News and Notes: Monday Edition

Above, A Date in Cornell Basketball History.  The game program from a 1948 doubleheader in Buffalo, New York.  Cornell faced the 1944 national champions, Utah.  Below, news and notes for Monday...

• Hoopville surveys the Ivy and writes, "Cornell will continue rebuilding, especially with Nolan Cressler’s transfer, but Shonn Miller, who missed the season due to injury, is now healthy and working his way back for next season.  As good as this year was for the Ivy League, next year has the potential to be even better."

• The Ivy League is seeking a new tv contract reports the Ithaca Journal.  The IJ writes:

Cornell’s men’s basketball team was 2-26 this season with one of those victories against Division III Oberlin College, but coach Bill Courtney said “even though you’re bad, being on TV helps.”“We were able to hang tough with a good Bonnies team (81-57 loss), and kids saw it and think, ‘Hey, their record is bad, but they’re fighting and right there in the game,’ ” Courtney said. “And then Brown, we lose in overtime (81-75) so it’s like, ‘Yeah, their record stinks, but they’re not that bad.’ “That’s what kids saw,” he said, “so now when I go out and recruit juniors in high school, they know because they’ve seen us and they think, ‘They’re right there, they’re not that far off.’ ”Courtney might be right about the exposure for his struggling squad this past season, but generally speaking, the more competitive the teams being featured are, the better. This past men’s basketball season was historic for the Ivies, with five teams qualifying for the postseason... “It’s the best brand in the world, honestly, when you talk about a true student-athlete,” Courtney said. “And the more we can put that out there, the better.”

• Cornell graduate and former Big Red team manager, Yanni Hufnagel (Cornell '06) is headed for an assistant job at Cal just weeks after he recruited Nolan Cressler to Vanderbilt.  Anchor of Gold writes, "Hufnagel came to Nashville in May 2013 and had an instant impact on the recruiting trail. The charismatic assistant helped the Commodores land six recruits for 2014 and 2015 along with Cornell transfer Nolan Cressler. After a pair of rebuilding seasons, his work had set Vandy up for a big comeback in the next two seasons."  The move has confused some in college basketball circles.  Just a year ago Hufnagel called the Vandy position a "dream job"  and his "last stop" on his assistant coaching career and someone had to "pinch him" to ensure it was a reality.  Granted situations change.  But the move is curious.

• City of Basketball Love writes, "There have been some memorable teams to unexpectedly make their mark in the NCAA tournament in the past few years. From the 2009 Villanova Final Four team to the 2010 Cornell Sweet 16 team, underdogs stories have dominated the press during March Madness.  The tough part is, these teams sneak into our hearts for a few weeks, but are then easily forgotten. What happened to the members of that Cornell team that took down Temple and Wisconsin and captivated the nation? Have you ever wished for a curtain call for some of the teams that made their mark?  Now there is a way to relive these teams, and see them play at least one more time. The Basketball Tournament, known by TBT, is a new basketball tournament launching this June in Philadelphia that features some of these teams from all over the nation all playing for one big prize...There are plenty of notable teams in the field, such as those Villanova and Cornell teams...The opening round of the tournament will be held June 6-8 in a location to be determined in Philadelphia, where they will cut the field to the final two teams. The Basketball Tournament is looking at Philadelphia University’s facility to hold the majority of the games...Right now, there are 62 teams signed up online to participate in the 32-team tournament..."

• See also Rumble in the Garden for a mention of Cornell in The Basketball Tournament.

• Here is a link to a video interview from March 2014 with Jeff Foote (Cornell '10).

• Former Cornell assistant coach Nat Graham reportedly has joined the staff at Penn.

• Former Cornell assistant coach Paul Fortier was inducted into the San Francisco Prep Hall of Fame.

Check out Cornell's 2013-2014 Season Highlight Video.

• Check out the now updated profiles, including senior year honors and accolades, of Cornell's five incoming recruits for next season.  The class consists of 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.  Will Bathurst was named First Team All State Class B by the New York Sports Writers Association.  See also the Buffalo News and WIVB for the story.  Per the Buffalo News, the Western New York Chapter of the Basketball Coaches Association of New York also selected Bathurst as the Small Schools Player of the Year.
  

• Cornell's 2014-2015 Schedule will be highlighted by Cornell's participation in ESPN's Charleston Classic.  Visit the Cornell team page at the Charleston Classic for more information.   In this ESPN-produced event, Cornell is guaranteed three (3) games against the field of eight (8) participants and all games are broadcast on the ESPN family network.  Potential opponents in Charleston include: Miami, South Carolina, USC, Penn State and Akron with two additional participants to be named at a later date.  The two unconfirmed additional participants are Charlotte and Drexel.  Cornell's thirty (30) games for the 2014-2015 schedule is rumored to include the following:

1. Loyola, MD (away)

2. UMass-Lowell (home)

3. Binghamton (away)

4. Colgate (home)

5. Siena (away)

6. St. Peter's (home)

7. Howard (home)

8. Radford (away)

9. Canisius (home)

10. Buffalo (away) (Guarantee Game)

11. BCS Guarantee Game TBD (away)

12. BCS Guarantee Game TBD (away)

13. D-III Game TBD (home)

14. Charleston Classic Game

15. Charleston Classic Game

16. Charleston Classic Game

17-30. Fourteen Ivy League Games

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