Cornell Men's Basketball Announces Class of 2017 and Roster for 2013-2014

Below in this post, Cornell Athletics' announcement of the Big Red's freshman class and the 2013-2014 roster.  Also see The Cornell Basketball Blog's bios of these "newcomers" which include: 

• 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)

Cornell Men's Basketball Announces Class of 2017

Cornell Athletics

ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell head coach Bill Courtney has announced five incoming recruits will join the Big Red basketball program in the fall of 2013. Freshmen JoJo Fallas, Desmond Fleming, Robert Hatter, David Onuorah and Darryl Smith will bolster a lineup that returns seven letter winners and two starters from a squad that opened Ivy season with a 5-3 record before injuries sabotaged the final three weeks of the season.

G JoJo Fallas – 5-11/175 — Los Angeles, Calif. (Shalhevet HS)
Fallas was a four-time first-team all-league pick at Shalhevet HS. A three-time all-division selection and two-time captain, Fallas was a four-year starter in both basketball and baseball. He helped his team to a 24-2 record as a senior and helped the squad advanced to the Southern Section 5A basketball championship game, the furthest any team at the school had ever advanced in the playoffs. Fallas was named MVP of the Sarachek Tournament his senior year.

G Desmond Fleming – 5-11/180 — The Woodlands, Texas (The Woodlands College Park HS)
Fleming earned first-team all-district and all-county honors after averaging 12.0 points, 3.4 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game as a senior at The Woodlands College Park HS. A preseason top 100 player on the Guy V. Lewis Award Watch List as the top player in the city of Houston, he also earned academic all-district accolades. As a junior on a 30-8 squad, Fleming averaged 7.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.8 assists per contest and was named honorable mention all-district. He was a three-year letter winner on the varsity. Fleming also competed in track and field during his high school career.

G Robert Hatter – 6-2/165 — Houston, Texas (Westside HS)
Hatter was a second-team all-state selection as a senior at  Westside HS and was a three-time first-team all-district and two-time all-region pick. He earned all-Greater Houston accolades by VPE Magazine and was ranked as the No. 3 point guard in the area. Hatter was named the district most valuable player as a junior after averaging 21.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game. He was first-team all-league, all-district and all-region as a senior captain and earned team MVP accolades in each of his final three seasons. Hatter shot 50 percent from the floor, 88 percent from the free-throw line and 39 percent from beyond the 3-point arc in his final season.

F David Onuorah – 6-9/230 — Atlanta, Ga. (Marist HS)
An all-state selection by the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association as a senior at Marist HS, Onuorah earned honorable mention all-county honors. He received preseason All-Metro honors by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. Onuorah averaged 12.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game as a junior and 6.5 points and 5.1 rebounds as a sophomore. He was named the team's defensive player of the year in his final year.

G Darryl Smith – 6-2/180 — Chesapeake, Va. (Blue Ridge School)
Smith averaged 14.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.8 steals per game as a senior captain at the Blue Ridge School. A two-time first-team all-league pick and a two-time team MVP, Smith earned second-team all-league accolades during his junior year That season, Smith averaged 6.2 points, 5.2 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game for one of the top 20 teams in the state and was part of a team that advanced to the state championship game as a sophomore. Smith was a member of the 2012 state championship football team as a defensive back and was a sprinter on the track and field team.

News and Notes: Tuesday Edition

Above, Chuck Rolles ('54).  Below, news and notes for Tuesday...

• Per InsideTheHall.com, Cornell's 2013-2014 opponent, Louisville is ranked in the Top 10 of the nation in both the Sporting News and Lindy's preseason college basketball annuals.  Syracuse, another Cornell opponent, also appears in the Sporting News' Top 10.

• Per Cornell assistant coach Mike Blaine, Drew Ferry (Cornell '12) will play professionally in Spain this season.

News and Notes: Monday Edition

Below, news and notes for Monday...

