News and Notes: Friday Edition

Above, Cornell's Galal Cancer. Below, some news and notes for Friday...

• Jon Jaques (Cornell '10) has accepted a volunteer/graduate student assistant coaching position at Columbia.  He was previously an assistant at Stevens Tech in New Jersey.

• Nets Daily writes with respect to Jeff Foote (Cornell '10), "Adam Morrison, Al Thornton and Julian Wright will get a chance to renew their NBA careers in two weeks when the Nets entry plays in the Orlando Summer League. The three former lottery picks along with Marshon Brooks, Jordan Williams and draft pick Tyshawn Taylor are the big names on the roster, which is not yet complete.In additon to Morrison, Thornton and Wright, all lottery picks, the Nets have recruited Jeff Foote who played for the Armor, Edwin Ubiles, who was D-League rookie of the year, and Taurean Green, a combo guard who played on Florida's national championship team and now plays in Turkey. The Nets two European picks in Thursday's draft will not play in Orlando, which runs from July 9 to 13."

• In the International Basketball League, Jason Hartford (Cornell '08) and the Yamhill Highflyers are back in action tonight. 

Above, Darius Miller of Kentucky defends Cornell's Ryan Wittman ('10) during the 2010 Sweet Sixteen.

• ChicagoNow notes that NBA draftee, Meyers Leonard of  Illinois  had a career high 16 rebounds against Cornell.  Including, Leonard, in the last four seasons, Cornell faced a total of ten (out of sixty) players drafted last night. These opponents include: Darius Miller (Kentucky), Deion Waiters (Syracuse); Kris Joseph (Syracuse); Fab Melo (Syracuse) Andrew Nicholson (St. Bonaventure); Kim English (Missouri); Marcus Denmon (Missouri); Thomas Robinson (Kansas); and Tyshawn Taylor (Kansas).

Above, the draft's No. 19 selection, Andrew Nicholson chases down Cornell's Miles Asafo Adjei at Cornell's Newman Arena on November 19, 2010.

The Tree of Coaches Connected to Cornell

Below, a look at the Cornell Coaching Plantations, the coaches in the NCAA with ties to Cornell University.

Jeff Jackson (Cornell Class of '84)-Head Coach of Furman University (Division I).

Jon Jaques (Cornell Class of '10)-Assistant coach at Columbia University. Played for Cornell under Steve Donahue.

Kevin App (Cornell Class of '07)-Assistant coach at Army. Played for Cornell under Steve Donahue.

Yanni Hufnagel (Cornell Class of '06)-Assistant coach at Harvard. Served as student-manager at Cornell under Steve Donahue.

Steve Donahue-Head coach of Boston College. Served as head coach at Cornell between 2000-2010.

Zach Spiker-Head coach of Army. He served as an assistant coach at Cornell under Steve Donahue from 2004-2009.

Joe Burke-Head coach of Skidmore College (Division III). He was an assistant coach at Cornell under Steve Donahue between 2001-2004.

Izzi Metz-Former Head coach Hobart College (Division III). He served as a Cornell assistant coach for five seasons between 2001-2006 under Steve Donahue and is currently an assistant coach and head of basketball operations at Boston College under Donahue.

Nat Graham-Associate Head Coach (assistant) at Boston College under Steve Donahue. Served as an assistant coach under Donahue at Cornell from 2005-2010.

Woody Kampmann-Assistant coach at Boston College under Steve Donahue. Served as an assistant coach under Donahue at Cornell from 2007-2010.

Ryan Woerner-Former student intern coach under Steve Donahue during the 2009-2010 season and assistant coach for Cornell's women's team during 2010-2011. Currently an assistant at SUNY New Paltz (Division III).

Steve Robinson-Assistant coach at North Carolina under Roy Williams. He was an assistant coach for Mike Dement at Cornell for two seasons, including on the 1988 Ivy League Championship team.

Paul Fortier-Assistant coach at Washington under Lorenzo Romar. He served as an assistant coach at Cornell during 2003-2005 under Steve Donahue.

Desmond Oliver-Assistant coach at Charlotte. He was an assistant coach at Cornell between 1998-2000 under Scott Thompson.

Ricky Yahn-Assistant coach at Longwood. He was an assistant coach at Cornell during 2010-2011 under Bill Courtney.

News and Notes: Wednesday Edition

Above (left to right), Cornell's Shonn Miller (sophomore) and Harvard's Kyle Casey (senior), arguably the Ivy League's top pair of power forwards, if not the Leauge's best pair of players regardless of position. Below, some news and notes for Wednesday...

• It is very rare that current Ivy League players comment about other teams on Twitter, but Harvard star, Kyle Casey tweeted today about Cornell.

• Nets Daily lists some upcoming pertinent dates for the Brooklyn Nets and writes, "July 9-July 16 - Orlando Summer League. Who might be there? Draft picks? MarShon Brooks and Jordan Williams are expected to be there. Armor center Jeff Foote and former Hornet lottery pick Julian Wright have accepted invitations, as has D-League Rookie of the Year Edwin Ubiles. Expect roster to be D-League heavy. You don't play 50 games in the D-League without developing ideas on who's worth inviting. Expect LOTS of talk about Dwight Howard as Nets brass watch the D-Leaguers." Nets Daily also notes that Foote and the Nets will be practicing in Orlando next week.

• The New York Post notes that Foote recorded 12 points and 11 rebounds last night in the Nike Pro City League in New York City.

