Cornell Gets Hoosier Jump Shooter

According to multiple public media sources, Robert Mischler (Mishawaka HS) Marian, IN, 6-2, G, committed to Cornell after visiting the campus the weekend of January 27-29, 2012. Before choosing Cornell, he was considering Navy, Army and non-Division I programs such as DePauw, St. Francis, Washington University in St. Louis and Hope College (Mich.). In addition to Navy, Mischler also received a nomination and offer to Army. He told the Indianapolis Star on his commitment, "It’s been my dream to play in an NCAA Tournament so to have that chance to play Division I basketball is great...It’s a great feeling.” Sources confirmed for The Cornell Basketball Blog that Mischler visited Navy and Army before committing to Cornell.

With Cornell graduating shooters Chris Wroblewski, Drew Ferry and Max Groebe in the spring and Mischler boasting a robust jump shot to go along with a 4.3 GPA (in an intensive honors program) and 1770 on the SATs, the commitment seems to fit in well with the Big Red's needs.

Mischler, known as a pure shooter and one of the best in the Hoosier State, averaged 12.9 points per game as a junior during 2010-2011 while shooting 41% beyond the arc. He was 2nd Team All Northern Indiana Conference as a junior and was selected to play in the 2011 Indiana Class Basketball All-Star Classic (48 juniors in State selected) where he netted a game high 25 points on a 5/7 shooting performance from beyond the arc. He was also the quarterback for the school's football team.

As a senior Mischler was a repeat 2nd Team All Northern Indiana Conference selection and was named First Team Academic All State. He was also was named to Hoosier Basketball Magazine's Top 100 Players in Indiana, selected to the Hoosier Basketball Magazine Top 60 Workout and named Senior Honorable Mention All-State. Mischler also scored 9 points on March 26, 2012 in the McDonald's Michiana All Star Game at Bethel (Indiana) High School. See recaps in the South Bend Tribune and WNDU (NBC News).

Indiana Recruiting Guide ranks Mischler #69 among seniors in Indiana. As a senior, he was also named 2nd Team All Area by the Elkhart (Indiana) Truth. Votes were cast by 14 area high school coaches and 4 members of the Elkhart Truth staff.

The Cornell Basketball Blog spoke with Mischler's high school coach, Rob Berger about the commitment.

Referring to Cornell's games in the last two seasons at Minnesota, Illinois and Penn State, Berger said, "Out here [in Indiana] we get the Big Ten Network and we've seen a lot of Cornell, how they run up and down the floor and shoot three-pointers. So we are familiar with their system. And I think in that type of system Robert is a good fit, it fits his game well." Berger explained, "He's just a terrific shooter, I mean literally unlimited range. He hits 25 foot shots for us, well out there." Berger continued, "Over the years, he's really worked on his athleticism, he's good at coming off screens, has a very quick release, but he's also improved in his ball handling and he's good at taking one or two dribbles, shot faking and pumping, and pulling up, has a good mid range game." "Bobby's shattered all of our three point shooting records with more to go [in the season]." On the other side of the ball he added, "I'd say he is 6-2 and about 170 pounds... he works hard defensively, he is our second leading rebounder."

Berger stressed however that Mischler needs to continue to work on creating his own shot, a developing part of his game and defending opposing shooting guards. He also mentioned that Mischler works well in his high school backcourt with Demetrius Jackson (class of 2013) who already holds offers to Michigan State, Notre Dame, Butler and Xavier among others. "Cornell spotted Bobby last summer in one of his tournaments... I'd say they really came into the picture in the late fall. [Cornell assistant coach] Mike Blaine was really the guy involved. He and Cornell's head coach [Bill Courtney] later came out again to see us in January [and evaluate Mischler] and watched one of our games... From there Bobby [visited Cornell and] told Navy he was going to commit to Cornell [and he subsequently cancelled a planned official visit to Annapolis]."

Expressing similar feedback, Midwest Basketball Academy's Rod Creech, Mischler's AAU coach, evaluated Mischler as follows:

"Robert Mischler is one of the most complete basketball players that I have ever coached. Even more impressive than that, he is an even better student (4.3 g.p.a. on a 4.0 scale), person, and leader. Robert is a 6’2 wing player that averaged 4 rebounds and 3 assists per game this season. His definite strength is his ability to shoot the ball. He has unlimited range and his ability to shot fake and take a pull-up jumper makes him very difficult to guard. He broke the school record for 3 pointers made this season with 64 while shooting 40% from beyond the arch. He also shot 76% from the free throw line while averaging 14 points per game. With another off-season of hard work, there is no doubt in my mind he will only continue to get better"

Below, a pair or highlight videos from two of Mischler's games this season:

(updated 4.10.12)