News and Notes: Monday Edition

Below, news and notes for Monday...

• In the NBA D-League, Jeff Foote (Cornell '10), recorded another double-double over the weekend for his Springfield Armor (Brooklyn Nets affiliate).

• Time Warner Cable lists the ten greatest 1st and 2nd Round games in NCAA Tournament history and writes in part:

Let's get one thing straight from the very start: I don't like the NCAA tournament expansion to 68 teams or this "First Four" business. Now the main slate of games with 64 teams is technically the second round, with the old play-in games or "First Four" games now considered the first round (whereas the Final Four is the last for teams). This causes some confusion about the rounds of 64 and 32 because either can be called the second round depending on which year the game took place. Well, this historical feature considers the 10 greatest first- and second-round games in March Madness history, and the play-in games don't count.

***

6. 2010 Second Round: Cornell 87, Wisconsin 69

After beating fifth-seeded Temple by 15 points in the first round, Big Red kept the magic going with an 18-point thumping of the Badgers. Cornell fell to top-ranked Kentucky in the Sweet 16.

• Streaking the Lawn, a Virginia blog, writes, " I was forced to retreat back to my "UVA Basketball Despair" file every March. Northern Iowa and Cornell went into the file after making the Sweet Sixteen in 2010. VCU made the list in 2011. Florida Gulf Coast went up in 2013. Virginia, unbelievably, remained off."

• Cornell's incoming recruiting class next season includes five members: Riley Glassmann (Fremd HS) Palatine, IL, 6-5, G, William "Will" Bathurst (Olean HS) Olean, NY, 6-3, G, Jordan Abdur-Ra'oof (Gonzaga HS) Washington, D.C., 6-7, F, Pat Smith (Archbishop Wood HS) Warminster, PA, 6-5, F, and Kyle Brown, (Newport HS) Bellevue, Washington, 6-3, G.  Jordan Abdur' Ra'oof will participate in the Capital Classic All Star Weekend.   CSNChicago.com lists its Boys Basketball All-Area Teams and places Riley Glassmann on the 3rd Team and writes:

Riley Glassmann, Fremd senior guard
Leader of a Fremd team that started 28-0 on the season before falling to Stevenson in the Class 4A Lake Zurich Sectional final. Cornell commit is a solid overall player and plays well on both ends of the floor. Also a tremendous leader that always played hard and made the right play. Not afraid to perform in big games. Wheeling Hardwood Classic Champion and Mid-Suburban League Champion.
Signature performances: 17 points in win over Conant; 24 points in Mid-Suburban League title game win over Prospect; 28 points in Wheeling Hardwood Classic title win over St. Viator.

• St. Bonaventure coach, Mark Schmidt, could be the replacement for Steve Donahue at Boston College per the Olean Times Herald.

• Forbes writes, in part, as follows:

Last night the Dayton Flyers punched their ticket to the Elite Eight with a 82-72 victory over Stanford. A No. 11 seed that took down Ohio State in the opening round, Dayton is this year’s biggest Cinderella story. But that sort of tournament success doesn’t come cheap.
As we’ve previously noted, Wichita State’s run to the Final Four last year wound up causing the team to lose money. The Shockers ordinarily net about $1 million per year from basketball, which helps support the school’s non-revenue sports, but tournament costs so increased the team’s spending – up 16% to $5.4 million – that the athletic department had to rely on school reserves to make up its losses.
This year’s tournament has featured a wealth of upsets, and three double-digit seeds made the Sweet 16. With those Cinderella stories in mind, we sought to find out just how expensive it is to go dancing in glass slippers. To do so, we turned to the Department of Education’s financial database and pulled financial details for every Cinderella team – in this case any team that made it to at least the Sweet 16 as a No. 8 seed or higher – of the last decade.
It’s first worth noting a few limitations of our study. One is the obvious small sample size. Cinderella teams are, by definition, rare underdogs. And that sample size unfortunately shrinks even smaller when we have to exclude schools that don’t report detailed losses. The Dept. of Education doesn’t require schools to list financial losses, so athletic departments in the red will often adjust their numbers to show a profit of exactly $0.
That can still be useful information if a team that ordinarily makes a profit suddenly falls to $0, showing that it crossed into the red, but for teams like Richmond, Cornell and St. Mary’s that have reported undefined losses throughout the last decade, there’s no easy way to quantify what sort of impact a Cinderella run had on team finances.
Another thing worth pointing out is that we have a rather wide definition for a Cinderella team, so our pool includes programs like Arizona, Marquette and Xavier, all of which are tournament regulars. If we had financial data for the current season, our selection would also include Kentucky. As we’ll detail later, there’s an important distinction between tournament regulars that win despite a low seed and “true Cinderellas,” or the mid-major programs that make entirely unexpected tournament runs.
There were three excellent examples of the latter in last year’s tournament: Wichita State, La Salle and Florida Gulf Coast. The three teams knocked off far superior competition, and they all saw expenses surge from previous years...

• Nolan Cressler has heard from Notre Dame, Creighton, Dayton, Pitt, Vanderbilt (offer), UAB, Robert Morris, Rutgers, Butler, Quinnipiac, and Northwestern, Drexel and Davidson and William and Mary, as he explores his transfer opportunities.

Visit The Cornell Basketball Blog's Community Forum and Message Board to interact with other fans of Cornell and Ivy League basketball. Membership is free! You may also follow us on Twitter.  Not a member of Twitter? See what The Cornell Basketball Blog is tweeting and retweeting each day by just visiting our Twitter Timeline.  The Cornell Basketball Blog received mention on NBC Sports' social media Must Follow College Hoops Directory.