• We hear that Cornell's new assistant coach reports to campus Tuesday.  An announcement and introduction should be released this week.  We fully expect fans to be excited with the selection by Bill Courtney.

• Cornell Athletics officially announced, "The annual Rebounder's Welcome Back Picnic for the men's and women's basketball teams will be held on Wednesday, August 28 at 6 p.m. at the Country Club of Ithaca. For the first time, the event is open to the public. Admission is $20 and can be paid at the door, or by contacting Ted Caldwell at dtedcaldwell@gmail.com."

• NYC Buckets writes of Cornell's returning possession minutes, "The Big Red appear to be in a slightly better place because Shonn Miller and Nolan Cressler are all-league talents."

• Notre Dame released its schedule, including its date with Cornell. 

• The Watertown Daily Times writes, "Syracuse begins its season with a non-conference game against Cornell on Nov. 8 at the Carrier Dome."

• Duke Basketball Report takes a few passive shots at Cornell and writes, "Mike Brey’s [Notre Dame's] non-conference schedule is wretched: Indianapolis, Tusculum, Miami (Ohio), Stetson, Indiana State, Santa Clara, Army, Cornell, Iowa (as mandated by the Challenge), Delaware, Bryant, North Dakota State and Canisius. They do play Indiana and Ohio State in December, voluntarily, but that’s about it for ruggedness... the [Syracuse] Orange have a few lame opponents – Cornell, Fordham and Colgate open things up – before heading out to Maui."

• Similarly, the Olean Times Herald writes of St. Bonaventure, "There didn’t seem to be much reaction to Bona playing a schedule which includes two teams new to Division I and a home slate that consists of South Dakota, Abilene Christian, Canisius, UMass-Lowell, Delaware and Cornell, and understandably so."

• Below is an updated list of players committed to Ivy League schools in the class of 2013 and 2014 (unless otherwise noted):

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

Tyler Williams (Lakota West HS) W.Chester, OH, 6-1, G, Brown (2014)  
Zach Yoshor (Beren Academy) Houston, TX, 6-7, F, Harvard (2014) 
Mike LeBlanc (New Hampton Prep) New Hampton, NH, 6-7, F, Princeton  (2014)
Aaron Young (Episcopal HS), Lynchburg, VA 6-1, G, Princeton (2014)
Amir Bell (East Brunswick HS) E.Brunswick, NJ, 6-4, G, Princeton (2014) 
Landon Russell (Nolan Catholic HS) Ft Worth, TX, 6-2, G, Yale (2014)
Maki Mason (Hotchkiss School), Lakeville, CT, 5-11, G, Yale (2014)

Khalil Bedart-Ghani (Loyola HS) Los Angeles, CA, 6-3, G, Yale (2014)

News and Notes: Thursday Edition

Below, news and notes for Thursday...

• Steve Donahue was voted as the No. 16 "Xs and Os" coach in the country by his peers on ESPN.com.

• Louisville released its schedule along with its television appearances.

• A late addition to the recruiting class:  JoJo Fallas (Shalhevet HS) Los Angeles, CA, 5-11, G, will join the Cornell Big Red this season as a freshman.  Fallas, an excellent student (4.3 GPA and 2200 on the SAT) was an All CIF Section selection as a senior after averaging 21 points per game during the regular season and taking home the Mulholland League MVP Award and the Saracheck Tournament MVP where he averaged over 22 points.  He played the summer 2013 in the Maccabi Games with the U-18 USA  Team.  He told the Boiling Point about his recruitment to Cornell:

"So the head of my AAU program, Rob Icarc, called me one day and left a message on my phone saying that he wanted to talk to me about playing basketball at Cornell. I was thrilled, and immediately called him back to ask for details. He told me nothing was certain, but Cornell needed a point guard. He asked me if I was interested, and I said of course. That got the ball rolling, and from there, I contacted coaches at Cornell and sent them game tapes.  We talked on the phone and I visited the school. I had to send them my entire application, and I loved the school—but I only wanted to go there if I could play basketball. It was a whole long process, and one day they offered me a spot on the team...  About 25 Division 3 schools recruited me. I turned down a few, and reached out to a few, but they turned me down. It’s a really fickle game that takes a lot of patience and luck to figure out the right place to go."

