News and Notes: Wednesday Edition

Below, some news and notes for Wednesday...

• The Ivy League Office named Chris Wroblewski as a Winter Academic All Ivy selection. The Ivy office writes, "Chris Wroblewski, Sr., Basketball, Applied Economics & Management (Highland Park, Ill.)-First-team All-Ivy; three-time All-Ivy selection; Cornell’s career assist leader; 1,000-point scorer; three-time Bob Cousy Award nominee."
  

• In the NBA D-League, Jeff Foote (Cornell '10) finished with 9 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks on 2/8 shooting from the floor as his Springfield Armor fell 110-108 at Erie. See the Springfield Republican for the recap which notes that Jim Larranaga was in attendance. Cornell head coach Bill Courtney was Larranaga's top assistant coach at George Mason before Larranaga left to take his current head coaching position at the University of Miami. Erie is coached by Jim Larranaga's son, Jay Larranaga, a former Cornell assistant coach under Bill Courtney. Foote and his Springfield Armor are next back in action Friday, April 6 at 8:30 pm at Austin. All NBA D-League games are available to view online at no charge via the D-League's Futurecast. Foote is averaging 14.9 points and 8.8 rebounds per game in the D-League after being named a starter at the D-League's All-Star Game during February. As of today, Foote is ranked 4th in the D-League in double-doubles and is also 4th in the league in rebounds. He averaged 1.0 points and 1.5 rebounds per game in 4 games for the New Orleans Hornets during a 10-day contract between March 9 and March 19. Foote is ranked by the D-League as its #6 overall NBA prospect. He is profiled in a video on NBA.com. The D-League profiles Foote as an NBA prospect and writes:

The 7-foot center out of Cornell’s already had an NBA stint this year, when he played 39 minutes across four games for the Hornets a few weeks ago. Overmatched by NBA bigs (he scored four points and got six rebounds in that time) in his first taste of the Show, Foote nonetheless showed how far he’s come this year. From a guy making backup plans in case the basketball gig didn’t work out to a guy playing 10 minutes a game in the NBA, expect the evolution to continue in the Playoffs. Armed with an understanding of what it takes to play in NBA lanes, he’s already upped his game in his return to the NBA D-League, putting up 10.6 boards and 16.6 points in his last three games with Springfield.

• Both the Kelowna Daily Courier and the Kelowna Capital News recap the participation of committed Cornell recruit, Braxston Bunce (Kelowna Secondary School) Kelowna, BC, Canada, 6-11, C, in the Okanagan Valley All Star Game. Bunce finished with 13 points.
  

• Committed Cornell recruit, Nolan Cressler (Plum HS) Plum, PA, 6-4, G, was named to the Super Six Team by Pittsburgh Basketball Report. All six of the selections will play Division I basketball. PBR writes, "Nolan finished the regular season second in scoring with 25.7 ppg. He played many roles for his team, and was one of the most efficient players in the WPIAL. He led his team to the playoffs, defeating Kiski Area before falling to Shaler in the quarterfinals. Nolan has signed to play Division 1 basketball at Cornell University. " Cressler also was named 2nd Team All State for AAAA schools (largest school classification in Pennsylvania). See articles releasing the All State team at the Morning Call, Philly.com and PennLive.com. The Pittsburgh Post Tribune writes on the selection:
  

  Highlands' Micah Mason and Plum's Nolan Cressler probably would have been rivals had they played in the same WPIAL classification and section over the last four years. Instead, they've grown to be good friends, even working out together in recent weeks as they prepare for Division I basketball careers. The pair had big news to discuss Tuesday during their latest workout. Mason and Cressler, who broke their schools' career scoring records this season and finished 1-2 in the WPIAL in scoring, were named to The Associated Press all-state teams. Mason made the Class AAA first team for the second straight year, while Cressler earned Class AAAA second-team honors. Mason, who is headed to Drake, won his second straight WPIAL scoring title, averaging 28.7 points per game, including 13 games of 30 or more. He had 49 on two occasions. Mason came a long way since last summer, when he was sidelined with POTS Syndrome. The illness prevented him from playing AAU. But he underwent therapy and returned to form, eclipsing the career 2,000-point mark and breaking the WPIAL's all-time 3-point record. Mason finished 12th on the WPIAL scoring list with 2,272 points. "I was just happy to play again, so this is awesome," Mason said. Cressler, a Cornell recruit, averaged 25.8 per game and led Plum (16-8) to the Class AAAA quarterfinals. He also averaged 8.8 rebounds per game and shot close to 60 percent from the floor. He finished with 1,565 career points. "It's always been one of my goals, so I am happy to achieve it," Cressler said. "Hard work pays off." Overall, 12 WPIAL players earned all-state honors, which were chosen by a media vote.