News and Notes: Tuesday Edition

Above, Cody Toppert ('05) in action against Syracuse.  Below, some news and notes for Tuesday...

• Nets Daily writes, "Marshon Brooks and Jeff Foote are expected to play Tuesday evening in the Nike Pro City Tournament at Baruch College, 55 Lexington Avenue (at 24th Street). Their team, Dyckman/NYAC, will play Gold's Gym at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free."

• Cody Toppert ('05) has retired from professional basketball and launched Toppert Basketball Services, a skill development program.  Among Toppert's clients are incoming Cornell freshman, Holt Harmon (Plano West HS), Plano, TX, 6-9, F. Toppert's final season in professional basketball, the 2011-2012 campaign, was spent laregely with Logitravel Mallorca of the LEB Gold Spain 2nd Division.  Toppert finished his 2011-2012 season averaging 3.5 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. Mallorca finished 15-19 and in 13th place out of 18 teams in the LEB Gold. Prior to joining Mallorca midseason, Toppert averaged 6.0 points and 1.8 rebounds per game for Ourense in the Spanish LEB Silver (3rd Division). During his pro career, Toppert, a 6'4" wing forward, has played in the NBA D-League with the former club, the Albuquerque Thunderbirds (now the Canton Charge). He also played in England (Plymouth Raiders, British Basketball League), Italy (Forli, LegaDue Italy 2nd Division), the CBA (Great Falls Explorers), as well as in Portugal (Barriernese, LCB Portugal premier league), Bulgaria (BC CSKA Sofia, NBL Bulgaria premier league), Germany (Goettingen/Scholz Weissenhorn, BBK Bundesliga Germany premier league) and New Zealand (Taranaki Mountain Airs, NBL New Zealand premier league).

• Below, an Instagram photo taken of Cornell's 2010 Sweet Sixteen banner by one of the campers attending Cornell's Prospect Camp over the weekend.  Cornell remains the only Ivy League team to win two NCAA Tournament games since the tournament field expanded from 40 teams in 1980 to its modern format of 60-plus teams. 

News and Notes: Monday Edition

Below, some news and notes for Monday...

• Above, a photo from over the weekend during the Cornell Basketball Prospect Camp.

• On Friday night, Cornell's Galal Cancer appeared in the opener of the Capital District Summer League.

• In the FIBA Centrobasket Championship for Senior Men in Puerto Rico last week, Cornell's Jonathan Gray and his U.S. Virigin Islands team finished the tournament 1-3.   For his part, Gray averaged 8.5 points and 2.3 rebounds per game and played 22.3 minutes per game. 

• Cornell incoming freshman, Braxston Bunce (Kelowna Secondary School) Kelowna, BC, Canada, 6-11, C, playing for the Canadian Junior Men's National Team in the FIBA Americas U18 Championships in Brazil last week, captured the Bronze medal.

• In the International Basketball League, Jason Hartford (Cornell '08) scored 28 points on Friday and 14 points on Saturday in a pair of defeats with his Yamhill Highflyers. The Yamhill News Register recaps Hartford's weekend performance. Hartford and the Highflyers are back in action on Friday.

• Nets Daily notes that Jeff Foote (Cornell '10) is among the four committed players on the Brooklyn Nets' summer league team which will play between July 9-16 in Orlando. The others are Marshon Brooks, Jordan Williams and Julian Wright.

News and Notes: Friday Edition

Below, some news and notes for Friday...

• Galal Cancer is participating in the Capital District Basketball Association Summer League per the  AdirondackSportsNet.

• The Cornell Basketball Prospect Camp for elite high school players considering playing at Cornell is scheduled for this weekend, June 23-24. Cornell coaches direct the camp while several veteran Big Red players serve as counselors.

• In the FIBA Centrobasket Championship for Senior Men in Puerto Rico, Cornell's Jonathan Gray and his U.S. Virigin Islands team face the Dominican Republic today which is led by Al Horford (Atlanta Hawks) and Francisco Garcia (Sacramento Kings). 

• The Yamhill News Register of Oregon mentions Jason Hartford (Cornell '08) and his play in the International Basketball League with the Yamhill Highflyers.  Yamhill faces the Bellingham Slam on both Friday and Saturday.

News and Notes: Thursday Edition

Below, some news and notes for Thursday...

• The Cornell Basketball Prospect Camp for elite high school players considering playing at Cornell is scheduled for this weekend, June 23-24. Cornell coaches direct the camp while several veteran Big Red players serve as counselors.

• Cornell men's basketball was honored by the NCAA for its APR scores.

• In the FIBA Centrobasket Championship for Senior Men in Puerto Rico, Cornell's Jonathan Gray and his U.S. Virigin Islands team defeated Costa Rica on Wednesday, 92-64. Gray's stat line was 27 min, 12 points (4/10 FGs), 5 assists, 1 rebound, 0 turnovers. On Friday, USVI faces the Dominican Republic which is led by NBA players, Al Horford (Atlanta Hawks) and Francisco Garcia (Sacramento Kings). USVI does not play today.

• Cornell incoming freshman, Braxston Bunce (Kelowna Secondary School) Kelowna, BC, Canada, 6-11, C, playing for the Canadian Junior Men's National Team in the FIBA Americas U18 Championships in Brazil, captured the Bronze medal on Thursday with a thrilling 68-66 win over Argentina. Bunce played 11 minutes and finished with 1 assist and did not attempt a field goal.

