Prepping for Ivy League Play

Above, the game program from the November 1986 Sun Met Classic, a doubleheader in Fresno, California which featured Fresno State, Cornell, McNeese State and Texas Pan American.When scheduling the nonconference games each season, Cornell Head Coach, Steve Donahue attempts to get the Big Red into some in-season tournaments where his squad can simulate the grueling back-to-back, Friday-Saturday night scheduling environment of Ivy League play.During 2009-2010, Cornell will get tested in a pair of such tournaments. During November, Cornell plays three games in three days as part of the Legends Classic. Later in December, the Big Red get a double-header in Madison Square Garden. Below are some of the recent in-season tournaments in which Cornell...

Read more »

Big Red Rankings

Several college basketball websites are publishing preseason rankings in the form of a daily or weekly countdown to No. 1.CollegeHoopsNet.com (CHN) is counting down the Top 144 teams in Division I in 144 days. Last season, CHN ranked Cornell No. 89 . Cornell was the only Ivy to crack the ranking. Thus far, CHN has ranked some of the following teams, many of which come from major conferences.???: Cornell 95. St. Joseph's (Cornell '09-'10 opponent)96. Alabama (Cornell '09-'10 opponent)98. Providence100. Houston103. Texas Christian107. Nebraska109. Indiana110. Binghamton114. Rutgers115. Temple117. Southern Illinois119. NC State120. USC123. Iowa126. Charlotte129. Wyoming130. Texas Tech131. Holy Cross133. Vermont (Cornell...

Read more »

Cornell Basketball in the News

Below, the story from the Ithaca Journal reporting the news that Cornell men's basketball will return to WVBR this year. We posted the Cornell press release last week.WVBR to air Cornell basketball Cornell University men's basketball games will be broadcast live on 93.5 WVBR-FM this season, the athletic department announced Friday.All 31 of the Big Red's regular-season games and any postseason games will be called by longtime announcer Barry Leonard. The broadcasts are also available as part of the RedCast subscription service."Cornell basketball has a long tradition of being heard in the Ithaca area on WVBR-FM, and we're excited that the campus will have that opportunity again this season," coach Steve Donahue said. "We look forward to an...

Read more »

Cornell Basketball in the News

All tangled up: Senior forward Alex Tyler drives to the hoop in the Red’s 83-59 win over Penn to clinch the 2009 Ivy championship.M. Basketball Schedule Features Matchups at Kansas, SyracuseBy Keenan WeatherfordCornell Daily SunAugust 31, 2009The two-time defending Ivy League champions will have their work cut out for them in 2009-10 — men’s basketball head coach Steve Donahue announced the team’s schedule on Friday, and it appears to be possibly the toughest non-conference schedule in Cornell history. Donahue has a history of challenging his players before the Ivy season begins — the Red has played Syracuse in four of the last five seasons, and took on powerhouses like Duke in 2007-08 and Indiana and Minnesota in 2008-09. With all five starters...

Read more »

Recruiting News

Below, some recruiting news from around the Ivy League.New England Recruiting Report notes that Burlington, Vermont's Joe O'Shea, a 6'4" guard has narrowed his list to four schools. “I’m going to take officials to Brown, Princeton, and Yale next month,” O’Shea told us. “I’m also going to visit Vermont, but it’s so close I’m not sure if that will be an official or unofficial.” O'Shea is not considering any other programs at this time.Tim Douglas, a quick 5'9" point guard from Mayfair High School in Lakewood, California has scholarship offers from Cal-Riverside and Lehigh. When asked about his recruitment by Scout.com, he responded, "Lehigh has been one of the heaviest." He continued, "Portland State, Northern Arizona recently and Cornell....

Read more »

Ka' Ron Banres ('03): "playing ball, I love it... I’ll play anywhere, any time.”