• Cornell's 2014-2015 Schedule will include Cornell's participation in ESPN's Charleston Classic.  Visit the Cornell team page at the Charleston Classic. 

Kyle Brown Profile: Brown to Join Big Red in 2014-2015

Kyle Brown, (Newport HS) Bellevue, Washington, 6-3, G will join the Big Red as a freshman in 2014-2015.  Brown spent the last two years on an LDS (Mormon) Mission.  He is the son of Charley Brown ('82), who played for Cornell Basketball between 1977 and 1982.  

Kyle Brown  was selected to the King County 4A honorable mention in 2011 out of Newport High School.  He played with the Creating Young Minds Gametime AAU.

Above, the 1981-1982 Cornell Men's Basketball team, which included #31, Charley Brown.  Kyle has used in the past the same jersey number as his father.

News and Notes: Friday Edition

Below, news and notes for Friday...

• Nolan Cressler has heard from Creighton, Dayton, Pitt, Vanderbilt (offer), UAB, Robert Morris, Rutgers, Butler, Quinnipiac, and Northwestern, Drexel and Davidson as he explores his transfer opportunities.  The Duquesen blog, We Wear the Ring, discusses Cressler.  The Tennessean also mentions the Vandy scholarship offer to Cressler.  

• Jeff Foote (Cornell '10) and the Springfield Armor play their final two games of the NBA D-League season on the road.

• Braxston Bunce successfully transferred into Cornell's School of Hotel Administration from his previous program of study in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.  Congrats to him.

• Dom Scelfo attended QB Jeff Matthews NFL Pro Day per the Ithaca Journal.  Scelfo got to spend time with his uncle, Frank Scelfo, who is the QB coach of the Jacksonsville Jaguars.

• The Tampa Bay Times writes:

Berkeley Prep's basketball season ended more than a month ago with a loss in the Class 4A state semifinal. But for coach Bobby Reinhart, it was the Hillsborough County winter sports awards ceremony that marked the end of the Gray era.
For eight years Reinhart has coached Justin Gray or his older brother Johnathan, a 2009 Berkeley Prep graduate. At Thursday's half-hour ceremony, with his older brother in attendance, senior guard Justin Gray was recognized with the Alston "Mac" McGahagin Boys Basketball Award, given annually to the county's best player.
"It's bittersweet for sure," Reinhart said about the occasion. "Justin's had a great career, and as they mentioned in the ceremony, he's as equally a good young man as he is a basketball player. The example he's been in our program for the past five years is something we'll miss."
Gray, a 6-foot-4 Texas Tech recruit, led the Bucs to a 27-4 finish and a state final four appearance, averaging more than 17 points and seven rebounds per game.
It was a season Gray said was the best of his life. And this time, brother Johnathan was beside him the whole way.
Before the season began, Reinhart offered an assistant coaching position to Johnathan Gray, who averaged a team-high 18.4 points  his senior year in 2008-09 and went on to play at Cornell.
Having the opportunity to be involved in his brother's final Berkeley Prep season and see it end with Hillsborough County player of the year honors put the elder Gray at a loss for words.
"For me, at the level I was playing at, to see someone exceed those expectations where I was as a player, I can't even describe it," he said.
Justin, who didn't know he'd won the award until his name was called to come up and receive it, glowed as he held the large plaque he'd been given. After posing for pictures with the award, Gray returned to his seat beside his proud brother.
Falling just two wins short of a state title, Gray said his senior season didn't end exactly how he wanted it to. But looking ahead to his future college career and back to the experience he shared with his older brother, the player of the year admitted things were about as good as it gets.
"He mentored me and he was kind of that rock for me on the bench when I wasn't really in the game," Gray said. "To go on this run this year with him was amazing. I'll never forget it."

News and Notes: Thursday Edition

Below, news and notes for Thursday...

Above, the 1981-1982 Cornell Men's Basketball team, which included #31, Charley Brown.  His son, Kyle Brown, will be a freshman on the team next season and has used in the past the same jersey number as his father.

• Nolan Cressler has heard from Dayton, Pitt, Vanderbilt (offer), UAB, Robert Morris, Rutgers, Butler, Quinnipiac, and Northwestern.  The Tennessean mentions the Vanderbilt offer.  And Vandy is reportedly recruiting him very hard.

•  Real Clear Sports credits Princeton-Georgetown of 1989 for saving automatic bids and writes, "To my knowledge, after 1989, the idea of eliminating the automatic bid to smaller conferences was never mentioned again. Ever. So the Lehighs and Coastal Carolinas of the world might owe a small debt to Princeton. So, too, do the Cornells and Harvards, I suppose, though they would loathe to admit it.  Here are the last four years of first-round NCAA games involving Ivy League teams: 2010: Cornell def. Temple, 78-65; 2011: Kentucky def. Princeton, 59-57; 2012: Vanderbilt def. Harvard, 79-70; 2013: Harvard def. New Mexico, 68-62; 2014: Harvard def. Cincinnati, 61-57. A bit different from the mid-1980s."
  

News and Notes: Wednesday Edition

Below, news and notes for Wednesday...

• Cornell reportedly will have a late addition to its roster next season in the freshman class.  The player is Kyle Brown, (Newport HS) Bellevue, Washington, 6-3, G.  Brown will join the Big Red as a freshman.  Brown spent the last two years on an LDS (Mormon) Mission.  He is the son of Charley Brown ('82), who played for Cornell Basketball between 1977 and 1982.  Brown  was selected to the King County 4A honorable mention in 2011 out of Newport High School.  He played with the Creating Young Minds Gametime AAU.