• The New York Post writes, "[Marshon] Brooks wasn’t the only Nets Summer League participant playing in last night’s game [in the Nike Pro City Summer League in New York City], as center Jeff Foote, who played for the Springfield Armor for much of last season – and also got a brief NBA call-up with the New Orleans Hornets – also was on his team. Foote, a Cornell product, impressed the Armor’s coaching staff this past season in Springfield, where he averaged 15.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 55 percent from the field in 38 games. Given the lack of size on the Nets roster at the moment – with [Jordan] Williams and center Johan Petro as the only big men currently under contract – it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see the Nets give a legitimate 7-footer like Foote a shot at making the team in training camp."

• Below, action from the Nike Pro City League on June 19, 2012 featuring Jeff Foote (Cornell '10):

News and Notes: Wednesday Edition

Below, some news and notes for Wednesday...

• Jeff Foote (Cornell '10) is participating in the Nike Pro City Summer League in New York reports Nets Daily.  Nets Daily writes, "MarShon Brooks and Jeff Foote, both of whom will play for the Nets summer league team next month, will be teammates Tuesday night as well in the Nike Pro City tournament at Baruch College in Manhattan. Foote, who is a free agent, played for the Nets' affiliate in Springfield last season. He and Brooks are confirmed for the Nets entry in the Orlando Summer League starting July 9.  Dyckman/NYAC will feature the future teammates in a 6:30 p.m. contest vs. the Uptowners, another local team, at the Baruch Athletic and Recreation center, 55 Lexington Avenue (corner of 24th Street and Lex) in Manhattan. It's the first game of a double header. Admission is free. The last time Brooks played in the Nike Pro City, he wowed the crowd of 1,000 with a 48-point, five rebound game."

• In the FIBA Centrobasket Championship for Senior Men in Puerto Rico, Cornell's Jonathan Gray (No. 7 in the photo above) and the U.S. Virigin Islands fell to to Jamaica on Tuesday, 80-64.  Cornell's Gray finished the game with a final stat line of 20.4 min, 9 pts (3/13 FGs), 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 0 turnovers.  The NBA's Samardo Samuels (20 points), Patrick Ewing Jr. (10 points) and Jerome Jordan (6 points) paced Jamaica.  On Wednesday, Gray and his USVI team meet Costa Rica.

• Cornell incoming freshman, Braxston Bunce (Kelowna Secondary School) Kelowna, BC, Canada, 6-11, C is playing with the Canadian Junior Men's National Team in the FIBA Americas U18 Championships in Brazil. On Tuesday, Canada fell in the semifinals to host Brazil 66-62.  Bunce did not appear in his team's fourth game of the tournament after starting the first two games.  His absence was reportedly due to an undisclosed injury. Canada faces Argentina on Wednesday in the tournament's bronze medal game. 

News and Notes: Tuesday Edition

Below, some news and notes for Tuesday...

• The New York Post writes, "from July 9-13, the [Brooklyn] Nets will be participating in the Orlando Summer League, where they’ll get their first chance to look at whatever players they scoop up in this year’s draft, along with last year’s rookies, MarShon Brooks and Jordan Williams, and Jeff Foote, a promising center prospect who played for the Springfield Armor last season and got a brief call-up by the Hornets.

• Cornell incoming freshman, Braxston Bunce (Kelowna Secondary School) Kelowna, BC, Canada, 6-11, C is playing with the Canadian Junior Men's National Team in the FIBA Americas U18 Championships in Brazil. On Monday, Canada improved to 3-0 in the tournament with a win over Argentina. Bunce did not appear in his team's third game after starting the first two games, reportedly due to an undisclosed injury. Canada faces Brazil on Tuesday in the tournament's seminfinals. USA faces Argentina in the other semifinal.

• In the FIBA Centrobasket Championship for Senior Men in Puerto Rico, Cornell's Jonathan Gray and the U.S. Virigin Islands opened the tournament with a 75-67 defeat to Mexico on Monday (click here for video highlights).  Mexico was led by 22 points and 15  rebounds from Gustavo Ayon of the New Orleans Hornets.  Cornell's Gray scored 7 points (2/3 FGs, 1/4 3 PTs) and collected 2 rebounds and 2 assists (against 3 turnovers) in 18 minutes of action.  He also had 5 fouls.  On Tuesday, Gray and his USVI team get to match up with Jamaica which features three NBA players: Samardo Samuels, Jerome Jordan and Patrick Ewing Jr. 

• The Pittsburgh Post Tribune writes, "The list of Western Pennsylvania standouts joining Division I programs this fall features Beaver Falls’ Sheldon Jeter (Vanderbilt), Lincoln Park’s Devontae Watson (Temple), Highlands’ Micah Mason (Drake), Central Catholic’s Lincoln Davis (Fairfield), Plum’s Nolan Cressler (Cornell) and Butler’s Nate Snodgrass (Navy). Shaler’s Geno Thorpe, a member of the Class of 2013, has committed to Penn State."

News and Notes: Monday Edition

Above, Cornellians Jonathan Gray (Virgin Islands) and Braxston Bunce (Canada) are representing their countries and Cornell in a pair of FIBA international competitions this week.  Below, some news and notes for Monday...

