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News and Notes: Thursday Edition

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Below, some news and notes for Thursday...

  • We have heard reports that several overseas pro teams have inquired about each of Cornell's graduating seniors-- Chris Wroblewski, Max Groebe, Drew Ferry and Anthony Gatlin. Wroblewski is not expected to accept a pro contract.
  • Before Cornell's returning veterans head home for the summer, Cornell will run its offseason training and strength and conditioning program.
  • ETruth reports on committed Cornell recruit, Robert "Bobby Buckets" Mischler. The site writes:
Marian, ‘Bobby Buckets’ chasing first regional title

He’s a Division I recruit, too, he’s the senior, and he may have the catchiest nickname in the area. Even with all that on his side, Robert Mischler — aka Bobby Buckets — still is not the player most think of when the topic of Marian High School boys basketball comes up. Rather, junior superstar Demetrius Jackson is. Nobody understands that better than Mischler, and nobody’s more OK with it. “D’s obviously the star of the team, our best player by far,” Mischler said this week of Jackson. “We still have other players that can score, but it’s when D’s creating for us that we’re a hard team to beat. It’s him creating that facilitates our outside shots, and when we’re hitting our 3s, that opens up the wings for him, so it’s a win-win.” Win, win is exactly what the No. 7-ranked Knights (20-3) will be trying to do Saturday when they face Gary Wallace (8-9) in a Class 3A Plymouth Regional semifinal at 10 a.m. and potentially face No. 3 Andrean (20-2) or Western (19-5) in the final that same night. Marian is chasing its first-ever regional title after winning its first sectional in 43 years last week. Bobby Buckets could have a shot at chasing 1,000 career points — he’s at 939 — if the Knights can keep winning. “That started at the Mishawaka game my sophomore year when I had 33,” Mischler said with a grin of his nickname, which is also his Twitter name. “A student (since-graduated Tyler Basham) just started chanting it and it caught on.” After this season, Mischler will catch on with D-I Cornell, an Ivy League school that recruited him for his shooting and, of course, for his academics. Mischler carries a 4.37 grade point average on a 4.0 scale and plans to study medicine. Marian coach Robb Berger says his 6-foot-3 sharpshooter will be missed. “Robert’s always been a very good outside shooter,” Berger said this week, “but he’s gotten a lot more athletic this year, is guarding people better, and he’s a great leader. He keeps the whole team loose and is someone the kids respect.”

  • The Plum Advance Leader writes, "Nolan Cressler, a Cornell recruit, ends his Plum career as the program's all-time leading scorer with 1,555 points. He tallied 28 against Kiski Area in the playoffs and led the Mustangs with 26 against Shaler. 'You don't replace kids like Nolan,' [Plum coach Ron] Richards said. 'He had gifts, but he also worked hard.'" The Advance Leader also notes Cressler's participation in a local all star game.
  • The Cornell Basketball Prospect Camp for elite high school players considering playing at Cornell is scheduled for June 23-24. Cornell coaches direct the camp while several veteran Big Red players serve as counselors. Cornell's incoming committed recruits may also attend. These incoming recruits may also potentially enroll in Cornell's summer session pre-freshman program.
  • During the course of the 2011-2012 season, Cornell lost 143 player games due to injury. The following players missed games due to injuries on the 28 game schedule: Asafo-Adjei - 15; D.Cherry - 4; Gatlin - 26; Groebe - 6; LaMore - 3; Matthews - 28 (entire season); Peck - 28 (entire season); Sahota - 28 (entire season); Scelfo - 3; Tarwater -2. The three players which finished the season on the inactive roster were Errick Peck, Manny Sahota and Jake Matthews. All three took red-shirt seasons and will be reclassified next season. Sahota and Matthews will join Dom Scelfo and Dwight Tarwater in the sophomore eligible class along with true sophomores Shonn Miller, Galal Cancer, Devin Cherry, Dave Lamore, Ned Tomic and Deion Giddens. Peck will reclassify as a junior. With respect to Sahota and Peck, both have been practicing with the team and are on schedule to play at full strength next season. Jake Matthews continues his rehab from his injury and will not require any surgery.
  • Below is a glimpse of the projected 2012-2013 roster:

