News and Notes: Tuesday Edition

Above, a Date in Cornell Basketball History, a 1924-1925 schedule card.  Below, WENY News covers the Cornell Rebounders Picnic.  Also below, news and notes for Tuesday...

• Cornell assistant coach, Mike Blaine tweets about fall workouts and has challenged the team in the gym.

• The Cornell Daily Sun reports:

Jon Jacques ’10 Joins the Cornell Coaching Staff

Just four seasons ago, in a December home game against St. Joseph’s, senior forward Jon Jacques ’10 got his first start in Newman Arena, bolstering him into the starting lineup of a team that would eventually advance to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament. Now, Jacques will return to the Red’s home court once again, this time on the sidelines as an assistant coach.

After graduating from Cornell, Jacques spent one season playing professionally in Israel’s top division. He then coached for one year at Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey before moving over to Columbia as an assistant.

“It’s been amazing so far having Coach Jacques back on board here in Ithaca,” senior forward Dwight Tarwater said. “When he was a player here at Cornell I always knew he was extremely knowledgeable about the Ivy League and the game as a whole.”

As an assistant coach with the Lions, Jacques handled the team’s film program and contributed to player development. According to Tarwater, this experience of coaching in the Ancient Eight will only add to his already extensive knowledge of how to play in the league.

“With a year of coaching already under his belt I feel that this will help him immensely,” Tarwater said. “He knows this league, he knows our guys and he knows how to succeed.”

While at Cornell, Jacques played under Coach Steven Donahue. Donahue was at the helm of the Red’s basketball program for ten seasons, taking his team to the NCAA tournament three times. Donahue’s successful teams were known for their efficient three-point shooting and focus on ball movement.

However, in head coach Bill Courtney’s three seasons thus far with the Red, he has recruited players with more of a focus on speed and athleticism. Courtney’s style of basketball — which is beginning to revolutionize Ivy League play — is contingent on an up-tempo game, pushing the ball out into the open court for fast break opportunities.

According to Tarwater, these variances in style should not pose a problem.

“Coach Jacques won a whole lot of games in his four years here,” he said. “He knows what works, and how to succeed in doing what works, so I don’t think that the style differences will be an issue.”

Jacques spent the majority of his first three years with the Red on the bench. He averaged only .8 points per game in 3.3 minutes per game his junior year. However in his senior campaign, after coming off the bench for the first eight games, Donahue decided to give Jacques a chance as a starter. After scoring 15 points in 23 minutes in the game against St. Joseph’s, Jacques was in the starting lineup to stay.

He finished the season averaging 6.7 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. He also led the Ivy League in three-point percentage at 47.2. Jacques’ experience shooting from beyond the arc will be especially important for a Red team that only shot 34 percent from three last season. With the departure of Johnny Gray — one of the Red’s three-point specialists — senior Dom Scelfo and sophomore Nolan Cressler will have to carry much of the shooting burden.

“[Jacques] has already told us that he would love to rebound with us or help us with our shooting whenever we need it,” Tarwater said. “With the success Coach Jacques has had shooting the ball, his pointers will be extremely beneficial to our guys.”

With the appointment of David Archer ’05 as the head coach of the football team last spring and now the addition of Jacques to the basketball program, it seems the athletic department feels that Cornell alumni can bring important information to the teams for which they previously played.

“[Jacques] has been in our shoes as a student-athlete here at Cornell,” Tarwater said. “I really feel that he is the perfect fit for our program right now.”

•  Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports writes of Siena, "Jimmy Patsos’ first-year in Albany isn’t going to get started easily. Before MAAC play begins, the Saints will travel to Purdue, La Salle, Cornell, and America East favorite Vermont while also taking part in the Old Spice Classic in Orlando." 

• Duke Basketball Report ponders Syracuse's chances of winning the ACC and writes, "Now let’s look at the team’s first schedule as an ACC team.  Syracuse [starts] with Cornell, Fordham, Colgate, St. Francis and Minnesota in Maui,  Indiana, Binghamton, St. John’s, High Point, Villanova and Eastern Michigan.  The non-conference part of the schedule is unusually tough by Syracuse standards..."

