News and Notes: Thursday Edition

Below some news and notes for Thursday...





Above, our Tweets of the Day from the twittersphere...

• In preseason exhibition action in Poland, Cornell alumni-- Jeff Foote ('10) scored 19 points while Ryan Wittman ('10) added 8 points as their club, Zastal, cruised to an 81-53 win over Polpharma, a rival in Poland's PLK league.

• The Daily Pennsylvanian notes that Mike Hall (Woodward Academy) College Park, GA, 6-10, F/C, has narrowed his college list to five schools: Virginia Tech, George Mason, Penn, Harvard and Cornell. Hall has scheduled visit dates to George Mason (September 1), Penn (September 16) and Harvard (September 23). Of the schools already eliminated from consideration, Hall had offers from Ole Miss, Oklahoma State, Charlotte, Northwestern, Cal, Florida State, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Murray State, New Mexico State, Fairfield, Furman and Tennessee Tech according to Rivals.com. It is not known whether Hall will use his two additional NCAA permitted official visits to his other finalists.
  
  

• VirginaPreps.com published the following story on the recruiting commitment of Tim Higgins (Paul VI HS) Fairfax, VA, 6-10, C (class of 2013) to the Cornell Big Red. Higgins joins Nolan Cressler (Plum HS) Plum, PA, 6-4, G (class of 2012) as committed recruits in the last week.
  
  

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NBA 2k12 Official Momentus Trailer Released

NBA 2k12 Official Momentus Trailer Released
NBA 2k12 Is Coming October 4th, 2011.

basketball

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A Date in Cornell Basketball History: The New York Times Profiles John Bajusz

Continuing our regular series, A Date in Cornell Basketball History, below an article from the New York Times, published on January 25, 1987 on Cornell's John Bajusz (class of '87).

CORNELL'S BAJUSZ HAS BUSY DOCKET

This semester, the second in which John Bajusz has enrolled in both Cornell's College of Enginering and Johnson Graduate School of Management, he takes seven courses that bring some five hours of classes each weekday. He is also in his fourth season as a starter on the basketball team.

Bajusz's first class begins at 9:30 A.M. and practice is at 3 P.M., leaving 30 minutes during the day for him to relax and take what he calls ''a leisurely lunch.''

After practice, the team always eats dinner together, and Bajusz usually gets back to his room by 8:30 P.M.. Then he starts his schoolwork.

After three hours of work in his room, and providing his half-hour lunch was the only break he took, Bajusz should have about an hour of free time. Hectic Routine

For four years, he has followed a schedule that some might call rather hectic (he cannot see why). But by the time he graduates this May, Bajusz (pronounced BAY-us) will have a degree in operations research/industrial engineering, have gained a full year's worth of credits toward a master's degree in business administration, and scored more points on the basketball court than anyone else in Cornell history.

On Jan. 17 in Providence, R.I., Bajusz broke the school's career scoring record with a 32-point effort in a victory over Brown. After helping Cornell beat Hamilton, 89-86, last Tuesday he had 1,435 points entering last night's game against Columbia. The old mark of 1,411 was set by Ken Bantum in 1985.

''After breaking the freshman scoring record,'' he said, ''I kind of knew this would happen. It's an especially nice way to go out because, although I have no regrets about coming here, I was recruited by better basketball schools and so sometimes I wonder how good I really am. This doesn't really tell me, but It'll certainly make for a good memory.'' Lots of Opportunity

In the end, Bajusz, who grew up in suburban Chicago, chose Cornell because he it offered ''opportunities too rich to refuse.'' And he has taken full advantage of those opportunities.

Not many college seniors in America are being considered for employment by top enginering firms and professional basketball teams simultaneously. But, then again, probably not many of the nation's top collegiate basketball players take courses such as digital system simulation.

''Sometimes I can't figure out how he gets it all done,'' Mike Dement, who is in his first year as head coach of the Big Red, said. ''It shows in practice a little; you can see he's somewhat rundown at times. But I've never seen it in a game - that's why he gets away with it.''

''Sure, I'm busy,'' Bajusz said. ''But I'm doing things I enjoy so it's not that difficult. I'll admit it, every now and then I'll miss a TV show I'd really liked to have watched, and sometimes I don't get as much sleep as I'd like, but I can live with it.''

Other than that it seems that Bajusz handles it all with ease.