Eitan Chemerinski 6'8" Senior
Josh Figini 6'9" Senior
Peter McMillan 6'7" Senior
Miles Asafo Adjei 6'2" Senior
Jonathan Gray 6'3" Senior
Errick Peck 6'6" RS-Junior
Jamal Cherry 6'4"-Junior
Dominick Scelfo 6'3" RS-Sophomore
Jake Matthews 6'2" RS-Sophomore
Dwight Tarwater 6'6" RS-Sophomore
Manny Sahota 6'5" RS-Sophomore
Galal Cancer 6'3" Sophomore
Devin Cherry 6'3" Sophomore
Shonn Miller 6'7" Sophomore
Ned Tomic 6'7" Sophomore
Deion Giddens 6'9" Sophomore
Dave Lamore 6'9" Sophomore
Braxston Bunce 6'11" Freshman
Holt Harmon 6'8" Freshman
Nolan Cressler 6'4" Freshman
Robert Mischler 6'2" Freshman
  • The Trenton Times writes, "Princeton ended its regular season Tuesday night with a convincing victory over Penn. It was the year’s third payback game for the Tigers, who earlier in the season had also lost road games against Cornell and Yale... But it wasn’t the two teams that finished above Princeton that left this season so empty; so short of possibilities. It was Cornell and Yale. The Big Red, and, let’s face it, The Big Lebowski. If the Tigers weren’t so confused early on, they may well have defended their Ivy League championship. They opened the Ivy League season at Cornell, where they shot horribly (21-of-58 for 36 percent), had not yet figured out how to spread the basketball and had an even tougher time figuring out Cornell’s changing defense. With senior guard Doug Davis shooting 7-for-22, they had no chance... In their first 10 games not once did the Tigers score as many as 70 points. In their last nine games they averaged 70. And allowed an average of 57. And along the way of course they came home to beat Cornell, beat Yale... 'I’ve thought about those two nights a lot.' [said Princeton coach, Mitch Henderson]. At Cornell. At Yale. And what could have been."
  • Cornell has capatured 5 of the last 10 Ivy League Rookies of the Year. The last five Cornellians to win the award are as follows:

Lenny Collins 2003
Adam Gore 2006
Ryan Wittman 2007
Chris Wroblewski 2009
Shonn Miller 2012

Cornell's Miller named Ivy basketball Rookie of the Year
Wroblewski is all-league first team

ITHACA -- Freshman forward Shonn Miller of the Cornell men's basketball team has been named the 2012 Ivy League Rookie of the Year, the school announced Wednesday.

Two other players for the Big Red, which finished .500 in Ivy play this season, were recognized by the league. Senior point guard Chris Wroblewski -- the 2009 conference rookie of the year and the last connection to the Big Red's 2010 Sweet 16 team -- closed his career with a first-team all-league berth. And junior guard Johnathan Gray was an all-league honorable mention.

The All-Ivy League team is selected by the conference's eight head coaches.

"I'm excited for Shonn, Chris and Johnathan for being recognized for their performances," Cornell coach Bill Courtney said in a statement. "For Shonn, he had a good rookie season and I expect this will provide him even more motivation to work on his game during the offseason."

The 6-foot-7 Miller is the seventh Cornell player to take home the league's top rookie honor, and the third in the last seven years after Adam Gore, '06 and Ryan Wittman, '07. Miller established new Cornell freshman records for rebounds (170) and blocked shots (46) while earning conference Rookie of the Week honor five times.

Miller ended the season averaging 8.9 points and 6.1 rebounds. He shot 44 percent, including 51 percent from inside the 3-point arc.

Wroblewski, a three-time All-Ivy selection and two-time Capital One Academic All-American, will graduate as the school's all-time leader in assists (482) and No. 13 on the all-time scoring list (1,202). A two-year captain, Wroblewski was a three-year starter who played on a pair of Ivy League championship teams, including the 2009-10 squad that finished 29-5 and beat Temple and Wisconsin in the NCAA tournament to advance to the Sweet 16, where it lost to Kentucky.