• The Detroit Free Press writes, "The biggest surprise [of the NCAAs] might be the lack of teams from outside the power conferences. In 2010 Butler, Cornell, Northern Iowa and St. Mary's reached the Sweet 16."

• Similarly, the San Francisco Chronicle writes of this year's Tournament, "There is no Florida Gulf Coast, Ohio, Cornell, Kent State, Davidson, Milwaukee, George Mason, Western Kentucky, Southwest Missouri State, Miami of Ohio, Valparaiso or Chattanooga, all of whom reached the Sweet 16 in the past 17 years."

• The Evening Tribune remembers its 1994 high school all star selections and notes of a player who committed to Cornell but never played for the Big Red.

• South Orange Juice remembers Seton Hall's big win during 2010 over Cornell.

Vandy Eyes Cressler

Vanderbilt Eyeing Cornell Leading Scorer Nolan Cressler in Transfer

Anchor of Gold

Five days ago, Cornell released leading scorer Nolan Cressler, allowing him to transfer to another program. On Monday, Vanderbilt made their intentions to land the valuable guard clear, offering him a scholarship and the chance to finish his career in Nashville.

Cressler, a Pittsburgh native, had only five D-I scholarship offers out of high school. He chose Cornell over Yale and Boston University and managed to make an instant impact in upstate New York. The 6'4" shooting guard averaged 9.3 points per game in his first year and upped that to 16.8 in 2013-2014 as he emerged as the Big Red's primary offensive weapon. He was named as an All-Ivy League Honorable Mention for his efforts this spring.

Cornell is coming off to a season in which they won just one game over a Division I opponent. The Big Red finished 2-26 overall despite Cressler's proficient scoring. It was the fourth straight losing season in Ithaca; a streak that began the season after Cornell's 2010 Sweet Sixteen appearance.

Vandy can offer the young guard a spot on a rebuilding program at a university with an academic reputation similar to his former Ivy League home. The Commodores can also offer the guidance of former Harvard assistant Yanni Hufnagel behind the bench. Hufnagel, who helped guide the Crimson's recent resurgence as a dangerous D-I program, knows a thing or two about coaching intelligent young guards.

Vanderbilt's last interaction with a Pittsburgh-area baller ended poorly. Sheldon Jeter, from Beaver Falls, PA, emerged as one of Vandy's brightest stars as a true freshman in 2013. He then left the Commodores one month after the season ended and eventually received a scholarship at the University of Pittsburgh amidst talk of tampering between the two programs. He will make his Panther debut this fall.

The Commodores will have a loaded backcourt waiting for Cressler by the time he is eligible to play for Vanderbilt in 2015-2016. The 'Dores are slated to have former leading scorer Kedren Johnson running the point alongside Carter Josephs and 2014 recruits Wade Baldwin, Riley LaChance, and Matthew Fisher-Davis. Still, the former fourth-leading scorer from the Ivy League would add a much-needed veteran presence to a team that will still be growing as 2015 comes to a close.

There's no indication yet on where Cressler will go or what he is looking for in a destination other than a Division I program.

Could Cressler Land at Pitt?

Pitt basketball recruiting: Could the Panthers land Cornell transfer Nolan Cressler?

SB Nation/Cardiac Hill

Nolan Cressler from Cornell University has announced his intentions to transfer away from the Ivy League school, per the Trib-Review. Cressler is a graduate of nearby Plum High School in the Pittsburgh area and will undoubtedly draw a lot of interest from college coaches. Cressler averaged 16.8 this past season in leading Cornell and he is a well regarded three point shooter, as he knocked down 68 of them in 2013-14. Cressler scored 23 against Syracuse, 27 against Western Michigan, 17 against Notre Dame, and a career-high 34 against Brown.

Cressler says he is not necessarily transferring to just be closer to home, but more so to play for a a higher level. It will be interesting to see if Jamie Dixon and his staff would be interested in adding him. The big hurdle, obviously, is that Pitt doesn't have any open scholarships right now with the recent addition of Tyrone Haughton. But if someone transfers out of the program, it could be a possibility.

Some may wonder if his ability translates from the Ivy League to the ACC, but the 23 points over Syracuse, and 17 against Notre Dame should help answer those questions. With Kobie Eubanks choosing Baylor, and Detrick Mostella still being a serious question mark, Pitt could stand to add a shooting guard if a spot opens up. Cressler appears to be a solid three-point shooting threat that this program has lacked for the past two seasons.

News and Notes: Tuesday Edition

Below, news and notes for Tuesday...

• The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports, "Just four days after his release from Cornell and official word that he was transferring, sophomore guard Nolan Cressler picked up a scholarship offer from Vanderbilt.  Since Thursday, a number a higher-level programs have inquired about the 6-foot-4 Cressler, a Plum graduate, who was an All-Ivy League honorable mention this past season after averaging 16.8 points. He scored a career-high 34 against Brown. Cressler, Plum's all-time leading scorer, said Cornell wasn't as ideal a fit as he first expected.  Schools that passed on him when he was coming out of high school were showing interest. As a senior at Plum, he had four other offers, from Boston University, Holy Cross, Yale and St. Francis (Pa.)."

• On Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes, "[ESPN] aired a neat graphic that showed in four previous times in the NCAA Tournament, when the Ryan's Badgers had allowed an opponent to score 75 points they had lost: to Maryland (2002), North Carolina (2005), Arizona (2006) and Cornell (2010)."