• Below is an updated list of players committed to Ivy League schools in the class of 2013 and 2014 (unless otherwise noted):

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

Tyler Williams (Lakota West HS) W.Chester, OH, 6-1, G, Brown (2014)  
Zach Yoshor (Beren Academy) Houston, TX, 6-7, F, Harvard (2014)
Amir Bell (East Brunswick HS) E.Brunswick, NJ, 6-4, G, Princeton (2014) 
Landon Russell (Nolan Catholic HS) Ft Worth, TX, 6-2, G, Yale (2014)
Maki Mason (Hotchkiss School), Lakeville, CT, 5-11, G, Yale (2014)

Khalil Bedart-Ghani (Loyola HS) Los Angeles, CA, 6-3, G, Yale (2014)

News and Notes: Wednesday Edition

News and Notes for Wednesday...

• Army gave a contract extension to Zach Spiker.

• Bleacher Report writes, "On paper, the only Ivy League team in the recent era that could compete with the 2013-14 Harvard team is Cornell from 2009-10, and that team made the Sweet 16."

• Binghamton coach Tommy Dempsey told the Binghamton Press Sun-Bulletin that the Bearcats should play Cornell every year as a regional rivalry.  WBNG News added that the Cornell game is a "highlight" on the Binghamton schedule.  Binghamton Basketball Blog analyzed the game as follows:

Nov. 13 @ Cornell: 6

In a true test of character, Binghamton battled back from a 22-point second half deficit but ultimately fell, 79-77, to Cornell last year. Eitan Chemerinski and Johnathan Gray, neither of whom remain with the program, carried the Big Red with a combined 35 points, but All-Ivy selection Shonn Miller returns.

The Bearcats lured a mediocre-shooting Cornell squad into 31 threes, and nearly emerged victorious as Jordan Reed and Rayner Moquete led the second-half surge.

This year, Cornell returns just four of its 10 rotation players, losing its top-two scorers behind Miller.

• Missouri State received $95,000 as a guarantee plus hotel costs to agree to play at Louisville.  Cornell visits the Cards as well this season.

News and Notes: Tuesday Edition

Above, A Date in Cornell Basketball History.  A December 30, 1972 A.P. article recaps Cornell's win over Arkansas in the Razorback Invitational in Little Rock.  Below, news and notes for Tuesday...

• Cornell opponent, Western Michigan released its schedule.  Read about it in the Kalamazoo Gazette.

• Columbia released its schedule as well.

• Teams on Cornell's 2013-2014 schedule appearing thus far in College Sports Madness' Countdown of the Top 144 Teams include Western Michigan (No. 100) and Stony Brook (No. 135).

The Other 26 Surveys Ivy Coaches

Saunders, Miller headline Ivy League coaches’ ideal team 

The Other 26 

Because of their roles in a cheating scandal at Harvard, co-captains Kyle Casey and Brandyn Curry withdrew from the prestigious university and missed the entire 2012-13 season, opening the door for Princeton and other rivals to make a run for the Ivy League title. The Tigers came close to dethroning the reigning champs, but the Crimson prevailed atop the standings before upsetting No. 3 seed New Mexico in the Round of 64.

Without Casey and Curry, someone else needed to step up. Wesley Saunders did, averaging 16.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game and earning a unanimous First Team All-Ivy selection.

Saunders missed out on Player of the Year honors—that accolade went to Princeton’s Ian Hummer—but Ivy League coaches tabbed the junior guard/forward as the conference’s best player in an exclusive poll given by The Other 26.