•  Below is an updated list of players committed to Ivy League schools in the classes of 2013 and 2014:

CLASS OF 2013
Steven Spieth (Jesuit HS) Dallas, TX, 6-6, F, Brown
Aram Martin (Miller School) Charlottesville, VA, 6-9, F, Brown
Lealand King (Brentwood School) Los Angeles, CA, 6-6, F, Brown
J.R. Hobbie (Manasquan HS) Manasquan, NJ, 6-4, G, Brown
Tavon Blackmon (Gonzaga) Washington, DC, 5-11, G, Brown
Matt Madigan (Mt. Tabor HS) Winston-Salem, NC, 6-4, G, Brown
Chris McComber (John McCrae School) Ottawa, ON, 6-7, F, Columbia
Kendall Jackson (Suffield Academy) Suffield, MA, 5-9, G, Columbia
Jeff Coby (Choate Rosemary Hall) Choate, CT, 6-6, F, Columbia
Luke Petrasek (Northport HS) Northport, NY, 6-10, C, Columbia

Connor Voss (St. Cloud Cathederal HS) St. Cloud, MN, 6-11, C, Columbia
JoJo Fallas (Shalhevet HS) Los Angeles, CA, 5-11, G, Cornell
Darryl Smith (Blue Ridge School) Chesapeake, VA, 6-2, G, Cornell
Desmond Fleming (College Park Woodlands HS) Woodlands, TX, 6-0, G, Cornell
Robert Hatter (Westside HS) Houston, TX, 6-1, G, Cornell

David Onuorah (Marist HS) Atlanta, GA, 6-8, 230, F, Cornell
Braxston Bunce (Kelowna SS) Kelowna, B.C., Canada, 6-11, C (red shirt)

Ikemefuna Ngwudo (Milton Academy) Milton, MA, 6-5, F, Dartmouth 

Eli Harrison (Sisters HS) Sisters, OR, 6-6, F, Dartmouth
Cole Harrison  (Montrose Christian) Memphis, TN, 6-11, C, Dartmouth

Mike Flemming (N'field Mt Hermon, MA) Lincolnshire, IL, 6-1, G, Dartmouth
Wes Dickinson (Peddie School) Hightstown, NJ, 6-6, F, Dartmouth

Matt Fraschila (Highland Park HS) Highland Park, TX, 5-10 G, Harvard 

Hunter Meyers (Douglas HS) Minden, NV, 6-6, F, Harvard 

Zena Edosomwan (Northfield Mt Hermon, MA) Hollywood, CA, 6-9, F, Harvard 

Matt Howard (A.J. Flora HS), Columbia, S.C., 6-4, G, Penn 

Dylan Jones (Village HS) Houston, TX, 6-8, F, Penn 

Dave Winfield (Harvard Westlake HS) Hollywood, CA, 6-8, F, Penn 

Tony Bagtas (Westlake HS) Atlanta, GA, 5-11, G, Penn
Preston Troutt (Trinity Christian) Dallas, TX 6-0, G, Penn
Khyan Rayner (Jesuit HS) Portland, OR, 5-9, G, Princeton

Henry Caruso (Serra HS) San Mateo, CA, 6-4, G, Princeton 

Hashim Moore (Hun School, NJ) Ft. Lauderdale, FL, 6-5, F, Princeton 

Spencer Weisz (Seton Hall Prep) Florham Park, NJ, 6-4, G, Princeton 

Steven Cook (New Trier HS) Winnetka, IL, 6-5, G, Princeton
Pete Miller (Northfield Mount Hermon, MA) Northfield, MA, 6-10, C, Princeton 

Sam Downy (Lake Forest HS) Lake Forest, IL, 6-9, C, Yale
A.J. Edwards (South Kent School) Kent, CT, 6-5, F, Yale

Anthony Dallier (Northfield Mount Hermon, MA) Wexford, PA, 6-6, F, Yale 

JT Flowers (Lincoln HS) Portland, OR, 6-5, F, Yale

CLASS OF 2014

Jason Massey (American Heritage HS) Plantation, FL, 6-4, G, Brown
Tyler Williams (Lakota West HS) W.Chester, OH, 6-1, G, Brown
Pat Smith (Archbishop Wood HS) Warminster, PA, 6-5, F, Cornell
Zach Yoshor (Beren Academy) Houston, TX, 6-7, F, Harvard
Mike Auger (New Hampton Prep) New Hampton, NH 6-6, F, Penn
Mike LeBlanc (New Hampton Prep) New Hampton, NH, 6-7, F, Princeton 
Aaron Young (Episcopal HS), Lynchburg, VA 6-1, G, Princeton 
Amir Bell (East Brunswick HS) E.Brunswick, NJ, 6-4, G, Princeton 
Landon Russell (Nolan Catholic HS) Ft Worth, TX, 6-2, G, Yale 
Maki Mason (Hotchkiss School), Lakeville, CT, 5-11, G, Yale 

Khalil Bedart-Ghani (Loyola HS) Los Angeles, CA, 6-3, G, Yale