• Cornell incoming freshman, Braxston Bunce (Kelowna Secondary School) Kelowna, BC, Canada, 6-11, C is playing with the Canadian Junior Men's National Team in the FIBA Americas U18 Championships in Brazil.  In the opening game on Saturday against Puerto Rico, Canada prevailed 77-51.  Bunce started the game, played 15 minutes and recorded 2 points (1/2  FGs), 4 rebounds and 3 assists without a turnover.  On Sunday, Canada cruised again with a 98-67 win over Colombia.  Bunce played 12 minutes, did not attempt a FG, finished 1/2 at the free throw line for 1 point on the day, also blocked 1 shot and committed a turnover.  Canada (2-0) faces Argentina (2-0) today at 4 pm local time.  The game will be streamed live on the FIBA Americas website.  

• The Province newspaper of Vancouver, Canada profiled Bunce as part of its series, Subway Head of the Class, a listing of the top athletes in British Columbia .  The Province writes:
  
  BRAXSTON BUNCE-BASKETBALL, SCHOOL: Kelowna, FRESHMAN'S FUTURE: Cornell
  Talk to those closest to Braxston Bunce, and it doesn't take long to realize his greatest gift is the fact that he has never taken his many gifts for granted.
  Sure, from a university basketball coach's perspective, it's impossible to look past the 6-foot-11, 245-pound frame without wanting to immediately take your place in line, and this past season, more than 20 NCAA Div. 1 programs let the Kelowna Owls' big man know just how they felt about his substantial basketball future.
  Yet Bunce's decision to truly pursue the best of both worlds at an NCAA Div. 1 institution is what drew him to Ithaca, N.Y., and the Ivy League campus of Cornell University, where he will continue to improve his intriguing half-court skill set, in addition to studying towards a business degree.
  The dedicated work ethic he showed during sessions in the Lower Mainland with Basketball B.C.'s Centre for Performance earned the praise of top high school coaches associated with the elite training group.
  But others also speak to the work ethic Bunce showed in hitting the books as hard as the boards, maintaining a level of excellence in the classroom that allowed him to enter the Ivy League.
  And when his future coaches with the Big Red heard about how his grades didn't come easy, but rather through commitment to study and time management, they knew they were getting the kind of player they could build around.
  Those traits are now so ingrained, that Bunce never turns them off.
  On June 8, after more than a week of tryouts in Toronto, Canada Basketball named him a member of the junior national team which, today, finds itself in Brazil at the FIBA Under-18 Tournament of the Americas where Canada is attempting to earn qualification to next year's Under-19 world championship.
  And about taking his physical gifts for granted?
  Bunce's Grade 10 year never got off the ground because it was book-ended by early-and late-season surgeries to his right knee - the first to correct an issue that was causing problems around his kneecap, the second to remove painful, lingering bone chips.
  What did Bunce do over that period? Just about anything he could that didn't involve the knee, including adding a left-handed shot to his repertoire.
  Braxston Bunce has always looked the part for stardom, but ask him and he'll tell you he's always been a character actor.

See the Province's photo journal of Bunce.

• In the FIBA Centrobasket Championship for Senior Men, Cornell's Jonathan Gray and the U.S. Virigin Islands open the tournament and face Mexico today in Puerto Rico at 6 p.m. local time.  Mexico is led by the New Orleans Hornets' Gustavo Ayon.  The NBA theme continues throughout the competition for Gray. On Tuesday, Gray and his USVI team get to match up with Jamaica which features three NBA players: Samardo Samuels, Jerome Jordan and Patrick Ewing Jr.  On Wednesday, Gray and USVI face Costa Rica, then conclude the tournament on Friday against Al Horford's Dominican Republic team which also features Franciso Garcia of the Sacramento Kings.  Watch the games live on FIBA Americas TV.

• Nets Daily writes of Jeff Foote (Cornell '10) and the Brooklyn Nets, "Other than [Julian] Wight, the only players we know will be on the [Nets'] Summer League Roster are Marshon Brooks, Jordan Williams and Jeff Foote. Dennis Horner had accepted an invitation but broke his foot like any Nets big man should."  

• For the second consecutive summer, Foote is playing in the New York City Dyckman/Pro City Summer League hosted by CUNY Baruch College in Manhattan.  Playing for Team Dyckman again, Foote commences play on Tuesday evening.

• Jason Hartford (Cornell '08) scored 36 points but his Yamhill Highflyers fell 132-127 to the Nippon (Japan) Tornadoes in the International Basketball League on Friday.

• Always and important date on the calendar, 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.

News and Notes: Friday Edition

Below, some news and notes for Friday...

• Below is a list of Cornell's 2012-2013 opponents.  Cornell will play a slate of 31 games (14 home, 15 away, 2 neural court):
  
  -vs. Western Michigan (season home opener, halftime honoring 25th anniversary of 1988 Ivy League Championship Team)
  -at Duke
  -at Vanderbilt
  -at Wisconsin (Madison, WI) (Las Vegas Invitational)
  -at Arizona State (Tempe, AZ) (Las Vegas Invitational)
  -Las Vegas Invitational Game 3 (Longwood, Florida A&M or Presbyterian)
  -Las Vegas Invitational Game 4 (Longwood, Florida A&M, or Presbyterian)
  -vs. St. Bonaventure 
  -at American
  -vs. Bucknell
  -at Binghamton
  -at Boston University
  -vs. Stony Brook
  -vs. St. Peter's
  -vs. Colgate
  -at Division I opponent TBA
  -vs. Division III oppnent TBA
  -14 Ivy League Games

• The Kelowna (Canada) Capital News writes, "KSS Owls senior boys basketball star Braxston Bunce will represent Canada at the 2012 FIBA Americas Championship June 16 to 20 in Brazil.  Bunce, the 6-foot-11 centre who is off to Cornell University in the fall, was named as one of 12 players from across Canada who made the Junior National Basketball team.  It's the second straight year Bunce has made the team after playing with Canada's Junior National Basketball team as a 17-year-old last year.  Team Canada opens play on Saturday against Puerto Rico. Finals are next Wednesday at the Arena Olimpica in Sao Sebastiao do Paraiso, Brazil.The top four countries will represent their nations at the U-19 World Basketball Championships next summer in the Czech Republic. Canada has qualified for the past three FIBA World U19 Championships."