Cornell alum, Ka'ron Barnes ('03) is particpating this weekend in the 17th annual Osgood Shootout at New Britain High School in New Britain, Connecticut. Particpants include former and current college and NBA players. Below is an excerpt from a story reporting on the event as appearing in The Herald of New Britain.For first-timer Ka’Ron Barnes, a 20-point scorer in his senior year at Cornell University five years ago, the competition was right up his alley.“I’m from Buffalo, but I work at ESPN,” said Barnes, who works as a production assistant. “This is my first time playing in this tournament. I actually came here last year, I watched it but I didn’t play.“Any time it’s an atmosphere like this, just playing ball, I love it. I’ll play anywhere,...

Read more »

The Madness is Almost Upon Us...

Sensory overload. Get ready for the madness of Cornell Big Red Basketball's 2009-2010 season. But first, one last look below at some of our favorite photos from '08-'09.Also check out Cornell Basketball's Official 2008-2009 Ivy League Championship Season Highlights Video Clip, just down bel...

Read more »

Big Red at Crimson Tide

ESPN's Summer Shoot Around SEC edition gives a bit of a glimpse of Cornell's season opening opponent, the Alabama Crimson Tide.CORNELL BIG RED 2009-2010 SCHEDULENovember 14, 2009-@Alabama (Cornell season opener)November 18, 2009-@UMass (Legends Classic)November 20, 2009- vs. Seton HallNovember 24, 2009-@SyracuseNovember 27-29, 2009 (three consecutive subregional games in the Legends Classic in Philadelphia against Drexel (host) (Nov. 27), Vermont (Nov. 28) and Toledo (Nov. 29))December 2, 2009-@BucknellDecember 6, 2009-vs. St. Joseph'sDecember 20, 2009-vs. Davidson (@ Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival) (Televised MSG Network)December 21, 2009 vs. Hofstra or St. John's (@ Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival) (Televised MSG Network)December...

Read more »

Cornell Basketball in the News: Local Media on the Cornell Schedule

A Jim Boheim autographed game ball from Cornell's 88-78 defeat at Syracuse last season. Cornell led the game by as many as 16 points. Below, some local media reactions to Cornell's announced 2009-2010 schedule.From the Ithaca Journal:A game at Kansas University, a home date with a Big East opponent, and a pair of games at Madison Square Garden highlight what may be the most challenging non-conference schedule in Cornell men's basketball history.Coach Steve Donahue announced the 2009-10 slate on Friday.The two-time defending Ivy League champions will open the season Nov. 14 at Alabama, will host Seton Hall on Nov. 20 and travel to Syracuse on Nov. 24. The Big Red will visit Kansas on Jan. 6 and will play games at Madison Square Garden on Dec....

Read more »

Cornell Basketball in the News

From Zach Klitzman over at the Daily Pennsylvanian:Cornell officially released it’s M. Hoops schedule, and the Big Red certainly do have their work cut out for them. They play at least four “BCS” schools: at Alabama in the season opener, versus Seton Hall in the home opener, then at two of the most well-known stadiums in the country in Syracuse’s Carrier Dome and Kansas’ Allen Field House (the potential fifth team is St. John’s in the Holiday Festival). They also play three City Six teams beside Penn: at Drexel, versus Saint Joseph’s and at La Salle. However, their schedule isn’t all tough games, as they play Division III schools Clarkson University and Penn State Erie, Behrend College (yes that’s one school) as well as Bryant University and...

Read more »

Cornell Men's Basketball Returns to the Airwaves on WVBR-FM

Cornell Men's Basketball Returns to the Airwaves on WVBR-FM CornellBigRed.comITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell University Department of Athletics and Physical Education will join forces with 93.5 WVBR-FM to broadcast the upcoming 2009-10 men's basketball campaign. With longtime announcer Barry Leonard back on the radio call, WVBR will broadcast all 31 regular season games, plus any possible postseason contests. Leonard's call will also be available as part of the RedCast subscription service as part of video for home games and audio for road contests."Cornell basketball has a long tradition of being heard in the Ithaca area on WVBR-FM, and we're excited that the campus will have that opportunity again this season," said Steve Donahue, The Robert...

