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.