News and Notes: Friday Edition

Above,  A Date in Cornell Basketball History.  An Associated Press article recapping Cornell's fall to Clemson in the First Round of the IPTAY Tournament in 1980.  Below, news and notes for Friday...

• Cornell did not face former NBA All Star Larry Nance when it visited Clemson in 1980, but Cornell's Ned Tomic would face Nance's son decades later in high school.  Nance Jr. now plays for Wyoming.

• Ned Tomic had a successful summer at the 2013 Akron Canton Am Pro League and won the Most Improved Player Award after averaging 24.3 points 12.2 rebounds per game.  He led the league in rebounds.

• The former Cornell coaching staff now at Boston College (Steve Donahue, Nat Graham, Woody Kampmann and Izzi Metz) will face off against Errick Peck (Cornell '13) and his new school, Purdue, on ESPN2 on December 4 at 9 pm in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

• ESPN is in the midst of its "Summer Shootaround" series and writes of Boston College:

Boston College
Best case: In a way, this is just the third year of fourth-year coach Steve Donahue's rebuild; his first season in 2010-11, which featured star guard Reggie Jackson and four seniors in the starting lineup, doesn't really count. That's the frame of reference we're operating within, but the outer projections should be bullish. Everyone from last season's young, promising group is back, and if the Eagles can merely play average defense, they could absolutely break through to the NCAA tournament.
Worst case: In three seasons, even when the offense has flowed -- as it did last season, or in 2011 especially -- the Eagles have yet to rank higher than No. 174 in Ken Pomeroy's adjusted defensive efficiency metric. Frankly, Donahue's teams at Cornell (which, OK, it's Cornell, but still) never really played great defense. Until that half of BC's game gets better, the potential for a triumphant post-rebuild breakthrough is minimal.

News and Notes: Thursday Edition

Below, news and notes for Thursday...

• Complex Sports talks with Cody Toppert ( Cornell '05) about success.

• Penn announced its schedule.

• Previewing the Bonnies' schedule, St. Bonaventure Athletics writes, "The Bonnies ring in the New Year and conclude the non-conference slate by welcoming the Cornell Big Red to campus on Saturday, Jan. 4. St. Bonaventure will look to make it four straight victories against the Big Red as they defeated Cornell last year 72-68. Cornell had a 13-18 overall record last year and has not been over .500 since the 2009-10 season where they advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament."

• Below is an updated tentative listing of opponents on Cornell's 28-game 2013-2014 schedule which will include 6 home nonconference games.  The games listed are in no particular order. Teams which participated in the 2013 postseason are noted.  Cornell's nonconference schedule will likely feature three Top 35 preseason teams, two in the Top 10 (Syracuse is one of them).  The opponents:

1. at Syracuse (2013 NCAA Tournament Final Four) (Season opener)
2. vs. Loyola (MD) (2013 CollegeInsider.com Invitational Tournament
3. vs. Binghamton
4. at Western Michigan (2013 College Basketball Invitational)
5. at St. Peter's
6. at Colgate
7. NOVEMBER 22, 7 pm, vs. Siena 
8. NOVEMBER 25, 7  pm vs. Radford
9. DECEMBER 7, vs. St. Francis (PA)
10. DECEMBER 22, at Stony Brook (2013 Postseason National Invitational Tournament)
11. JANUARY 4, at St. Bonaventure
12. at BCS Opponent (Contract signed, "NCAA Tournament team")
13. at BCS Opponent (Contract signed, "NCAA Tournament team")
14. vs. Division III Opponent
15. PLUS 14 Ivy League Games

News and Notes: Wednesday Edition

Below, news and notes for Wednesday...