Read more »

Mason's tentative CAA schedule released

Just in from GoMason.com:"According to the tentative schedule, Mason is set to open conference play on Saturday, Dec. 5 at UNC Wilmington. The Patriots will open their home schedule on Saturday, January 2 when Mason hosts Old Dominion. Two days later, Hofstra will visit the Patriot Center for a Monday game. Mason will play other Saturday home games against UNC Wilmington on Jan. 9, James Madison on Jan. 30 and Northeastern on Feb. 27. Other midweek home games are against Georgia State on Jan. 13, Delaware on Jan. 27, VCU on Feb. 10 and William & Mary on Feb. 16. The Patriots will play on the road in January at Northeastern, James Madison, Hofstra and Towson while February road games have the Patriots visiting Georgia State, Drexel, Old Dominion and Delaware."I really hate how ODU comes...

Read more »

Two-time Defending Ivy League Champion Men's Basketball Announces 2009-10 Schedule

Two-time Defending Ivy League Champion Men's Basketball Announces 2009-10 ScheduleCornellBigRed.com* 2009-10 Cornell Men's Basketball ScheduleITHACA, N.Y. – Games against preseason No. 1 Kansas, as well as a pair of games at MadisonSquareGarden, highlight what may be the most challenging non-conference schedule in Cornell history as head coach Steve Donahue announced the 2009-10 slate on Friday afternoon. Including possible tournament opponents, Cornell has six non-conference foes that won at least 20 games a season ago and seven that earned at least 10 conference triumphs. Five opponents earned postseason invitations, including two NCAA tournament foes, and three claimed at least a share of their conference's regular season titles.The Big...

Read more »

Big Red Rankings

"Dwight" from NBC's The Office is quite the Cornell fan.Several college basketball websites are publishing preseason rankings in the form of a daily or weekly countdown to No. 1.Bleacher Report's George Barnette is counting down 65 Teams in 65 Days, as the nation's best teams headed into 2009-2010. Cornell is ranked No. 52 on the Bleacher Report.CollegeHoopsNet.com (CHN) is counting down the Top 144 teams in Division I in 144 days. Last season, CHN ranked Cornell No. 89 . Cornell was the only Ivy to crack the ranking. Thus far, CHN has ranked some of the following teams, many of which come from major conferences.#???: Cornell#98 Providence#100 Houston#103 Texas Christian#107 Nebraska#109 Indiana#110 Binghamton#114: Rutgers#115: Temple#117:...

Read more »

A Look Back at the Incoming Recruiting Class from the 1998-1999 Season

Above, former Cornell coach, Scott Thompson huddles with Wallace Prather ('02, left) and Jake Rohe ('01) right.With the news of Penn's recent pair of commitments from the same high school team, we got to thinking, when was the last time Cornell had a pair of incoming recruits originating from the same high school squad? The answer is the Cornell recruiting class of 1998. Former Cornell coach, Scott Thompson signed 6'10" Trevor Tarpley and 6'6" Luke Vernon out of Englewood, Colorado's Cherry Creek High School. Although Tarpley was considered the much higher profile recruit, he never played a single game for Cornell, opting not to pursue playing collegiate basketball.The 1998 recruiting class also notably included players such as Wallace Prather,...

Read more »

Bill Bradley Returns to Cornell

Bill Bradley, Princeton ’65, and Ken Dryden, Cornell ’70 – will discuss “Lives on the Run: Sports, Service & Leadership” at Cornell University on Sept. 10. Jeremy Schaap, Cornell ’91, the Emmy award-winning ESPN journalist will moderate the event.Sen. William “Bill” BradleyBill Bradley was a three-time, All-American basketball player at Princeton University and graduated with honors in 1965 with a degree in American History. Bradley went on to become a star professional basketball player for the New York Knicks from 1967 to 1977. He is currently a U.S. Senator from New Jersey.Hon. Ken Dryden, P.C. Ken Dryden holds a degree in history from Cornell University and a law degree from McGill University. He also has received honorary doctoral...