• Cornell's incoming recruiting class next season includes four members: Riley Glassmann (Fremd HS) Palatine, IL, 6-5, G, William "Will" Bathurst (Olean HS) Olean, NY, 6-3, G, Jordan Abdur-Ra'oof (Gonzaga HS) Washington, D.C., 6-7, F, and Pat Smith (Archbishop Wood HS) Warminster, PA, 6-5, F.  Per the Philadelphia Inquirer, The Markward Club awards dinner will honor Pat Smith for academic excellence.  Riley Glassmann's team finishes the season ranked in Illinois by Comcast Sports.  Wil Bathurst is ranked as the #7 overall player in New York State by NYCHoopsNet of Rivals.com.  The ranking is the final ranking updated on March 17, 2014.  NYCHoopsNet writes in its final ranking, "- A three year varsity starter, Bathurst averaged 23 points and 9 rebounds a game in this his senior season. He went over 1,000 points for his career in a 36 point outing against Greece Athena in early February, and he will surely go down as one of the best players in school history. Committed to play next season at Cornell, Bathurst is excellent attacking the basket, using his strong handle and good size to effectively get by defenders, and his outstanding shooting touch from the perimeter makes him a fantastic all around player. He was a finalist for Mr. Basketball in New York State this year, and he has led his Olean team to the Class "B" State Final Four."

Visit The Cornell Basketball Blog's Community Forum and Message Board to interact with other fans of Cornell and Ivy League basketball. Membership is free! You may also follow us on Twitter.  Not a member of Twitter? See what The Cornell Basketball Blog is tweeting and retweeting each day by just visiting our Twitter Timeline.  The Cornell Basketball Blog received mention on NBC Sports' social media Must Follow College Hoops Directory.

• Cornell's 2014-2015 Schedule will include Cornell's participation in ESPN's Charleston Classic.  Visit the Cornell team page at the Charleston Classic.

News and Notes: Monday Edition

Left to right, Riley Glassmann, Wil Bathurst, Jordan Abdur Ra'oof and Pat Smith.  Below, news and notes for Monday...

• The New York Times discusses coaches that stay where they are versus those that jump ship and writes, "There is the model of Steve Donahue, who leveraged his success at Cornell into a lucrative job upgrade at Boston College. But Donahue was fired last week after four seasons with the Eagles."

• In Forum discusses the tough road of 12 seeds and writes, "Cornell of the Ivy League was able to do it in 2010, after knocking off Temple (78-63) and Wisconsin (87-69) before losing to top-seeded Kentucky (62-45). If you remember, Ryan Wittman of Eden Prairie, Minn., was a player for that team. He’s the son of Washington Wizards coach Randy Wittman, who used to coach the Minnesota Timberwolves."

• Bloomberg writes, "Harvard finishes the season 27-5 and falls short of becoming just the second Ivy League school to win two NCAA tournament games in the same year since the field expanded in 1985. Cornell did it in 2010. "

• The Boston Globe discusses whether Tommy Amaker will move on to Harvard and writes, "Obviously there’s a lot of work to be done at Boston College and [Steve] Donahue was unable to bring the Ivy Magic that got him to the Sweet 16 at Cornell "  WTNH News 8 writes on the same topic, "Prior to Harvard upsetting Cincinnati in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the veteran and generally credible sports writer for the Boston Globe, Dan Shauhnessey, practically guaranteed Amaker will switch to the Eagles. where he would succeed Steve Donahue, a former coach at Cornell."  The Lowell Sun adds, "Amaker must be a pretty smart guy to make it big at Harvard. So he should be wise enough to learn from history. Steve Donahue, who was just let go as head coach by the Eagles, came to BC from Cornell, fresh off guiding the Big Red to the Ivy League crown and a Sweet 16 berth in the NCAA tourney. Donahue, who was a very hot commodity when he arrived at the Heights, finished 22 games below .500 (54-76) in his four seasons at BC."

• The Heights writes:

For Donahue, coaching success has consistently been tied to his squads’ 3-point shooting abilities. Before accepting the BC position, Donahue led Cornell to the Sweet Sixteen of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, as well as to the 2009 and 2010 Ivy League titles—heavily employing 3-point shooting through both the regular seasons and postseasons. The Cornell players were among the best perimeter shooters in their university’s history. With Donahue’s guidance, they set several outside shooting records. At the individual level, swingman Ryan Wittman seized his school’s record for most 3-pointers made in a single season in three different years, with an unprecedented 93 made shots his freshman year, 97 in his junior year, and 109 in the 2009-10 season. In that same season, the team itself gained notoriety for record setting as well: The squad completed the most 3-point field goals of any Cornell team to ever play—with a whopping 326 made shots, exceeding the second highest mark by 75 scores—on 43.3 percent shooting from beyond the perimeter, the best percentage in the nation.  Following his tenure at Cornell, and his appointment as head coach of the BC men’s basketball team, Donahue’s success continued to be predicated on 3-point shooting

• The Detroit News writes, "Cornell did all of us preening Ivy Leaguers proud just four years ago, reaching the Sweet (Yuk) Sixteen. The Big Red — as Cornell is called — beat Temple, then Wisconsin before playing Kentucky, and thus, failed to reach the Elite Eight."

• Check out Jeff Foote's (Cornell '10) recent performances in the NBA D-League with the Springfield Armor (Brooklyn Nets affiliate).