• Bill Courtney was quoted by CBS Sports on the new NCAA Rule permitting unlimited texting.  Below is an excerpt of the CBS article:

"I guarantee at bigger schools there are texts ready to go out to two or three hundred kids at midnight," Cornell's Bill Courtney said. He should know -- he has worked with BCS programs before.  "I think eventually it will calm down, but in the beginning, you'll have young, aggressive assistants wanting to prove themselves as recruiters. They're already foaming at the mouth."  And that's where the head coaches and the assistants who are, I don't know, around 40 years old or younger are best suited. They've adapted to cellphones and smartphones more than guys like Jim Boeheim, Tom Izzo, Jim Calhoun, etc. Courtney said he has talked to older guys in the establishment recently, and they've said there's no way they're getting into the text wars at this point in their lives/career.

News and Notes: Thursday Edition

Below, some news and notes for Thursday...

• We have updated Cornell's projected 2012-2013 schedule. 

• Cornell sophomore guard, Jake Matthews will play in the Pittsburgh Basketball Club's summer pro league.

• Jason Hartford (above) (Cornell '08) is off to a fast start in the International Basketball League with the Yamhill Highflyers, scoring 31 points in his first game. “He’s one of the best players in the league, for sure,” [Yamhill coach, Eric] Bailey said of Hartford, who was an IBL all-star in 2010. “It’s pretty amazing. ... He’s 6-foot-9 and a lot of the guys who guard him out at the 3-point line aren’t. He can just shoot it over them.” The Yamhill Valley News-Register notes, "The Highflyers offer a variety of interesting storylines for fans acquainted with basketball in the state of Oregon. Hartford, a Tillamook native, played college basketball at Cornell, where he helped the Big Red to the NCAA Tournament in 2008."

• Yale released its 2012-2013 schedule revealing its dates with Cornell.

• Penn graduate, Zack Rosen was interviewed by the Sporting News and said, " My fondest memories of playing have to be two signature wins -- Cornell at home my sophomore year when they were ranked 22nd in the country and at Harvard my senior year. The guys really came together during those two moments and the atmosphere in the locker room after those two games signified what team sports are all about. Overall, I just enjoyed the entire process and working through all the challenges. Playing in the Palestra and the Big 5 is something special."  Rosen was referring to the 2009-2010 season when Cornell finished the year No. 17 in the country.

• Above, Cornell incoming freshman, Braxston Bunce (Kelowna Secondary School) Kelowna, BC, Canada, 6-11, C with the Canadian Junior Men's National Team in Brazil for the FIBA U18 Tournament of Americas. Raptors HQ, a Toronto Raptors blog, writes, "I'll admit that I was a little surprised that a few players were on the list, notably Braxston Bunce...but only because I thought that there would be NCAA commitments keeping them from being on the team. They seem to be good on that front and that will certainly be a big boost to the team... Bunce is a very, very big body that can score down low and defend the lane well. The team seems to be big overall in size but whether that is a bonus is yet to be seen. In the world of the hybrid big man, height is increasingly less and less related to a traditional frontcourt player skill set and could prove a gift or a curse for the JMNT. These big guys are all really talented players but outside of Bunce, I don't know if the other kids over 6'8" are back to the basket types or even comfortable in that role right now."  Bunce is just one of two players selected to the team from British Columbia.

News and Notes: Wednesday Edition

Below, some news and notes...

• LancersBlog.com comments on Cornell's and Longwood's inclusion in the 2012 2012 Las Vegas Invitational. Cornell opens the tournament with games at Wisconsin and Arizona State and will play two additional games in Las Vegas against either Longwood, Presbyterian and/or FAMU.

• Of the sixty players projected by NBA Draft Net as draftees in the 2012 NBA Draft, Cornell faced eleven of them at least once during the past four seasons.  These opponents include:

Deion Waiters (Syracuse); Kris Joseph (Syracuse); Fab Melo (Syracuse) Andrew Nicholson (St. Bonaventure);  Meyers Leonard (Illinois); Herb Pope (Seton Hall); Kim English (Missouri); JaMychal Green (Alabama); Ramone Moore (Temple);  Thomas Robinson (Kansas), Tyshawn Taylor (Kansas)

Above, Herb Pope and Seton Hall visited Cornell on November 20, 2009.

• Basketball Canada officially announced the selection of Cornell incoming freshman, Braxston Bunce (Kelowna Secondary School) Kelowna, BC, Canada, 6-11, C, to the Junior Men's National Team.  Bunce and Team Canada commence play in the FIBA Americas U18 Championships on June 16. The tournament is hosted by Brazil.  