''Oh yeah, I forgot about the programming,'' he said, remembering how little he cares for the wave of computer classes he has been required to take lately. ''There have been one or two nights where I just can't finish, and had to hand in incomplete programs the next day.''

But Bajusz has had time to be 3.0 student in the classroom, and an even more impressive athlete on the court. Array of Honors

Bajusz has never missed a game with the Big Red. He was the Ivy League's rookie of the year his first season, all-league his second and third, and will probably be the league's player of the year after this season.

His shooting has been the key. After the Brown game, his season's scoring average was 21.3 points and his career shooting percentage was .551 (1,037 attempts), which is slightly under the Cornell record of .564 set by Jim Maglisceav in 1965 (284 attempts). Last season, he made .899 percent of his foul shots, which ranked seventh in the nation - he has missed only 47 of 319 free throws while at Cornell.

''He's got a pure shot and a quick release. Nobody squares-up to the basket like John,'' Dement said. ''In our shooting drills, he gets bored. It's too simple for him to just make a jumper, so he'll try some off-ballance stuff. It's a little irritating for me, but I can understand.''

Most important to Bajusz right now, is that the Big Red win the Ivy League championship. Cornell has not won the title since 1954 - 10 years before Bajusz was born - and in his first three seasons, the Big Red lost the crown in the final weekend. This season, after a 2-1 start in the Ivies, he believes they will win.

After the season, and after graduation, Bajusz will certainly have plenty of options. He hopes for a shot in the N.B.A., and is also considering basketball in Europe. Then there is also engineering or another year of school to get an M.B.A.

''I haven't really had time to think about it yet,'' he said.

Aside from that, and a couple of computer programs, it seems Bajusz has had time to do just about everything else.

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Still Sweet...

Check out the official website for Zastal, a team in Poland's PLK league. The site's main banner features reunited former Cornell teammates, Jeff Foote ('10) and Ryan Wittman ('10). Foote and Wittman, now pro teammates, were leaders on Cornell's Sweet Sixteen and N0. 17 nationally ranked 2010 team.

Foote and Wittman are also featured on Zastal TV in the lower corner of the website.

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News and Notes: Wednesday Edition

Below, some news and notes for Wednesday...

• Above, Cornell made headlines in the Washington Post and Pittsburgh Post Tribune this week with the recruiting commitments of Tim Higgins (Paul VI HS) Fairfax, VA, 6-10, C (class of 2013) and Nolan Cressler (Plum HS) Plum, PA, 6-4, G (class of 2012). While Higgins has not decided on a major (he still has two years of high school to complete before he graduates in 2013), Cressler anticipates studying business in Cornell's Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management. Ultimately, Cressler chose Cornell over his other finalist, Yale. From an academic standpoint, Cressler's decision makes perfect sense. Of the Ivy League schools, only Cornell and Penn offer AACSB accredited programs in undergraduate business education. Both US News & World Report and Business Week magazines consistently have ranked Cornell's Dyson School among the top 10 business schools in the country.
  
  

• 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)



TheHoopsReport.com- Top 68

-Princeton (No. 59)

-Maryland (No. 58)

-Harvard (No. 41)

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Recruiting News

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

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.

Class of 2012 Recruiting News



Per UGaSports.com, Mike Hall (Norcross HS) Norcross, GA, 6-10, C, has narrowed his list down to Charlotte, Cornell, George Mason, Harvard, Northwestern, Penn, and Virginia Tech. Hall has scheduled three visits, George Mason (September 1), Penn (September 16), and Harvard (September 23).



According to Recruit Recon and Scout.com, Jerome Hairston (Christ School) Arden, NC, 6-3, G, has offers from Colorado, James Madison, Liberty, and UNC Asheville. He is also hearing from Yale.



Matt Johnson (Life Center) Burlington, NJ, 5-10, G, has Penn, Iona, Rider, St. Peter's, and St. Francis (PA) per Recruit Recon.

Dorian Albritton (Davidson Day) Charlotte, NC, 6-4, G, reportedly has interest from Cornell with offers from NJIT, VMI and New Hampshire. Others said to be calling: Yale, Wofford, Quinnipiac, Mercer, Davidson, Boston U. per Rivals.com.