• Cornell's incoming recruiting class next season includes four members: Riley Glassmann (Fremd HS) Palatine, IL, 6-5, G, William "Will" Bathurst (Olean HS) Olean, NY, 6-3, G, Jordan Abdur-Ra'oof (Gonzaga HS) Washington, D.C., 6-7, F, and Pat Smith (Archbishop Wood HS) Warminster, PA, 6-5, F.  Wil Bathurst is a nominee to be included on the Buffalo News' All Western New York Team.  He made the team in 2012 and 2013.  Bathurst was named the "Big 30" Player of the Year by the Olean Times and Herald.  The Herald writes: 

Olean's Bathurst Player of the Year

From the very first time he put on a No. 11 Olean High School uniform, Wil Bathurst showed the kind of talent few basketball players possess.

As a sophomore in 2011-12, he joined a varsity team that had three other sophomores who had started the year before. The Huskies were already good, but Bathurst’s athleticism gave them something else.
He finished second on the team in scoring that year as Olean, youth and all, made an improbable run to Glens Falls and the state final four.
That was only the beginning.
Bathurst evolved into a star on a state-ranked team, putting together one of the most decorated careers this area has ever seen.
There isn’t an individual more deserving of the title of Big 30 Player of the Year than the 6-foot-4 senior.
 “YOU SEE a lot of the best players from this area win this award, so it’s truly a huge honor,” said Bathurst, the sixth Olean player to win the Charles M. Ward Award in its 13-year history.
“I can’t thank my teammates enough. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to be where I’m at right now.”
Bathurst averaged 20 points and seven rebounds per game this season and helped the Huskies get back to Glens Falls, where they lost to Westhill, 93-55, in the Class B state championship game.
His career résumé is beyond impressive, filled with both individual and team success.
He finished with 1,196 points, fifth most in program history. He was one of six finalists for New York’s prestigious Mr. Basketball Award this year. He was a first-team All-State and All-Western New York selection as a junior and will likely garner those honors again this season.
Bathurst’s talents are wide-ranging. He can attack the basket, beat opposing teams off the dribble, slam home designed alley-oop dunks and distribute to his teammates. His jump shot, especially from three-point range, has also improved, making him even tougher to defend.
Over Bathurst’s three years with the Huskies, Olean went 64-8 and won three Section 6 Class B titles.
Then there’s the fact that he’s bound for the Division I ranks. Bathurst signed with Cornell and plans to study pre-law at the Ivy League school.
 “IT’S BEEN just so great seeing him mature,” Olean coach Jeff Anastasia said. “He came in as a sophomore. He had high expectations and we had high expectations for him. ... He just became not only a great player but also a classy player, a respected person.
“When he was an eighth-grader, he’d come to the open gyms. We just knew he was going to be a special player back then. He just fit our team perfectly. We had Nick (Schmidt), Luke (Hennessy) and Sam (Eckstrom), but he gave us a different dimension.”
Now Bathurst is looking forward to playing at Cornell.
“I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with my basketball career,” he admitted. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to play at the Division I level, the Division II level or even the Division III level, I considered at one point. To go to Cornell and for them to believe in me and give me a chance is really special. ... It looks like I’ll have a good fit there.”
Said Anastasia, “With Wil going on to Cornell, that just epitomizes the type of kid he is. He’s great in the classroom and he’s great on the basketball court. ... There’s just a lot to talk about for the rest of his life, not only basketball-wise.”
 JOINING Bathurst as Big 30 first-team all-stars are Eckstrom, Jared Fish (Salamanca), Carl Holmes (Cuba-Rushford) and Big 30 scoring champion Nate Sestina (Cameron County).

• Cornell RPI Watch: The RPI (Rating Percentage Index) is a measure of strength of schedule and how a team does against that schedule. It does not consider the margin of victory, but only whether or        not a team won and where the game was played (home/away/neutral court). The formula is 25% team     winning percentage (WP), 50% opponents' average winning percentage (OWP), and 25% opponents' opponents' average winning percentage (OOWP). (See: CollegeRPI.com for a further explanation of the formula.) The RPI may be the most influential factor in NCAA Tournament seeding. Cornell's RPI rank as of March 24, 2014 is No. 334 out of 351 total Division I teams. While neither the Ken Pomeroy or the Sagarin Rankings (USA Today) are used by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee, the KenPom.com site ranks Cornell No. 342 in the nation, while the Sagarin Rankings (USA Today) have Cornell at No. 333. Both sites are predominantly used by fans and the media.

Visit The Cornell Basketball Blog's Community Forum and Message Board to interact with other fans of Cornell and Ivy League basketball. Membership is free! You may also follow us on Twitter.  Not a member of Twitter? See what The Cornell Basketball Blog is tweeting and retweeting each day by just visiting our Twitter Timeline.  The Cornell Basketball Blog received mention on NBC Sports' social media Must Follow College Hoops Directory.

• Cornell's 2014-2015 Schedule will include Cornell's participation in ESPN's Charleston Classic.  Visit the Cornell team page at the Charleston Classic.

• Check out The Cornell Basketball Blog's Season Preview Index for 2013-2014 and look back at what the "experts" predicted for Cornell.

• The Cornell Basketball Blog updated its Ivy League 2013-2014 Roster Report and Recruiting Commitments List.  The Recruiting Commitment List includes bios of Cornell's incoming recruits.    

• Cornell's games against Syracuse (ACC Sports Network, ESPN3 and RSN), Louisville (WHAS/ESPN3), Notre Dame (ESPN3), Brown (NBC Sports Network) and St. Bonaventure (NBC Sports Network) were all televised games this season. 

• Below, a look at the "Cornell Coaching Plantations"  -- the men's college basketball coaches with ties to Cornell University.