As a senior, Wroblewski led the team in scoring (11.5 ppg.) and was third in the Ivy League in assists (5.3) and second in steals (1.6). He was named Ivy Player of the Week twice in his career, including once as a senior.

Wroblewski became just the second player in Cornell history to surpass 1,000 points, 400 assists, 300 rebounds and 100 steals, joining All-American and Ivy Player of the Year Louis Dale, his former backcourt mate.

"Chris was our steady leader," Courtney said, "and his play in conference games made him more than deserving of being named first-team all-conference."

Gray was the sixth-leading scorer in Ivy games (12.3 ppg.) and for the season averaged 8.8 points and 3.1 rebounds. A former walk-on, the 6-3 Gray scored in double figures 12 times, including a career-high 29 points in a February win over Yale.

"Johnathan really emerged in Ivy play as one of the conference's elite athletes," Courtney said. "His story is one of perseverance and dedication, and we're fortunate to have both him and Shonn back next year as we continue our climb up the Ivy League standings."

The Big Red improved on its 2010-11 win totals, going 12-16 overall, 7-7 in the Ivy League. Cornell will return three starters and 10 letter winners next season.

PRINCETON, N.J. -- The 2011-12 postseason awards for Ivy League men's basketball are packed with multiple honors for multiple previous honorees, highlighted by Penn senior guard Zack Rosen as the unanimous choice for Player of the Year and first-team All-Ivy as voted on by the League's head coaches.

Rosen (Colonia, N.J.) is just the fourth player to receive the Ivy League Player of the Year honor in a unanimous vote since the 1999-2000 season, following Penn's Michael Jordan in 1999-2000 and Ibrahim Jaaber in 2005-06 and Cornell's Ryan Wittman in 2009-10. He is the 16th Quaker to be named Player of the Year and the first since Jaaber won the award in back-to-back seasons in 2005-06 and 2006-07.

***

Continuing a Cornell tradition of recent years, Big Red freshman forward Shonn Miller (Euclid, Ohio) was named Rookie of the Year. Miller is the seventh Cornellian to take home Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors and the fourth in the last seven years. He established new school freshman records for rebounds (170) and blocked shots (46) while taking home the conference's Rookie of the Week honor five times.

Miller ranked among the top 10 freshman scorers in school history with 250 points. He ranked eighth in the Ivy League in rebounding and steals and was second in blocks. Miller ended the season averaging 8.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 1.3 steals per game while starting in 21 of the team's 28 contests.

Interestingly, the previous three Rookies of the Year were among this year's award winners, led by Cornell senior guard Chris Wroblewski (2008-09 Rookie of the Year) and Harvard junior forward Kyle Casey (2009-10 Rookie of the Year) who join Rosen, Princeton junior forward Ian Hummer, Yale senior center Greg Mangano and Columbia junior guard Brian Barbour on the All-Ivy first team.

Wroblewski (Highland Park, Ill.) capped his career with his first first-team nod to go along with a pair of Ivy League titles and a NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance. The two-time Capital One Academic All-American and three-year starter finished as the school's all-time career leader in assists (482) and a 1,000-point scorer (1,202 points, 13th player all-time in Cornell history). This season, he led the Big Red in scoring (11.5 ppg) and was third in the Ivy League in assists (5.3 apg) and second in steals (1.6 spg).

***

Player of the Year
*Zack Rosen, Penn (Sr., G, Colonia, N.J.)

Rookie of the Year
Shonn Miller, Cornell (Fr., F, Euclid, Ohio)

Defensive Player of the Year
Reggie Willhite, Yale (Sr., G/F, Elk Grove, Calif.)

First Team All-Ivy^
Brian Barbour, Columbia (Jr., G, Alamo, Calif.)
Chris Wroblewski, Cornell (Sr., G, Highland Park, Ill.)
Kyle Casey, Harvard (Jr., F, Medway, Mass.)
*Zack Rosen, Penn (Sr., G, Colonia, N.J.)
*Ian Hummer, Princeton (Jr., F, Vienna, Va.)
Greg Mangano, Yale (Sr., C, Orange, Conn.)

