News and Notes: Thursday Edition

Below, news and notes for Thursday...

• On Steve Donahue as a potential Penn coach, the Philly Inquirer writes:

There will be a caucus that backs Steve Donahue, as Inquirer columnist Mike Jensen does, and for very valid reasons. Donahue’s bona fides as a bench tactician are beyond reproach. his deep roots in the Philadelphia region.
But he’ll have to overcome questions about how much the Ivy League has changed since his glory days at Cornell and Penn.
And his backers among Penn alumni will have to overcome questions about what their true motive is. Do they truly believe he can win an Ivy League title, given how high Harvard has raised the bar? Do they see a Donahue hire as making good to their guy for his having been passed over in 2006, when Steve Bilsky hired Glen Miller?

• The Worcester Telegram lists Donahue as a candidate for Holy Cross, but Jersey Guy thinks he is a no brainer for Penn.

• The Auburn Citizen writes, "Well, you could root for another team and I have one in mind. As all of you know, Syracuse isn't the only Division I men's basketball team in upstate New York. Cornell, Colgate, SUNY Binghamton, SUNY Buffalo, Niagara, St. Bonaventure, Canisius, Siena and Marist also play but sadly, their seasons didn't result in a NCAA tournament bid."

• The Tuscon Sun writes:

Cornell grad Tarwater benefitting Bears

Partly because it's pretty tough to get into one of Cal's postgraduate programs, the Bears had never had one of those increasingly common grad transfers join their program. Until Tarwater did this season, having brought in some significant academic cred as a graduate of Cornell.
Especially after sophomore Kameron Rooks went down with a knee injury last summer, the Bears needed help up front. And Tarwater said he wanted to play at the highest level of college basketball for his final season of eligibility when he graduated last spring.
"It worked out great," Tarwater said. "It's been an amazing opportunity."
Tarwater said he is planning to finish a two-year master's degree in Public Health next year.

• The Chicago Tribune writes of Highland Park High School,  "This year's seniors became just the second Highland Park senior class to register back-to-back 20-win seasons after former Cornell guard Chris Wroblewski led the class of 2008 to the same feat seven years ago."

• Anchor of Gold mentions Nolan Cressler.

• The Ivy League named Shonn Miller First Team All Ivy League and writes of him:

...Cornell senior forward Shonn Miller (Euclid, Ohio) came back from a season-long injury a year ago to earn his second first-team All-Ivy honor. He became the fifth Big Red player to earn first-team All-Ivy honors at least twice, joining Bob DeLuca (1965-66), John Bajusz (1985-86-87), Louis Dale (2008-09-10) and Ryan Wittman (2008-09-10). Miller ranked second in the Ivy League in scoring (16.8 ppg.), rebounding (8.5 rpg.) and free-throw percentage (.834) and among the top 10 in blocks (fourth, 1.8) and steals (eighth, 1.3)...

PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Justin Sears, Yale (Jr., F - Plainfield, N.J.)

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Miles Wright, Dartmouth (Fr., G - Boston)

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Steve Moundou-Missi, Harvard (Sr., F - Yaounde, Cameroon)

COACH OF THE YEAR
James Jones, Yale

FIRST TEAM ALL-IVY
*Maodo Lo, Columbia (Jr., G - Berlin)
*Shonn Miller, Cornell (Sr., F - Euclid, Ohio)
*Wesley Saunders, Harvard (Sr., G/F - Los Angeles)
*Javier Duren, Yale (Sr., G - St. Louis)
*Justin Sears, Yale (Jr., F - Plainfield, N.J.)

SECOND TEAM ALL-IVY^
Cedric Kuakumensah, Brown (Jr., F - Worcester, Mass.)
Gabas Maldunas, Dartmouth (Sr., C - Panevezys, Lithuania)
Alex Mitola, Dartmouth (Jr., G - Florham Park, N.J.)
Siyani Chambers, Harvard (Jr., G - Golden Valley, Minn.)
Steve Moundou-Missi, Harvard (Sr., F - Yaounde, Cameroon)
Steve Cook, Princeton (So., F - Winnetka, Ill.)
Spencer Weisz, Princeton (So., F - Florham Park, N.J.)

HONORABLE MENTION ALL-IVY
Rafael Maia, Brown (Sr., F - Sao Paulo)
Tony Hicks, Penn (Jr., G - South Holland, Ill.)

*Unanimous Selection
^Second team expanded from five players due to ties in voting

• Cornell Athletics adds on Miller:

ITHACA, N.Y. – The ballots for the 2014-15 All-Ivy League team looked nearly exactly the same, and each listed senior Shonn Miller as a first-team pick. The Cornell electric forward became the fifth player in school history to earn first-team All-Ivy honors at least twice in a career when the league announced the results of the vote by the conference's eight head coaches.

All five first-team selections were unanimous, with Miller joined by Yale Javier Duren and Justin Sears, Wesley Saunders of Harvard and Maodo Lo of Columbia. Sears was named Player of the Year, Harvard's Steve Moundou-Missi was the Defensive Player of the Year and Dartmouth's Miles Wright captured Rookie of the Year. After guiding Yale to a share of the Ancient Eight title, James Jones earned Coach of the Year accolades.

After missing the 2013-14 season due to injury, Miller regained his spot on the all-Ivy League first team that he also was selected to in 2012-13. In doing so, he became the fifth player in school history to earn first-team All-Ivy honors at least twice. He joins a list that includes Bob DeLuca (1965-66), John Bajusz (1985-86-87), Louis Dale (2008-09-10) and Ryan Wittman (2008-09-10).

Miller ranked second in the Ivy League in scoring (16.8 ppg.), rebounding (8.5 rpg.) and free-throw percentage (.834) and among the top 10 in blocks (fourth, 1.8) and steals (eighth, 1.3). The conference's leader in defensive rebounds, he ranks sixth nationally (7.53 per game). Overall, he ranks in the top 100 nationally in 11 different categories.

A two-time Ivy League Player of the Week, Miller recorded 11 double-doubles on the season and matched a school record with 18 in his three-year career. Miller became the school's seventh player to reach 500 points in a season with his 505 as a season. He became the first player to score 500 points and register 250 rebounds in a season, and also became the first Cornellian and fifth Ivy player to record 1,000 points, 600 rebounds, 100 blocks and 100 steals in a career.

Miller closed his Cornell career with a flourish, scoring at least 23 points in four of his final five games and averaging 22.0 points and 9.8 rebounds per game over that span. He had three different games of at least 15 rebounds and 12 games with at least 20 points.

In just three seasons, Miller did his best making his mark on the school's record book. He sits in the top 20 all-time in scoring (19th, 1,065), rebounding (14th, 608), steals (11th, 126), blocked shots (fourth, 154), free throws made (13th, 266) and free-throw percentage (18th. .785).

With Miller back in the lineup, Cornell became one of the nation's most improved team. The Big Red improved by a school record 11 wins, improving from two wins to a 13-17 finish that included fifth place in the conference after being picked to place last in the preseason.