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

  Ryan Wittman (Cornell Class of '10)-Graduate student  assistant coach at Boston College.  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 Vanderbilt. Served as student-manager at Cornell under Steve Donahue.
  
  Steve Donahue-Former 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.

  Ricky Yahn-Head coach, Concordia College of Michigan. He was an assistant coach at Cornell during 2010-2011 under Bill Courtney.

  Arlen Galloway-Head coach, Wentworth Institute of Technology.  He was an assistant coach at Cornell between 2011-2013 under Bill Courtney.

  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 served as an assistant coach at Boston College under Donahue.
  
  Nat Graham-Former associate head coach (assistant) at Boston College under Steve Donahue. Served as an assistant coach under Donahue at Cornell from 2005-2010.
  
  Woody Kampmann-Former assistant coach/director of basketball operations 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 director of basketball operations at St. Peter's.
  
  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 Cal Poly. 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.

  
  
  
• Cornell alumni that have played professional basketball since 1995 include the following (with NBA or NBA D-League experience noted): Zeke Marshall ('95), Alex Compton ('97), John McCord ('97), Brent Fisher ('98), Jeff Aubry ('99) (NBA D-League), Ray Mercedes ('01), Jaques Vigneault ('03), Karon Barnes ('04), Stevan Marcetic ('04), Cody Toppert ('05) (NBA D-League), Eric Taylor ('05), Andrew Naeve ('07), Ryan Rourke ('07), Jason Hartford ('08), Louis Dale ('10), Jeff Foote ('10) (NBA and NBA D-League), Ryan Wittman ('10) (NBA D-League), Jon Jaques ('10), Alex Tyler ('10), Aaron Osgood ('11), Adam Wire ('11), Andrew Ferry ('12).   Throughout the year we provide periodic updates on Cornell's alumni currently playing professionally. Below, some updates: 

-Jeff Aubry ('99) (Halcones Rojos, LNBP Mexico premier league/Indios de Mayaguez, BSN Puerto Rico premier league)-A 6'11" center, Aubry splits his time in both the Mexican and Puerto Rican professional leagues. A well traveled pro player, Aubry spent several seasons in the NBA D League in the early part of his career with the Fayetteville Patriots and Florida Flame and earned honorable mention all NBA D League in 2002. Aubry joins Jeff Foote (Cornell '10) (Springfield Armor), Ryan Wittman (Cornell '10) (Ft. Wayne Mad Ants) and Cody Toppert (Cornell '05) (Albuquerque Thunderbirds) as Cornell veterans of the NBA D-League.  (Cornell's four NBA D-League veterans is the most in Ivy League.)  During his more than a decade of pro experience, Aubry also played professionally in  the ABA (Miami Tropics) and abroad  in Puerto Rico (Mayaguez, Arecibo Capitanes, Leones de Ponce, and Santurce, BSN Puerto Rico), Spain (Tarragona, LEB Gold Spain 2nd Division), Mexico (Halcones Rojos and Chihuahua Dorados, LNBP Mexico premier league), Poland (Slask Wroclaw, PLK Poland premier league), Argentina (Libertad Sunchales, Liga A Argentina), Uruguay (Hebraica, LUB Uruguay) and Peru (Alas Peruanas, Peru).

-Alex Tyler ('10) (Rockville Victors, Atlantic Coast Professional Basketball League)-Tyler finished his rookie season during 2012-2013 with the Victors.

-Louis Dale ('10) (KAOD Dramas, Greece A1 premier league)-Dale spent his  first two professional seasons both in Germany's BBK Bundesliga, the country's premier league with Goettingen.  His third pro season during 2012-2013 was in Greece in the A1, country's premier league, with KAOD Dramas.                                         

-Jeff Foote ('10) (Springfield Armor, NBA D-League)-Foote is playing the 2013-2014 season with the Springfield Armor of the NBA D-League.  Foote spent the 2012-2013 season with Zalgiris of Lithuania, one of Europe's top 10 teams and was named an All Star in the domestic LKL league, the country's premier league.  He also participated with the team in the EuroLeague.  Prior to the start of the 2012-2013 season, Foote played with the Brooklyn Nets in the NBA Summer League and participated in the team's free agent mini-camp.  During 2011-2012, Foote averaged 15.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game in the NBA D-League for the Springfield Armor (the Brooklyn Nets' affiliate) after being named a starter at the D-League's All-Star Game during February and was named Second Team All NBA D-League. Foote finished the D-League season ranked 4th in double-doubles and also 4th in rebounds. Foote averaged 1.0 points and 1.5 rebounds per game in 4 games for the NBA's New Orleans Hornets during a 10-day contract between March 9 and March 19. Foote was ranked by the D-League as its #6 overall NBA prospect.  During April 2012 he was profiled in a video on NBA.com.  He participated in the Portland Trailblazers' 2011-2012 preseason training camp and played the 2011-2012 preseason with with Zastal of       the PLK Poland premier league and the full 2010-2011 season in Spain (Melilla, LEB Gold Spain 2nd division) while on loan from Euro League powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel's premier league.    

Drew Ferry ('12) (Albacete, Spain EBA)-The 2013-2014 season is Ferry's rookie year in the Spanish league.

• Visit our growing directory of Cornell Basketball Linkedin profiles.

• Below is a directory listing of some Twitter feeds associated with the Cornell basketball program.

