Projected starting lineup
G – Darryl Smith, Fr., 6’2” 180
G – Devin Cherry, Jr., 6’3” 185
G – Nolan Cressler, So., 6’4” 198
F – David Onuorah, Fr., 6’9” 230
C – Braxston Bunce, So., 6’11” 250
“We’ve been hit by the injury bug a little bit,” Cornell men’s basketball coach Bill Courtney said in what may have been the biggest understatement of the 2013 Ivy League
Men’s Basketball Teleconference on Oct. 23.
Last season, Shonn Miller did it all for the Big Red, leading the team in scoring, rebounding, blocks, and steals. The performance was good enough to land the sophomore on the All Ivy First Team.
But it’s looking like the shoulder injury that landed him on the bench late last season is going to keep him there — for a while.
“There’s no timetable of when he’s going to come back,” Courtney said.
With Miller out—possibly for the entire season—it’ going to be a difficult year for the Big Red, a team that returns few contributors from a squad coming off a sixth-place finish.
Don’t expect Cornell to move any higher in the standings this season.
That being said, the Big Red still has a number of intriguing, young pieces that will make this team worth keeping an eye on in the coming year.
Sophomore Nolan Cressler is the No. 1 reason. Last year, Cressler averaged 9.3 points per game on 40.3 percent shooting from beyond the arc. But more than that, Cressler did much of his damage late in the season after Miller had gone down with injury. With Miller on the bench, Cressler posted double-figures in the final four games of the season, going for 22, 19, 14, and 12.
Even if Cornell is out of the title picture by mid February, it will at the very least be entertaining to see what kind of numbers Cressler can put up.
The Big Red’s only other proven returning scorer is junior Devin Cherry. A 6’3” guard, Cherry averaged 6.3 points per game as a sophomore.
“We’ve always been a perimeter based team,” Courtney said. “I think that will certainly be the case this year.”
That being said, Cornell has some intriguing post prospects in 6’11” sophomore Braxston Bunce and 6’9” freshman David Onuorah.
It could be a long season for the Big Red, but—looking back on it 12 months from now when Miller is back on the court—it could also prove to be a critical one.
This year’s Ivy League race can be summed up very simply: if Harvard does not win, it will be nothing short of a stunning upset. There is more to the league, naturally, but that’s the starting point.
The Crimson’s story has been well-chronicled to date, so there’s no need to go over the details here. They have an embarrassment of riches that no team in the Ivy has had in a long time, and if they do well in non-league play they could be in the conversation for a high NCAA Tournament seed. The Crimson have a number of players who could contend for All-Ivy honors, and their freshmen are good, too, but won’t get enough minutes or enough of a role this year to have a chance at winning the league’s rookie honor like Siyani Chambers did last year.
Looking beyond Harvard, however, there are plenty of storylines. Princeton is probably their best challenger, but really, the race for third should be great – and even for second as any of these teams could potentially topple Princeton along the way. Penn should be much-improved after being young and ravaged by injuries last season, and they add some good newcomers as well. Brown is clearly on the rise under second-year head coach Mike Martin, as the Bears now have an identity and Sean McGonagill has a lot to work with as they have a solid inside tandem of Rafael Maia and Cedric Kuakumensah, the latter of whom won the league’s Defensive Player of the Year honors as a freshman last season. Dartmouth has a few good recruiting classes put together now and could be ready to make a leap. Yale could surprise and be in the mix as well, although losing two key guards that they relied on for a lot is reason for pause. The only two teams not likely to be aiming for that spot are rebuilding Columbia and Cornell, the latter of whom may be without their best player this season.
In any normal year, the race in the Ivy would be exciting. There would be a great deal of anticipation for it as the league is in a good place as a whole. But Harvard simply has too much talent and experience, and it wouldn’t be a complete shock if the Crimson rolled through the league undefeated.
Predicted order of finish
1. Harvard
2. Princeton
3. Penn
4. Brown
5. Dartmouth
6. Yale
7. Columbia
8. Cornell
Awards
Player of the Year: Wesley Saunders, Harvard
Top Newcomer: Anthony Dallier, Yale
Preseason All-Conference
T.J. Bray, Sr. G, Princeton
Siyani Chambers, So. G, Harvard
Miles Jackson-Cartwright, Sr. G, Penn
Sean McGonagill, Sr. G, Brown
Wesley Saunders, Jr. G-F, Harvard
CONFERENCE CHAMPION: Harvard
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH: 1. Harvard, 2. Princeton, 3. Yale, 4. Penn, 5. Brown, 6. Cornell, 7. Dartmouth, 8. Columbia
TEAM BY TEAM ANALYSIS:
CORNELL: The Big Red have fallen a long way since being crowned three-time Ivy League champions from 2008-10, culminating in a disappointing 13-18 season (4-10 Ivy) in Bill Courtney's third season as head coach in 2012-13. They will need to overcome the loss of several key players, including Johnathan Gray (10.0 ppg) and Errick Peck (9.7 ppg), but the good news is that they welcome back one of the league's best forwards in Shonn Miller, who not only put up 11.5 points per game on 47.6 percent field goal shooting, but contributed across the board with 6.8 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.9 steals per contest last year. Nolan Cressler (9.3 ppg) drained 40.3 percent of his 3-point attempts in mostly a bench role last season, and will be expected to carry a larger portion of the scoring load as a starter. Devin Cherry (6.2 ppg) and Dominick Scelfo (5.1 ppg) are also back in the mix for Cornell.
6. Cornell- Bill Courtney’s team was hit hard by the injury bug late last season, as the Big Red dropped their final six games. This season, they should end stronger, although things could be rough early as Cornell attempts to recover from some considerable personnel losses. Guys like Johnathan Gray and Eitan Chemerinski will be missed, but there are still some real good players on this Cornell team, like Shonn Miller, Nolan Cressler, and Devin Cherry. The Big Red will also be…well… big, which could allow Courtney to employ a halfcourt, grind it
