News and Notes: Thursday Edition

Above, A Date in Cornell Basketball History, the 1904 Cornell Big Red Men's Basketball Team.  Below, news and notes for Thursday...

• Bill Courtney talks to ESPN Ithaca about Cornell's new recruiting class.  The Chicago Tribune writes  that the Fremd High School (Illinois) offense "ran through" Cornell recruiting commit, Riley Glassmann, the Mid-Suburban West Player of the Year last season in Illinois.

• The Syracuse Post Standard recently asked Bill Courtney about the blocking/charge rules in college basketball:

Bill Courtney, Cornell: "I'm not exactly sure myself what the new interpretation will look like, but last year, they started to enforce it more and differently with upward motion and the whole deal. I'm looking forward to the referees coming around and explaining it to us. At the end of the day, it's such a difficult call, it's such a judgment call, it's going to be debated no matter what. The circle helps, because if you're standing anywhere inside that circle, it's an automatic block -- so I think that has certainly cleared up some of the area around the basket. But as far as 'what's a block and what's a charge' -- it's really just a judgment call. It's really difficult for the referee, because they have to do it in live time and now everybody's an expert with the replay. It's difficult to get those calls right."
Moving the circle out a foot: "I think that definitely would help. It would open up driving lanes a little bit more where you really can't take a charge. I think it helps kids that are athletic and can block shots. They can still do that. For teams whose defenses like to draw charges, it's going to be more difficult. But on the offensive end, it gives the teams that drive the basketball more room to operate and opens up some driving lanes."

• A former Cornell prospect will play for Syracuse next season as a transfer per the Post Standard.

• The Pittsburgh Tribune writes:

The 2014 summer season for the Pittsburgh Basketball Club's Pro-Am League begins June 23 at Montour High School, and last year's campaign was a special one for Plum graduate Nolan Cressler and Gateway grad Luke Kochka.

Kochka hopes to make this year's league experience a special one, while Cressler wants to make the most of what is expected to be an abbreviated stay in the league this summer.

Cressler transferred to Vanderbilt in the Southeastern Conference after two seasons in the Ivy League at Cornell, and he will head to the Nashville campus early next month to take a class and start summer team workouts.

It will be one of the first big chances Cressler will have to bond and develop chemistry with his new Commmodore teammates before the fall semester begins in late August.

That means he will only be able to play three or four Pro-Am League games.

“It's a terrific league, and it's always great to be able to compete against some great players,” Cressler said.

“It's a fun atmosphere. Even if it's for only a few games, I will be happy to play.”

Cressler, who will sit out this season because of NCAA transfer rules, will have two years of collegiate eligibility left at Vanderbilt.

He had a breakout season as a sophomore at Cornell, and he said going up against some talented players in the Pro-Am league, including those from Duquesne, Pitt and West Virginia, helped him improve his game.

Cressler had a couple of 30-point games in the Pro-Am League last year, and he was named to the all-league team with Pitt's Talib Zanna, Duquesne's Ovie Soko and Derrick Colter, Robert Morris' Lucky Jones and collegiate basketball alumni Lance Jeter and Chevy Troutman.

“I wanted to measure myself and see if all the hard work was paying off,” Cressler said.

“I was able to play really well, and that was nice to see. It helped me take my game to another level.”

Cressler averaged a team-best 16.8 points for Cornell last season and scored more than 20 points in a game eight times.

He tallied 23 in the opener at Syracuse and had a season- and career-best 34 points in an overtime league loss against Brown on Feb. 22.