-Josh Wexler ('88)
-Rich Medina ('92)
-Bo Buttenback ('98)
-Dan Wendt ('98)
-Brian Williamson ('03)
-Jacques Vigneault ('03)
-Cody Toppert ('05)
-Steve Cobb ('05)
-Ryan Rourke ('06)
-Andrew Naeve ('07)
-Jason Canady ('08)
-Khaliq Gant ('09)
-Conor Mullen ('09)
-Brian Kreefer ('09)
-Ryan Wittman ('10)
-Pete Reynolds ('10)
-Louis Dale ('10)
-Alex Tyler ('10)
-Geoff Reeves ('10)
-Jeff Foote ('10)
-Andre Wilkins ('10) (inactive)
-Aaron Osgood ('11)
-Adam Wire ('11)
-Max Groebe ('12)
-Chris Wroblewski ('12)
-Andrew Ferry ('12)
-Jonathan Gray ('13)
-Miles Asafo Adjei ('13)
-Peter McMillan ('13)
-Errick Peck ('13)
-Errick Peck ('13)
-Josh Figini ('13)
-Manny Sahota (former player)
-Galal Cancer (former player)
-Holt Harmon (former player)
-The Cornell Rebounders Club

-Ned Tomic ()
-Dominick Scelfo ()
-Jake Mathews ()
-Dwight Tarwater ()
-Dave LaMore ()
-Shonn Miller ()
-Devin Cherry ()
-Nolan Cressler ()
-Braxston Bunce ()
-Robert Mischler ()
-David Onuorah ()
-Robert Hatter ()
-Desmond Fleming ()
-Darryl Smith ()
-Riley Glassmann (recruit)
-Jordan Abdur Ra-oof (recruit)
-Pat Smith (recruit)
-William Bathurst (recruit)
-Jeremy Hartigan, Cornell SID ()
-Assistant Coach Jon Jaques ('10)
-Assistant Coach Mike Blaine ()
-Assistant Coach Marlon Sears ()
-Brian Delaney, ESPN Radio Ithaca ()
-Barry Leonard, Cornell Redcast/Play-By-Play Annnouncer
-Ed Boulat, Ithaca Journal
-Cornell Daily Sun Sports ()
-Slope Sports ()
-WVBR Sports
-Former assistant coach, Jay Larranaga
-Former assistant coach, Ricky Yahn ()
-Former head coach, Steve Donahue ()
-Former intern assistant Ryan Woerner ()
-Former assistant coach, Zach Spiker ()
-Former assistant coach, Nat Graham ()
-Former assistant coach, Woody Kampmann ()
-Former assistant coach, Izzi Metz ()
-Former assistant coach, Paul Fortier ()
-Former assistant coach Arlen Galloway ()

Blueprint for Success, the yearbook commemorating Cornell's memorable 2009-2010 season is on sale. Visit the Cornell Athletics website to order your copy today! Or pick up a copy sold in the Cornell Store on campus.

News and Notes: Saturday Edition

Below, news and notes for Saturday...

• Cornell's 2014-2015 Schedule will include Cornell's participation in ESPN's Charleston Classic.  Visit the Cornell team page at the Charleston Classic.

• Cornell's incoming recruiting class next season includes four members: Riley Glassmann (Fremd HS) Palatine, IL, 6-5, G, William "Will" Bathurst (Olean HS) Olean, NY, 6-3, G, Jordan Abdur-Ra'oof (Gonzaga HS) Washington, D.C., 6-7, F, and Pat Smith (Archbishop Wood HS) Warminster, PA, 6-5, F.  Per the Salamanca Press, Wil Bathurst had 17 points last night in the Cattaraugus County Exceptional Seniors Game.  The Washington Post previews the Crab Ball Classic All Star game which will feature Cornell's Jordan Abdur Ra'oof.  Other Division I commits to Towson, Bucknell, Ohio, Delaware, Toledo, George Washington, Miami-FL and Hofstra will also take part.

• The Only Colors writes that Harvard is seeking "to be the first Ivy League team to make it to the Sweet Sixteen since Cornell four years ago, but [Tommy] Amaker's old nemesis Tom Izzo is blocking the way."

• Jeff Foote (Cornell '10) had 17 points and 9 rebounds last night in the NBA D-League in front of more than 7,000 fans.  The D-League blog, Ridiculous Upside now ranks Foote as the 7th best center prospect in the D-League.  The Sporting News also writes:

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- On Thursday night here, big man Jeff Foote did something that fans of the NCAA tournament will be familiar with—he dominated, scoring 20 points on 8-for-15 shooting, with 21 rebounds and two blocks.
Only now, Foote suits up for the Springfield Armor of the D-League. But four years ago, he was the centerpiece of a Cornell team that shocked the sports world by becoming the first Ivy League team since Penn in 1979 to reach the Sweet 16.
As No. 12 Harvard, which upset Cincinnati in its first game on Thursday, attempts to duplicate the feat, it is helpful to remember that Cornell was making its third consecutive NCAA appearance, just as the Crimson are doing. Foote recalls the advantage that provided.
“It was just a lot of fun,” Foote said. “It was our third time being there, so the luster, the nerves, the hype of it was lost to us. We were just ready to come in and play basketball. We were kind of a goofy team, so we just had fun with it our way. Being the first Ivy League team in like 20 years to go to the Sweet 16 was kind of special.”
As his post-Cornell career has gone on—he has played for Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel, as well as Zalgiris in Lithuania—Foote says the thrill of that tournament run has faded somewhat. He is still trying to get to the NBA, where he had a brief appearance with New Orleans in 2012. In the meantime, he is averaging 9.0 points and 8.0 rebounds for Springfield, including 16.4 points and 15.0 rebounds in his last five games.
He still keeps in close contact with his old Big Red teammates, Foote said. In fact, there is a chance we will see them together again—they’re attempting to reunite for the $500,000 prize in what is known as The Basketball Tournament, a recently formed tournament that will be driven by social media and televised. (Foote’s Cornell bunch can be supported here.)
“We still talk, even now, everyone on that Cornell team was very close,” Foote said. “We still talk everyday. We are trying to get together and get into The Basketball Tournament. We are pushing to get into it, so it has been a little more special this year, thinking about getting all back together and entering a tournament as a team again. But for us, this time of year, March, it is always a crazy time, a fun time.”