• The Plano Star writes of incoming Cornell freshman, Holt Harmon (Plano West HS), Plano, TX, 6-9, F, "Recent Plano West graduates Holt Harmon and TJ Cline were at Oklahoma Baptist's Noble Complex Saturday for the 47th Annual Faith 7 Bowl. The all-star event matches up basketball players from Texas against hoopsters from Oklahoma. There was only one lead change in the game and it came in the first quarter as shots were falling early and often for Texas, which held a 62-38 lead at the break. The boys from the Lone Star State bumped it up to 107-80 by the end of the night. Harmon posted nine points and 10 boards in the win."

• Committed class of 2013 Cornell recruit, Tim Higgins (Paul VI HS) Fairfax, VA, 6-10, is interviewed below  (at the 0:21 second spot) with his AAU team, Team Takeover. Higgins told DMV Elite that he is looking forward to the summer AAU season. “It’s nice to have it [my college committment] wrapped up,” Higgins said, “because I feel a lot more comfortable out there, and it’s not as much pressure to go out there and impress a coach. It also helps me focus on getting my teammates better and helping them get the opportunities for scholarships and that sort of thing.”

News and Notes: Tuesday Edition

Below, some news and notes for Tuesday...

• Always and important date on the calendar, 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.

• Cornell incoming freshman, Braxston Bunce (Kelowna Secondary School) Kelowna, BC, Canada, 6-11, C, commences play in the FIBA Americas U18 Championships with Team Canada on June 16.  The tournament is hosted by Brazil.

• Senior guard, Jonathan Gray, commences play with his national team, U.S. Virgin Islands, in the FIBA Centrobasket Championships on June 18.  Five of the ten participating teams are expected to have at least one and as many a half dozen NBA players on their roster.

• Profiling the Rising Stars AAU program, the Chicago Sun Times writes, "Many ex-Rising Stars have done and are doing good things at the next level. That list includes Highland Park’s Chris Wroblewski (Cornell), Barrington’s Jason Richards (Davidson), Zion-Benton’s Lenzelle Smith (Ohio State), Mundelein’s Ben Brust (Wisconsin) and Lake Forest’s Danny Hodgkinson (Dennison)."

• The Pittsburgh Basketball Club named incoming Cornell freshman, Nolan Cressler (Plum HS) Plum, PA, 6-4, G, to its Supreme Court Team, representing the twelves best western Pennsylvania high school players.

• Travis Bledsoe, an NBA D-League hopeful is blogging for Slam Online and writes, "Coach [Bob] Mackinnon [of the Springfield Armor] helped [Dennis] Horner, along with Jerry Smith and Jeff Foote, earn NBA call-ups during the ‘11-12 season as well helping LD Williams and Jameson Curry earn invitations to the NBA D-League Elite Mini Camp that he also hosted at the Moody Bible institute. Three players from the Armor earn 10-day contracts and others made NBA training camps during the ‘11-12 NBA season."

News and Notes: Monday Edition

Above, a photo of three members of Cornell's 1954 conference championship team, left to right, Milt Kogan, Chuck Rolles and Ray Zelek.  Below, some news and notes for Monday...

• Cornell incoming freshman, Braxston Bunce (Kelowna Secondary School) Kelowna, BC, Canada, 6-11, C, tweeted the news on Sunday evening that he received his second consecutive selection to the Canadian Junior Men's National Team.  Bunce departed for Brazil last night with Team Canada where he will participate in the FIBA Americas Tournament.

• Over the weekend,  Cornell incoming freshman, Holt Harmon (Plano West HS), Plano, TX, 6-9, F, participated in the Faith 7 Bowl, an all-star game featuring high school seniors from Texas against Oklahoma.

• The Associated Press writes of Chris Bosh's three 3-pointers in game 7 vs. Boston on Saturday night, " He was at his best in Game 7, shooting 8 for 10, making three 3-pointers for the first time as a pro — the last time he did it, Cornell was the opponent." The A.P. is referring to Cornell's January 8, 2003 visit to Georgia Tech.

• Jeff Aubry (Cornell '99)  finished with 9 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 points on Friday night in the Puerto Rico BSN, but his Arecibo Capitanes team fell to Mayaguez 72-61 and dropped the championship series 4-1.

• Below, Max Groebe's (Cornell '12) career highlight video:

News and Notes: Friday Edition

Below, some news and notes for Friday...

• In the Puerto Rico BSN last night, Jeff Aubry (Cornell '99) finished with 3 points, 2 blocks and 7 rebounds, but his Arecibo Capitanes fell to Mayaguez 91-89 in overtime and now trail the league's championship series 3-1.

• Cornell Basketball has a presence in NBA Finals history.  Cornellian Ed Peterson, a graduate of the class of 1948, played the 1949-1950 season with the Syracuse Nationals, the franchise which subsequently became the Philadelphia 76ers.  Peterson, a 6'9" center, appeared in the 1950 NBA Finals with Syracuse which lost the series 4-2 to George Mikan and the Minneapolis Lakers.  In 115 career NBA games, Peterson averaged 7.0 points oer game.    (Below, Cornell's 1947-1948 team photo with Peterson in the #13 jersey, a poster for the Syracuse Nationals for the 1950-1951 season (Peterson was traded mid-season to Tri-City) and photos of Peterson appearing in the Associated Press from his time in the NBA.)  

News and Notes: Thursday Edition

Below, some news and notes for Thursday...