Read more »

Recruiting News

Above, a January 3, 1988 Cornell at N.C. State game program. Below, a brief recruiting note.According to the Springfield News-Sun, Vandalia Butler High School’s (Vandalia, Ohio) A.J. Pacher, a 6'9" forward committed to Wright State. Citing a desire to stay close to home, he had reported offers from Cornell, Bowling Green, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Central Michigan, and Eastern Kentucky....

Read more »

News and Notes: Around the Ivy League

Above, a December 4, 1986, Cornell at Notre Dame game program. Below, notes from around the Ivy League:WHRB (Harvard Radio) responds to the article in the Washington Post.The Columbia roster was updated with jersey numbe...

Read more »

Recruiting News

NJHoops.com is reporting that Cornell, Columbia, Lafayette,and Lehigh are recruiting Ryan Lubreski, a 6'2" guard from Blair Academy in Blairstown, New Jersey.CrownMagOnline.com discusses Manny Sahota's verbal commitment to attend Cornell. The article notes:Sahota is a 6’6 forward from St. Marguerite D’Youville in Brampton, Ontario. After much consideration, he has signed on to play for Cornell in the NCAA Ivey League. Sahota will be a welcome addition to the program, as he is a versatile forward... Sahota plays for CIA Bounce. CIA Bounce Coach Tony McIntyre is extremely pleased... “Manny has worked hard to expand his game from the inside-out, and should do well at Cornell. Manny is a really solid player. He is also very serious about his...

Read more »

We Got Next.

Due to the departure of six seniors from last season's roster, there are available minutes up for grabs during 2009-2010 in Cornell's regular playing rotation.The graduates include:Jason Battle, a 6'4" shooting guard appeared in 29 games last year and averaged 7.8 minutes per game. During Cornell's last five Ivy League games, Battle played at least 10 minutes in each game.Also at shooting guard, 6'0" Adam Gore appeared in 12 games and averaged 8.1 minutes.At power forward, Brian Kreefer appeared in all 31 games for an average of 12.7 minutes per contest.Who will replace Battle, Gore and Kreefer? Let us know who you think is going to step-up in the rotation in the upcoming season by leaving a comment to this post, sending us an email (CornellBigRedFan@gmail.com),...

Read more »

Fan Websites/Blogs Take Some Heat

Interesting article today appearing in the Washington Post about blogs and websites run by fans of college athletic teams. NCAA rules explicitly state that fans (boosters) of college teams cannot communicate with recruits or their families. This rule applies to fans utilizing websites, blogs and message boards.Here at The Cornell Basketball Blog, we are in full compliance with all NCAA rules. We note that we have never communicated (either directly or indirectly, verbally or in writing) with a prospective Cornell athlete or members of their family.As we have repeatedly noted on this site, prospective high school players interested in playing basketball for Cornell should contact the Cornell coaching staff and not the editors of The Cornell...

Read more »

Schedule Update: U. South Dakota Corrects Date of Cornell Game

As we have posted previously, Cornell's schedule is tentatively complete for 2009-2010. The University of South Dakota Athletics Department confirmed today in a press release that the Big Red will visit USD on January 8. The game is part of road trip that will also take the Big Red to Kansas on January 6. USD Athletics writes, "The Coyotes' game against Cornell has re-scheduled for Friday, Jan. 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the DakotaDome. Cornell has made back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Tournamen...

Read more »

Alumni News: Esdaile ('69) Elected To New England Basketball Hall of Fame

Esdaile Elected To New England Basketball Hall of FameCornellBigRed.com ITHACA, N.Y. -- Former Cornell basketball player Walt Esdaile '69 has been elected to the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in the Scholar-Athlete category. Esdaile will be inducted at a dinner and ceremony on October 9 at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. Information regarding tickets and other aspects of the program can be found at www.internationalsport.com/basketball. Esdaile led the team in scoring (414 points) as a senior, and led the squad in rebounds as both a sophomore (315) and junior (294). He graduated ranked sixth on Cornell's all-time career scoring list (1,014 pts.) and fourth in both career...

