Red schedule.

"Bucknell returns everyone from an NCAA tournament team last year," said Courtney, who played for the Bison. "They have a tremendous team and could be one of the best, if not the best, team on our schedule. A lot of people do not know how good they are."

Other non-league opponents include University of Buffalo, Boston University, Delaware, American, Lehigh, Albany, Stony Brook, and Division III Albright.

Three seniors -- Aaron Osgood, Adam Wire and Mark Coury -- graduated for the Big Red. The team finished 10-18 overall and 6-8 in the Ivy League. Courtney said he knows the team will improve, but the goal is to have a better record.

"It will be difficult because almost every team in the league returns everyone," he said. "We will be much improved, but we still need to make another jump because the league is so improved. But I do think experience is the most underrated thing in college basketball and now that we all have one year together, that will help."

Cornell will play eight of its first 13 games on the road. League play will open Jan. 14 at Newman Arena against Columbia. Cornell and Columbia tied for fifth place a year ago. Princeton and Harvard shared the regular season title. The Tigers beat Harvard in a one-game playoff to earn the NCAA bid.

After a four-game stretch of away league games, Cornell will finish the season with a two-game home stretch against Dartmouth and then Harvard on March 3. Courtney said Harvard is probably the favorite to win the league.

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A Date in Cornell Basketball History: Video Footage of '88

Below, some news articles and never before posted video footage of Cornell's 1988 NCAA Tournament game against the Arizona Wildcats.

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ESPN College Basketball Nation on the Big Red Alums

ESPN's College Basketball Nation writes:

Former Cornell players show up for yoga

Remember when plucky runs to the Sweet 16 were enough to make you a darling? You'll forgive us if we're no longer so easily impressed. In 2011, Virginia Commonwealth and Butler shattered the very notion of Sweet 16 darlings, proving that anyone -- small school or large, from the shakiest bubble team to one that lost to Youngstown State on Feb. 3 -- could upend the traditional hoops hierarchy and beat the most talented and well-heeled programs in the country in the games that mattered most.

Still, the Big Red's run in 2010 was pretty cool. Unfortunately, Cornell met Kentucky in the Sweet 16, and as DeMarcus Cousins, one of the five Wildcats selected in the first round of the draft later that summer, famously put it: "We're here to play basketball. It's not a spelling bee." Kentucky throttled Cornell, ended the Ivy League darling's run, and so college hoops's postseason pecking order was (if only briefly) restored.

So what are the Big Red up to these days? The New York Times caught up with them at the 92nd Street Y, where five former Cornell stars -- Jeff Foote, Ryan Wittman, Louis Dale, Jon Jaques and Aaron Osgoodwere -- were beginning what sounds like a rather awkward afternoon in the yoga studio:

There, the five former Cornell standouts — Foote, Ryan Wittman, Louis Dale, Jon Jaques and Aaron Osgood — settled on undersize mats in the front row of the dimly lighted class, staggering their positions to avoid hitting one another with their arms during the stretches. For the next 1 hour 25 minutes, the five labored through an intermediate yoga class of 13 women and 2 other men as the instructor rattled off instructions with the faint sound of music in the background.

“It’s a little difficult when you’re 7 feet tall versus 5-10 like Louis,” said Foote, who needed special attention from the instructor throughout the session. “We used to do it as a team a little at Cornell, but never quite like that.”

Wittman, the 2010 Ivy League player of the year, said: “We probably should be in a beginner’s class, but we decided to give it a try.” He added: “I’ve noticed a big difference since I began doing it this summer. It helps with flexibility, quickness and durability.”

Eventually, I'm going to get myself to a beginner's yoga class. Seriously. I'll swallow my pride if everyone I know that does yoga -- dudes included, but mostly females -- stops telling me how much better it makes you feel. Deal? Deal.

Anyway, the Cornell gents aren't just mucking around in Downward-Facing Dog for the fun of it. It's part of a summer workout regimen that includes "skill drills, two-on-two games and weight lifting as often as six days a week." Why all the work? Because four of the five have either received or are entertaining various offers from overseas clubs. Wittman played summer league games with NBA teams and signed with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants last year -- home of the most terrifying mascot in all of sports -- before eventually making the trek to Italy. This year, Wittman's NBA dreams are even more unlikely, thanks to a lockout that has basically frozen any unsigned free agents and rookies out of roster contention until further notice.

In any case, the group sounds like a tight-knit one. Almost like the Entourage bros. I'm not sure where yoga at the 92nd Street Y lands on the spectrum of eternal bro-ness, but hey, whatever works, right?

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