Second Team All-Ivy
Sean McGonagill, Brown (So., G, Brookfield, Ill.)
Brandyn Curry, Harvard (Jr., G, Huntersville, N.C.)
Keith Wright, Harvard (Sr., F, Suffolk, Va.)
Douglas Davis, Princeton (Sr., G, Philadelphia)
Reggie Willhite, Yale (Sr., G/F, Elk Grove, Calif.)

Honorable Mention All-Ivy
Johnathan Gray, Cornell (Jr., G, Tampa, Fla.)
Rob Belcore, Penn (Sr., G, Lake Forest, Ill.)

* Unanimous Selection
^ Expanded to six players due to tie in voting

On a 61-degree March day that would have actually been perfect for rocking the Newman Nation jersey and jorts, men’s basketball player Max Groebe ’12 showed up for his interview with 10 Questions columnist Alex Kuczynski-Brown ’12 not wearing either. They discussed his trademark red Hummer (which he’s still allowed to drive on campus), why 238 Linden (or rather “Mt. Olympus”) will not be getting its security deposit back, Jeremy Lin (obviously) — and the numerous ways his name has been turned into a verb.

1. Starting off on a fairly sentimental note, what are you going to miss most about your Cornell basketball career?

I guess the camaraderie, basically — just the guys on the team. Just doing everything together, going to dinner, hanging out, going out ... just being crazy.

Now you transferred to Cornell as a sophomore, so how would you characterize your experience at Cornell versus your experience at UMass?

I would say pretty similar. I mean, both very team-oriented, very family-oriented ... basketball focus ... just a lot of fun, both places.

2. A lot of people — myself included — know you by your red Hummer, but I understand it’s been through a lot since you’ve been here, has it not?

[laughing] It’s been through more than a lot. The first week I got it I actually hit a person. She wasn’t really hurt, she just kind of scraped off the window. For some reason I freaked out, I thought she was going to freak out at me and maybe kill me, I don’t know ... she was more worried about the car for some reason. I was relieved that she was fine and everything, but Jeff Foote ’10 and Adam Wire ’11 just freaked out, I didn’t see her ... it wasn’t at a fast speed or anything.

“She came out of nowhere,” right?

She came out of nowhere. You know those crosswalks where everyone just walks, whatever? I was going ... — it wasn’t too fast.

How many other accidents have you been in since you’ve been here?

Towards the end of my junior year here I backed out and Monster trucked this girl’s car. My wheels were on top of her hood ... I was lucky my insurance covered it, so it was fine.

And you’re still allowed to drive on this campus?

Yeah, I’m still allowed to drive on this campus, luckily.

3. I’m told you’re quite the trash-talker — especially when it comes to beer pong — but apparently you don’t have the skills to back up the trash talk?

I think people are going to say that, but I think I’m the best beer pong player on this campus, and you can — it’s being quoted, so: I think I’m the best beer pong player on this campus.

But your friends claim otherwise, and say you have a one cup quota per game, so what do you have to say for yourself?

Sometimes you’re not playing well, you know — you just don’t make shots, but I think in general I’m not that bad. I’m not that bad.

So you went from being “the best beer pong player on this campus” to you’re “not that bad”?

Yeah, I mean, it depends on the night, but I think on any given night I could beat anybody.

What is this “dunk shot” that you made famous?

I was actually going to do that for the photo shoot, but I decided not to because I thought it was a little too much. It’s just basically when there’s one cup left on the other side and you guys have been going back and forth [and] you can’t hit it, you just take the ball and just jump from your side of the table and just throw it into their cup, and just shatter the table basically.

And that’s a legal move?

That’s a legal move if you do it, yeah. I mean, you’re sacrificing your body, your clothes and everything. You’re just getting soaked.

So how often do you bring out the dunk shot?

Depends if there’s a lot of trash talk, and it’s Jeff Foote and Ryan Wittman ’10 on the other side and they’re just talking a lot — then yeah, it will come out more than once a night.