I asked the question, “Which six players in the conference would you most want on your team, regardless of position?” to the league’s coaches. Thirteen coaches from seven different schools responded, and 10 of them listed Saunders as one of their six. Coaches could not vote for players on their own team.

There are many qualities about Saunders that separate the junior from his peers, including his abilities to get to the rim and play multiple positions. As one coach put it, “[Saunders is the] best player in the league. Doesn’t shoot it great, but is so good going to the rim that he doesn’t need to.” Saunders did shoot poorly at times last season, including a 1-for-11 outing in the 3rd Round of the NCAA Tournament, but still managed to finish second in the Ivy League in scoring. Saunders’ size and speed makes him a nightmare matchup for both guards and forwards, and an improved shot would make him even better—a scary thought.

Closely following Saunders were Cornell’s Shonn Miller and Brown’s Sean McGonagill, who appeared on nine and eight ballots, respectively. Both players joined Saunders on the 2012-13 First Team All-Ivy.

Miller, a do-it-all junior forward, averaged 11.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 1.9 blocks per game last season. One coach said that Miller “affects the game on both ends of the floor with his athleticism like not many can,” and another dubbed him “the most athletic player in the league by far.” Cornell may not have had much success last season, finishing 13-18, but Miller and sophomore guard Nolan Cressler give the Big Red a solid 1-2 punch for the next two years.

McGonagill, an undersized shooting guard, stands at 6-foot-1 but compensates with a terrific scoring touch and a tough-minded approach. One coach said that McGonagill is “a great shooter, but the best quality is his toughness!” Another described the senior as a “tough kid who wills his team to victory.”

Alongside Matt Sullivan, McGonagill helped vault Brown from seventh place in the Ivy League in 2011-12 to fourth place in 2012-13. Sullivan graduated, but with McGonagill and the bulk of last year’s roster back, Brown could be a sleeper in league play.

Harvard’s Siyani Chambers (7), Penn’s Tony Hicks (7) and Princeton’s Denton Koon (5) rounded out the top six vote-getters.

Chambers, last season’s Ivy League Freshman of the Year and First Team All-Ivy selection, hit the ground running as the Crimson’s rookie point guard. He played an astonishing 37.8 minutes per game and averaged 12.4 points and 5.7 assists.

“[Chambers] is the best point guard in the league, can control tempo, and score when his team needs him,” one coach said. “Speed kills, and he kills everyone with that.”

Hicks, a sophomore guard, averaged 10.4 points per game as a freshman, and displayed his scoring potential throughout his first collegiate season, pouring in at least 20 points on four separate occasions. An All-Ivy honorable mention last season, Hicks, described by one coach as “a relentless scorer,” is poised to become one of the league’s elite players.

Koon, also an All-Ivy honorable mention in 2012-13, saw his scoring average jump from 5.1 points per game as a freshman to 10.5 points per game as a sophomore. One coach raved about his “always improving skill set,” which the Tigers could use to make up for the loss of forward Ian Hummer, last year’s Ivy League Player of the Year.

And, of course, you can’t forget about Casey (4) and Curry (3), who return to Harvard after spending 2012-13 away from the team. Casey was a First Team All-Ivy selection in 2011-12, while Curry made Second Team All-Ivy.

Referred to as the “most talented and versatile player in the league” by one coach, Casey, along with Kenyatta Smith, Steve Moundou-Missi, and Zena Edosomwan, is part of one of the deepest Ivy League frontcourts in recent memory.

Also receiving votes: Laurent Rivard, Harvard (4); Cedric Kuakumensah, Brown (4); Justin Sears, Yale (3); Miles Cartwright, Penn (3); Kenyatta Smith, Harvard (2); Darien Nelson-Henry, Penn (2); Nolan Cressler, Cornell; Gabas Maldunas, Dartmouth; Alex Mitola, Dartmouth; Maodo Lo, Columbia.