Read more »

Rebounders Club Welcomes Back Big Red Basketball

Rebounders Welcome Back Men's, Women's Basketball TeamsCornellBigRed.com* Photo Gallery from the Rebounders Welcome Back DinnerITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell men's and women's basketball players return to class today, but not before they were officially welcomed back by the Rebounders Club on Wednesday evening at a dinner at the Ithaca Country Club. The night gave the supporters of the Big Red basketball programs a chance to meet the teams' newcomers and welcome back returning student-athletes with a meal consisting of hamburgers, hot dogs and grilled chicken.The Cornell Rebounders Club welcomes the men's and women's basketball teams back to campus with a welcome dinner on August 26, 2009....

Read more »

Recruiting News: Is Harvard's Recruiting Cooling Off?

Success in Ivy League basketball recruiting is assessed by stepping back and examining the big picture. Successful recruiting is not defined by who you choose to recruit and the hype and buzz around your program's efforts. If the players don't choose to enroll, the effort amounts to nothing. And even then, it only matters if the new recruits eventually win basketball games and do it in the right way.Harvard could be learning this tough lesson.After all of the summer hype and buzz in the national media, this week highly touted-guard, Pe'Shon Howard of Oak Hill Academy in Virginia seemingly backed out of his verbal commitment to attend Harvard. Then yesterday, Rod Odom of the Middlesex School in Massachusetts told AZCats.com that his list...

Read more »

Cornell Roster Update

We have some roster news.In roster news, the Big Red newcomers have received their new jerseys. Mark Coury will continue to wear the No. 42 he donned while at Kentucky. The rest of the newcomers will wear the following:No. 5 Errick PeckNo. 11 Max GroebeNo. 21 Pete McMillanNo. 22 Miles Asafo AdjeiNo. 34 Josh FiginiNo. 55 Eitan ChemerinskiThe Cornell Basketball Blog also learned earlier this summer that senior Marc Van Burck, a 6'11" transfer from the University of Colorado via Salt Lake Community College will not be a member of the Cornell Big Red during 2009-2010. The reasons of the departure are private.The decision was made last May. Van Burck will remain at Cornell and is expected to graduate with his class in 2010.Van Burck appeared...

Read more »

News and Notes: Around the Ivy League, Penn Hires Jerome Allen

Penn Basketball has announced the hiring of Jerome Allen as a new assistant coach for the Quakers. Allen is one of the most beloved former Quakers in Penn Basketball history. This move sounds like more fuel for the The Fire Glen Miller website....

Read more »

Recruiting News: Pe'Shon Howard Backs Out of Commitment to Harvard, Penn Gains 4th Recruit for 2010

Above, Penn coach, Glen Miller watches from the background as Cornell's Louis Dale drives past former Penn guard, Harrison Gaines. Gaines transferred to Cal Riverside during the summer.The Daily Pennsylvanian breaks the recruiting news on the east coast that Penn received its fourth commitment for the class of 2010 this week, while Harvard lost the verbal commitment of Pe'Shon Howard. See the Daily Pennsylvanian story below:After Penn nabbed its second 2010 recruit earlier this month, it appears that Glen Miler has grabbed two more recruits. And just like Austin Kelly, these new recruits hail from the Los Angeles area. According to the LA Times, Capistrano Valley (Mission Viejo, Calif) teammates Casey James (6-foot-3 guard) and Kevin Panzer...

Read more »

A Date in Cornell Basketball History: Remembering the '96 Massacre at Kansas

Not one of the proudest moments in Cornell Basketball history, but certainly scorched into memory. On January 2, 1996, on a road game visit to the University of Kansas, the Big Red were stomped, 100-46 by the then ranked No. 4 Jayhawks. Jacque Vaughn led Kansas with 16 points while Raef LaFrentz added 13 points and 10 rebounds.At the time, NBA superstar, Paul Pierce was a freshman on the powerful Jayhawks.Cornell got 14 points from Eddie "The Sergeant" Samuel in the defeat.Cornell gets a rematch with Kansas on January 6, 2010.A 1995-1996 Second Team All Ivy League selection, Samuel came to the Cornell Basketball program through a rather unusual path. Below is an archived story from the Daily Pennsylvanian detailing Samuel's journey.Air...

Read more »