Everyone says you have a propensity to become a wrecking ball when you’re in a certain state, so what exactly have you destroyed at 238 Linden?

Oh man ... well I would say my other wrecking ball brother is Adam Wire, and when we’re together it’s usually a lot of trouble. We had a little fire extinguisher war in the past, where we just fire-extinguished each other. It was stupid, but it was fun I guess. I guess cabinets, tables, people — almost anything that you can break, probably — windows.

So you guys aren’t getting your security deposit back, are you?

No, I’m pretty sure that’s gone for sure. I know the guys last year didn’t get it, and this year’s probably — it’s been bad, it might get a little worse, so we’ll see.

Apparently earlier this year you kicked a hole through Eitan’s [Chemerinski] ’13 wall to try to get into his room. Were you trying to steal his orange juice?

[laughing] No, we took his orange juice for mixers and stuff, and he got mad and we haven’t returned it yet. He wouldn’t open the door to us, so Ski [Chris Wroblewski ’12] and me — we just wanted to talk and hang out with him. So for some reason I thought it would be a good idea to go through the wall, so I just kicked the wall a little bit, and our house is probably the worst house in Ithaca, so it was really easy to get out. Just [touching] it broke it, and I was able to see right into his room and have a conversation, so I guess it worked. We fixed it, so he wasn’t that mad after. He sent us a nice long email the next morning being like “I’m going to move out if you guys keep doing that.”

I was supposed to ask about the email — so that’s all it said?

He was ... I felt like my mom was chastising me, just reprimanding me. And Ski and me read it and we were just so shocked that he would send that. We felt really bad after the fact, but we still heckle him. I heckled him last night.

So you’re all good — no one’s moving out?

No one’s moving out — Eitan loves us.

4. None of your teammates seem to know what your ethnicity is, so if you could clear that up for them?

I’m 1/52nd everything, basically, so what that means is — in reality I’m like Spanish, white, and a little bit of Asian. And a little bit of Eskimo, basically, so all that. Most of the guys call me "Pitbull" — they think I look Cuban — or "Eskimo." I don’t know, they call me a lot of different stuff.

5. Now I would like to talk about your wardrobe — namely, are jorts a Miami thing?

[laughing] No, I guess that’s our thing. I guess we’re just trying to bring it back, you know. Anytime it’s over 57 degrees it’s Newman Nation jersey and jorts weather. I’m not wearing it today, unfortunately, but that’s usually what we go.

I understand you enjoy making your own sports jerseys out of plain white tee shirts, and that your teammates have picked up on the trend. What gave you this idea to make your own jerseys?

I think I’m a decent drawer, so I make them look pretty good I feel like. I just made a Lin jersey ... when Jeff Foote came to visit he ripped it off my body and threw it in the garbage because he was upset about that. But Tebow jersey, all that stuff. I feel like it looks kind of cool, you know — homemade jerseys.

Do you have a particular favorite?

I did like my Lin jersey, to be honest with you — just because he’s on my Fantasy team. I don’t really like him personally, but he’s on my Fantasy team.

On that note, I have to ask the obligatory Jeremy Lin question. Obviously you’ve played against him, so what do you think of him and his becoming this cultural phenomenon?

I’m just going to say exactly what Foote said: he doesn’t have any Ivy League rings, so we have that over him. I mean, he’s helping me win Fantasy games, so I guess I kind of like him for that, but other than that I’m kind of mad because I feel like Foote and Witt and Lou are all better players than him. But I mean, it’ s good for him that he’s made it that far.

How would you describe your Fantasy Basketball skills?

I’m going to win both leagues this year. I know somebody probably said I’m the worst owner in history, but I’m going to win both leagues this year. 100 percent.

What about the time you told Witt that you would give him LeBron James in exchange for Danny Granger — who was injured at the time — and Jose Calderon?

The thing is, WItt always tricks me. So every day after practice he would just say their stats and I’d be like “Wow, I really want them” — and that was probably the worst trade I ever made in my life. It was just retarded, but I did it, unfortunately.

Apparently everyone thought he was trying to swindle you, so would you say that was the case?