Phillip Lawrence (Mount St. Joseph HS) Baltimore, MD, 6-7, F, has offers from Marist and Radford and is hearing from Coppin State, Iona, Loyola, Rider, St. Bonaventure and a host of Ivy League schools according to the Baltimore Sun. “I’ve visited Penn. I really like Penn,” Lawrence said. “Basically it’s Penn, Cornell, Princeton, Dartmouth [and] Yale. All those [schools] have been in contact.”

Jordan Lauf (Napoleon HS) Napolean, OH 6-4, G, has offers so far from Toledo and Albany. He is also being recruited by Davidson, Dayton, Richmond, Valparaiso, William & Mary, Yale, and most of the Mid-American Conference according to Rivals.com.

Xavier Talton (Sterling HS) Sterling, CO, 6-0, G, told Scout.com, "I'm hearing from Wyoming, Colgate, Colorado, Yale, SMU and Mercer. Wyoming and Mercer have offered."

Steven Soukup (Danville HS) Danville, IA, 6-1, G, updated IowaPreps.com on his recruitment. "It has been Iowa, Iowa State, UNI, Butler and Indiana State have contacted our high school coach, Albany, IUPUI, South Dakota, North Dakota, North Dakota State, Cornell, Milwaukee, Lehigh, and Bucknell [as well]." Wisconsin-Milwaukee became the first school to offer Soukup in July.



Carlos Taylor (Boys Latin HS) Philadelphia, PA, 6-1, G, has Cornell, Penn and Boston U. on him according to Recruit Recon.

Kendal Jackson (Bisoho O'Dowd HS) Oakland, CA, 5-7, G, is hearing from Columbia, UCSB, and UC-Davis.



Shakir Brown (Patterson HS) Patterson, MD, 6-5, F, has a long list of schools involved including Cornell, Stanford, DePaul, South Florida, Cleveland State, Robert Morris, Wagner, NJIT, Mt. St. Mary's and Loyola (MD) according to Recruit Recon.



Zach Elcano (Westfield HS) Westfield, VA, 6-10, C, has a list of Cornell, American, Elon, George Mason and Delaware, having received an offer from Delaware, per Recruit Recon.



Class of 2013 Recruiting News

R.J. Curington (Oak Hill Academy) Mouth of Wilson, VA, 6-5, G, said his only planned future unofficial visit is to Harvard on September 15-17. "They're having a bunch of guys out there, and they wanted to me to come out and see the facilities and everything," Curington told Peegs.com. He previously visited Indiana and Northwestern (referring to the latter visit as a "10" on a scale of 1-10) and is expected to visit Butler, Wake Forest and Purdue in the coming months. The junior noted for Peegs.com that he does not yet have any scholarship offers.



Montana Mayfield (Roman Catholic HS) Philadelphia, PA, 6-0, G, is hearing from Princeton, Lehigh, Lafayette, Harvard and Bucknell according to Hoop Group.

Wesley Brown (Pflugerville HS) Pflugerville, TX, 6-5, F is hearing from Yale and Columbia per TexasHoops.com



Rivals.com notes that Alex Foster (De La Salle HS) Chicago, IL, 6-7, F is hearing from Harvard and holds offers from DePaul, Illinois and Northwestern already.



Hallice Cooke (St. Anthony's HS) Jersey City, NJ, 6-3, G, is hearing from Yale and boasts offers from Iona, La Salle, Rice, Richmond, Rutgers, San Francisco, Seton Hall, South Florida, St. Joseph's, VCU and Wagner according to Rivals.com



Saaqdiq Muhammad (Johnson HS) Savannah, GA, 6-6, F, has a 3.75 GPA and is hearing from Penn while already holding an offer from Savannah State according to Rivals.com. Mercer, Tulane, VCU, Georgia Southern, Chattanooga, Alabama State and Georgia State are among others involved.



Connor Payne (Briarcrest Christian HS) Memphis, TN, 6-1, G is hearing from Yale and Columbia per Rivals.com.



Greg Dotson (Germantown Academy) Germantown, PA, 6-4, has a list of Harvard, Brown, Yale, Albany and Towson per Recruit Recon.

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Louis Dale ('10) Ready to Go for Year Two in Germany

Louis Dale ('10) is beginning to become a marketing fixture for his German premier league club, Goettingen. The photo immediately above is now the main background image for the club's official twitter feed. Below, dale poses with the club's management and his new 2011-2012 jersey. Also a brief interview with Dale is posted below from the club's You Tube Channel.

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