News and Notes: Friday Edition

Below, news and notes for Friday...

Two of Bill Courtney's recruits in the sophomore class, Holt Harmon and Nolan Cressler (above) are now no longer with the Cornell Basketball program.  They join Galal Cancer, Errick Peck and Manny Sahota as recruited Cornell players to leave the program since 2010-2011, in addition to walk-on Jamal Cherry.  Cressler announced his decision to transfer on Thursday.

• We Wear The Ring, a Duquesne blog writes, "Announcement #4: Plum product Nolan Cressler has elected to leave Cornell after leading the bad Big Red team in scoring. Duquesne’s become a soft landing spot for prodigal WPIAL players from Micah Mason to Wayne Capers which has led to a natural speculation of whether or not he could join the Dukes. It’s important to note that he has not officially been linked to the Dukes."

• Cresssler is looking at some national powers, including:  Pitt, Vanderbilt, California, Stanford, Wisconsin, Georgia Tech, and Northwestern.

• Jeff Goodman of ESPN writes that Tommy Amaker, "walks the sidelines in semi-obscurity for much of the season, playing against teams such as Brown, Columbia and Cornell."

• Bloomberg writes, "Harvard now will seek to join Cornell’s 2010 squad as just the second Ivy League school to reach the final 16 since the NCAA tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985." 

• Jeff Foote (Cornell '10) had 20 points and 21 rebounds last night in the NBA D-League per Nets Daily.

• The Cornell Daily Sun writes:

 Red’s Sweet 16 Returns

It is that time of year again: March Madness. Whenever this month rolls around, memories of Cornell’s 2010 Sweet Sixteen team inevitably arise for the Red’s basketball fans. And although the Red will not be represented in the NCAA tournament this year, fans of the program still have something to look forward to. Members of the 2010 team have decided to reunite this June for a competition simply called “The Basketball Tournament.”
The tournament is free for all participants for anyone 18 or older who is willing to forego amateur playing status. It is single elimination, winner-take-all, with a $500,000 prize to be split up among the winning team.
“I think Ryan Wittman [’10] brought it to everyone’s attention because the organizer of the tournament reached out to him,” said current assistant coach for the Red Jon Jaques ’10, former captain of the team that defeated Temple and Wisconsin to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. “We just kind of discussed it as a group. It seems like a pretty fun opportunity, and it kind of just worked out, and everyone thought it would be a fun thing to do.”
The 32 teams in the tournament are accepted based on the number of fans they receive on the organization’s website. The minimum number of fans required in order to make a team eligable to participate is 100 and the last day to become a fan of any given team is May 1. The Sweet Sixteen team currently has 217 fans, sixth most of any of the teams that have entered the tournament so far, and are therefore likely to be accepted.
With more than a month to go before the teams are picked, Jaques said that there have not been any practices planned yet. However, he also acknowledged that with some of the players three years removed from playing competitive basketball, being in top shape is definitely not a guarantee.
“There is a definite concern,” he said, laughing. “Es­pecially because many of the other teams are made up of former professional players. We have some things to catch up on.”
The Top-2 teams in the field right now are the ’Sconnie Legends and the Philly Patriots, both made up of former Division I college players. The Legends hail mainly from Wisconsin, with their biggest threat coming from 7’0” center Paul Grant, who played for Wisconsin and was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1997. The Patriots feature four former University of Virginia players and a forward from Penn, Fran Dougherty, who the Red matched up against in Ivy League play this year.
There are 11 players on the Sweet Sixteen team’s roster right now, including seven-footer Jeff Foote ’10 and point guard Louis Dale ’10, who were both integral to the team’s run four years ago. Foote was a two-time Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, leading the conference in rebounds and finishing second in blocked shots his senior year. Dale led the conference in assists and scored an average of 12.6 points per game in the NCAA Tournament run.
When watching highlights of the team that year, it is apparent that after playing together for four years, the four seniors, Jaques, Dale, Foote and Wittman, played with a chemistry that was unparalleled in the conference.
“Our strength as a team was always our chemistry,” Jaques said. “Hopefully that will overcome some of the basketball shape and other issues we might have.”
When asked if he knew what combination would make up the starting five, Jaques admitted that the team had not discussed it yet. In fact, they have yet to choose someone to patrol the sidelines during the tournament.
“We don’t have a coach yet either, so I think once we get a coach, he might decide that for us,” Jaques said.
As an assistant coach for the men’s basketball team this year, Jaques has extended his Cornell basketball legacy beyond being a member of the Sweet Sixteen team and said he hopes that getting back together with his former teammates will reinforce the storied success of the program.
“Cornell is still a great basketball program. … One bad season doesn’t make the program any less of a program. I fully expect next year that we’ll have a really great season,” Jaques said. “I just think if anything comes out of this, people will see that we were obviously a part of a great time in Cornell basketball history [and that] this is a great basketball program with a lot of rich history.”­­­