• The Yamhill Valley (Oregon) News-Register writes of the Yamhill Highflyers in the International Basketball League and Jason Hartford (Cornell '08), "Jason Hartford, a former [IBL] all-star, is back after playing overseas during the team’s hiatus. A 6-foot-9 forward, he helped lead Cornell to an NCAA tournament appearance before playing for the Highflyers in 2009 and 2010. 'He’s gotten some looks at NBA summer camps,' [general manager Eric] Bailey said, 'and has been MVP of leagues overseas.' Hartford, who can play every position except point guard, is back in Yamhill Valley because of his time out of the country. Bailey said players had tap water in the water bottles, causing some intestinal distress for Hartford, who had to return to the United States early. 'Just a great overall talent,' Bailey said. 'We’re lucky to have him back.'"

• Jeff Foote (Cornell '10) will be the first Net to wear a Brooklyn jersey when he participates in the NBA's Orlando Summer League with the Nets.

• The Virgin Islands Daily News lists Cornell senior, Jonathan Gray among U.S. Virgin Islanders playing collegiate athletics in the United States. Gray is a member of the national team and will commence play in the FIBA Centrobasket tournament between June 18-24.

• Cornell incoming freshman, Braxston Bunce (Kelowna Secondary School) Kelowna, BC, Canada, 6-11, C, is scheduled to play tonight in the Red-White Game, an intersquad scrimmage for the Canadian Junior Men's National Team.

• Cornell incoming freshman, Holt Harmon (Plano West HS), Plano, TX, 6-9, F, is scheduled to play on Saturday in the Faith 7 Bowl, an all-star game between high school seniors from Texas against Oklahoma. Below are the rosters for the game with the college commitments in parentheses:

What — Faith 7 Bowl
When — Saturday, 7:35 p.m.
Where — Noble Complex, Oklahoma Baptist University, Shawnee, Oklahoma 

Team Texas 

Phillip Forte, Flower Mound (Oklahoma State)
Je’Lon Hornbeak, Arlington Grace (Oklahoma)
Wanaah Bail, Lamar Consolidated (Texas Tech)
Josh Gray, Wheatley (Texas Tech)
Brandon Conley, Fossil Ridge (Oral Roberts)
Holt Harmon, Plano (Cornell)
Uche Ofoegbu, John Paul Stevens (SMU)
Eric Reed, Mesquite (Long Island)
Coach — Tim McGraw, North Lake College

Team Oklahoma 

Rhett Radcliff, Forgan (Northwestern State)
Corbin Byford, Velma-Alma (Oral Roberts)
Quinton Threadgill, Haworth (Southeastern)
C.J. Cole, Sperry (Oklahoma)
Jake Bullard, Vinita (Pittsburg State)
Matt Christiansen, OC McGuinness (San Francisco)
James Woodard, Edmond Memorial (Tulsa)
Sedrick Johnson, Union (Avila)
D'Andre Wright, Lawton Eisenhower (Tulsa)
Phabian Glasco, Tulsa Washington
Coaches — Kenny Bare, Velma-Alma; Gregg Hardin, Bristow

News and Notes: Wednesday Edition

Below, some news and notes for Wednesday...

• Andy Glocker of CNNSI.com writes about Harvard's efforts to rise to national prominence in basketball. Glockner notes of the Ivy League, "Ever since Penn's trip to the 1979 Final Four helped spawn an 'Academic Index', the Ivies have been happy being an anachronism, with a funky conference schedule, no tournament and no real hope of landing legitimate high Division I talent thanks to the academic, financial and competitive constraints every team in the league faces.  Almost despite itself, its self-regulation and, in several cases, faculty pushback against basketball commitment, though, the league has spawned a handful of very good teams. Two years after Princeton nearly stunned Georgetown in the famous 1-16 game in 1989, the Tigers were wearing white as an 8-seed. Then came two separate top-25 Penn teams, a top-10 Princeton team, and some years later, Cornell's breakthrough 30-win campaign that ended in the Sweet 16. These last two seasons were two of the strongest and deepest in the RPI era and generated very worthy champions."

• Cornell incoming freshman, Braxston Bunce (Kelowna Secondary School) Kelowna, BC, Canada, 6-11, C, is among the the final seventeen players who are competing for twelve roster spots to represent Canada in the 2012 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Men in Brazil from June 16-20.  As part of Team Canada's training camp and tryouts this week, Bunce will compete for the "Red Team" in an open-to-the-public intersquad scrimmage on Thursday.

• Jeff Foote (Cornell '10) tweeted about his summer workouts in New York with Louis Dale (Cornell '10).  Foote will be a member of the Brooklyn Nets' summer league team in Orlando while Dale is expected to return for a third season with his pro German club, Goettingen.

• Mike Weinstein, an AAU coach with the Joy of the Game club in suburban Chicago, told the Pioneer Local that one of his young prospects in his program reminds him of "Highland Park’s Chris Wroblewski, who led Cornell deep into the NCAA tournament."

• On Tuesday night in the Puerto Rico BSN Championship Series, Jeff Aubry (Cornell '99) finished with 2 point and 10 rebounds but his Arecibo Capitanes fell to Mayaguez 94-68 and now trail the series 2-1.

News and Notes: Tuesday Edition

Above, Chris Wroblewski (Cornell '12) was selected by the Cornell Daily Sun to its list of the University's Top 25 Senior Athletes.  Below, some news and notes.

• Jeff Aubry (Cornell '99) scored 8 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and blocked 3 shots to help his Arecibo Capitanes to an 82-73 win Monday night over Mayaguez in game 2 of the BSN Puerto Rico Finals.  The series is now tied 1-1.