Yeah, I did. I was actually tied for top-four and then I ended up not making the playoffs that year after that trade, so it didn’t work out.

Now whenever someone is trying to make an unfair trade, your teammates say they’re trying to “Max” the person. How does that make you feel?

I got to take it. I mean, that was a bad trade, so I get upset, but I guess that’s what happens now. You get Maxed.

But then I also understand that the verb “Max” has a lot of different connotations. I’m told it’s also used when someone attempts to throw something in the trash, for instance, but they miss — à la you in beer pong?

[laughing] Ahh Aro ... yeah, there are different meanings to the word “Max” I guess. It could be used for multiple things.

6. I’ve been wondering this for a while actually — how did you get your Dog Pound softball nickname?

[laughing] That is ... long story short: I would just Urban Dictionary “BJ Bandit.” We were just hanging around one day and a bunch of stories were being told, and I thought it would be a good idea — I just liked that name, you know, it sounded cool. No real story behind it ... but kind of little, small story behind it.

7. What’s this I hear about a green tea drink you once prepared for a preseason conditioning session during your junior year?

Oh man, so on Fridays we usually do a conditioning circuit and then we have the weekend to go out, have some fun. So one day I decided to bring a Snapple bottle and mix it with half vodka, and just shake it up. I’d been doing it for a few weeks, I didn’t really tell anybody. I just did it to start a little earlier than everybody else. And then one day we were driving and I think Ryan called me out saying “Hey Max, what are you doing over there, you going out tonight or something?” and I told him “Hey, I already started Witt.” And he was like, “Yeah, what are you sipping on — Snapple?” And I gave him the bottle and he took the biggest gulp ever, and he almost threw up. Then it became a tradition for a while, and then I stopped, but it was a tradition for a while.

So would you drink this during your conditioning?

No, I’m not that crazy — I don’t think I would have made it. Just right after, on the way to the dining hall to get dinner. Just starting early.

8. Not to bring up unpleasant times, but one of your friends mentioned a night that you and your girlfriend were arguing, and she locked you out so you couldn’t talk to her ...

Oh my gosh.

... so you had to find an alternative way to communicate with her, that ultimately involved a broken window?

Oh man. She’s not going to like this at all, but yeah, sometimes it gets a little heated and passionate, and I really wanted to see her that night for some reason — just to tell her I’m sorry for whatever I did, and for some reason I found this huge brick outside her window. I don’t know why there’s bricks outside of there anyway. And I threw it at her window ... it shattered, but there was a double-sided window and then after I threw it I realized “What am I doing right now?” I just sprinted home because I thought it was retarded that I did that.

It seems like it was a romantic gesture, except instead of throwing a pebble ... ?

Yeah, it just didn’t work. I tried to knock but then I guess the brick got her attention. We’re still together, thankfully.

So your heart was in the right place.

My heart was in the right place at the time. My mind was not in the right place, but my heart was in the right place.

Did she at least appreciate the gesture at all?

No, she was pretty mad at me for quite awhile. She’s probably still mad at me for it.

9. Are you still banned from every bar in Collegetown? Not that there are many left to be banned from.

Yeah, that’s a good thing. Well, I’m allowed back to most bars now. I think after last spring — after the whole summer, people cool down and are like “Alright, we’ll let you back in.” I made my amends with Pep from Dunbars. And Rulloffs, they got new bouncers so they don’t remember me. The Palms closing, Dinos closed, so yeah, I think I’m allowed in to most bars now.

10. In the battle of Titans versus demigods, who comes out on top?

Probably Ski and me, most of the time. I think we have the endurance to beat out Aro and Wire on most nights.

Beat out in what, exactly?

Anything. Dancing, drinking, beer pong, destroying things — anything.

So I don’t remember — you are ... ?

Ski and me are Titans; Aro and Wire are demigods, for some reason.

Where did this come from?

I don’t know ... 238, where we live, is Mt. Olympus. It’s where we all reside, or where we all used to reside. Aro just came back and he was happy to be home and hang out with us for a night. I don’t know where it came from, honestly. After Spring Break last year we just started using it all the time.


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