• Above, Cornell incoming freshman, Braxston Bunce (Kelowna Secondary School) Kelowna, BC, Canada, 6-11, C, works out in training camp yesterday with the Canadian Junior National Team in Toronto at Ryerson University.   Bunce is among the the final 17 players who are competing for 12 roster spots to represent Canada in the 2012 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Men in Brazil from June 16-20. 

• Cornell is just weeks away from one its most significant recruiting events. 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.

• St. Ignatius Prep's (Cleveland, Ohio) Corner Blog writes of its alumnus and current Cornell player Shonn Miller:

After being sidelined for a few weeks in April, the corner learned that former Saint Ignatius basketball standout and Cornell freshman Shonn Miller was named the 2012 Ivy League Rookie of the Year.

The All-Ivy League honors are selected by a vote of the conference's eight head coaches.

Shonn, a three-time all-district honoree while playing for Coach Sean O’Toole ’87 at Saint Ignatius, became the seventh Cornell player to take home Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors and the fourth in the last seven years. He established new Cornell freshman records for rebounds (170) and blocked shots (46), while earning the conference's Rookie of the Week honor five times.

Miller also ranked among the top 10 freshman scorers in Cornell history with 250 points. Shonn, now 6-foot-7 and getting bigger and stronger everytime I see him, ranked eighth in the Ivy League in rebounding and steals, and was second in blocks.

Shonn ended his freshman season averaging 8.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 1.3 steals per game while starting in 21 of Cornell’s 28 games. He shot 44 percent from the floor, including 51 percent from inside the 3-point arc. Shonn had three double-doubles, five double digit rebounding games and nine games in which he scored in double figures.

Again, it was a privilege and a pleasure to cover Shonn during his playing days for the Wildcats and we wish him nothing but bigger and better things as his exceptional talent, on and off the court, continues to grow.

News and Notes: Monday Edition

Below, some news and notes for Monday...

• Cornell's official 2012-2013 roster is now posted online on the team's website.

• Blogging The Bracket lists the major preseason tournaments for next season, including Cornell's participation with Wisconsin and Arizona State in the Las Vegas Invitational.

• According to Nets Daily, Jeff Foote (Cornell '10) declined an invitation by the NBA to participate in the third-annual NBA D-League Elite Mini Camp on Monday and Tuesday at Chicago’s Moody Bible Institute.

• Jeff Aubry (Cornell '99) finished with 4 points, 2 blocks and 7 rebounds on Saturday in Game 1 of the Puerto Rico BSN Championship Series.  His Arecibo Capitanes team however fell 86-79 to Mayaguez.

• Committed Cornell recruit, Braxston Bunce (Kelowna Secondary School) Kelowna, BC, Canada, 6-11, C, made the cut of the final 17 players who are competing for 12 roster spots to represent Canada in the 2012 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Men in Brazil from June 16-20. Bunce will participate in the team's training camp between June 2-10.  The Kelowna Capital News writes:

Kelowna basketball player Braxston Bunce is one step closer to being named to Team Canada's Junior National Development Team.

Bunce will leave for Toronto Saturday morning for a week-long training camp in advance of the FIBA Americas Basketball Championships in Brazil June 16 to 20.

The 6-foot-11 Bunce is among 17 hopefuls still remaining in Team Canada's training camp with 12 expected to make the trip to Brazil. The final cuts will be made sometime next week. Bunce survived the first set of cuts after a three day tryout in Toronto late last month.

"I feel confident in my spot but there is no guarantee," said Bunce, a KSS grad who is among three players vying for what is likely two spots at the centre position. "If I go in and keep doing what I did last week I think I will be fine. I'm optimistic going into camp."

Bunce may have a hand up on the other centre hopefuls as last summer he made the Team Canada Junior Development squad that played in the World Championships. This year he feels like he can play more of a roll.

"I definitely feel a lot stronger this year," said Bunce, who was named the B.C. high school basketball player of the year this season. "I'm a lot more confident in my game and overall I'm stronger and my body feels better."

Bunce will begin an NCAA basketball career at Cornell University this fall.

Fellow KSS basketball star Mitch Goodwin was also at the first set of tryouts but failed to make the cut.

News and Notes: Friday Edition

Below, some news and notes for Friday...

• The Shawnee News-Star of Oklahoma notes that 12 of the top players from Texas will face 12 of the best players from Oklahoma in the 2012 Faith 7 Bowl on June 9 in Shawnee, Oklahoma at Oklahoma Baptist University. Among the players selected include five committed recruits headed to Big 12 schools. Selected to the Texas All Stars is committed Cornell recruit, Holt Harmon (Plano West HS), Plano, TX, 6-9, F.

• With Brown University hiring Penn assistant coach Mike Martin as its new head coach, Dick Jerardi of the Philadelphia Daily News writes, "When 63 wins in four seasons is the high-water mark in school history, you know there is not much history at Brown. Moving up in the Ivy League is never easy, but first Cornell and then Harvard proved it is possible to interrupt the Penn-Princeton axis. Martin will now get a chance to see if it can be done at Brown."

• The Arecibo Capitanes of Puerto Rico's professional basketball league, the BSN, published a column on the Capitanes' official website about the contributions the team has received from Jeff Aubry (Cornell '99).  Arecibo is in the league's championship series and Aubry is averaging 3.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game for the team.  Here is a link to the Google translation of the story.