• Below is an updated tentative listing of opponents on Cornell's 28-game 2013-2014 schedule which will include 6 home nonconference games.  The games listed are in no particular order. Teams which participated in the 2013 postseason are noted.  Cornell's nonconference schedule will likely feature three Top 35 preseason teams, two in the Top 10 (Syracuse is one of them).  The opponents:

1. at Syracuse (2013 NCAA Tournament Final Four) (Season opener)
2. vs. Loyola (MD) (2013 CollegeInsider.com Invitational Tournament
3. vs. Binghamton
4. at Western Michigan (2013 College Basketball Invitational)
5. at St. Peter's
6. at Colgate
7. NOVEMBER 22, 7 pm, vs. Siena 
8. NOVEMBER 25, 7  pm vs. Radford
9. DECEMBER 7, vs. St. Francis (PA)
10. DECEMBER 22, at Stony Brook (2013 Postseason National Invitational Tournament)
11. JANUARY 4, at St. Bonaventure
12. at BCS Opponent (Contract signed, "NCAA Tournament team")
13. at BCS Opponent (Contract signed, "NCAA Tournament team")
14. vs. Division III Opponent
15. PLUS 14 Ivy League Games

• William and Mary and Drake scored commitments from high school players reportedly involved (at varying degrees of mutual interest) with Cornell.

• NBC Sports published a feature on former Cornell assistant, Zach Spiker and writes:

To many, Army basketball is best known for producing such coaches as Bob Knight and longtime Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. These are two of the best to ever roam the sidelines, and their respective careers began at West Point—Coach K actually played for Knight during his time as a cadet (1966-1969).
This has been Army basketball’s legacy. They have no NCAA Tournament appearances to speak of and have not been to the postseason since 1978, have produced one NBA player in program history in Mike Silliman, have never reached the Patriot League championship, and have not had a winning season since 1984-1985.
All of that is true, except the final clause.
Army went 16-15 last year and 8-6 in the Patriot League. The above .500 record in league play was the first time in the 20+ year history of the league that the Black Knights finished above this mark.
Given the season Army had last year with such a young team – seven freshman routinely saw minutes – one would think that Zach Spiker, heading into his fifth season at West Point, would take some time to enjoy what he and his program have accomplished.
“Something that has stuck out to me, the quote in my mind, is really simple: ‘the arrogance of success is to think that what we did yesterday is good enough for tomorrow,’” Spiker told NBC Sports over the phone.
“We achieved some goals (last year), but not all the goals we wanted. At the end of the day we came in fourth place and were on the road in the semifinals. We need to keep working. We lose our top two perimeter scorers from last year (Ella Ellis graduated and freshman Kyle Toth transferred.) We’ve got to evolve and reestablish what our standards are going to be in order to be successful.”
When rising senior and soon to be two-year captain Josh Herbeck came to West Point as a freshman in 2011, the thought of finishing in the upper half of the Patriot League and winning a league championship were merely pipe dreams. That’s not the case anymore.
“It would mean everything to reach the NCAAs. Everyone who plays basketball dreams to get to that ‘One Shining Moment,’ said Herbeck. “This didn’t seem as attainable earlier in my career, but now we are right there, on the cusp.”
Spiker has Army well on their way. They will likely be picked to finish in the top four of the new-look Patriot League next season – remember, Boston University and Loyola (Maryland) are now full-time members – and return many pieces from a team that had a shot at knocking off Bucknell in the semifinals of last year’s conference tournament; Army trailed by just a possession at the final media timeout.
While the 2013-2014 campaign looks to be a banner season for Army, it wasn’t long ago that the program was stuck in the basement of Division 1 with Jim Crews, who was NBCSports.com’s c-Coach of the Year with St. Louis in 2012-2013, at the helm. Crews was fired in September of 2009 after butting heads with then athletic director Kevin Anderson for more than a year, and with practice beginning in just weeks, a coach had to be named immediately.
Enter, Zach Spiker.
“From afar, I knew the personnel because we played them in basketball, but I would say that is about it,” Spiker said of what he knew about the program prior to accepting the job. “I did know the terrific quote by MacArthur: ‘On the fields of friendly strife are sown the seed that on other days and other fields will bear the fruits of victory.’ I made a point, when I was an assistant coach at Cornell, to go out to [the patio outside of Christl Arena] and see that every time.”
“I took coach Crews out to breakfast two or three times after I was hired just to pick his brain about the school and program. He cared a lot about the school and loved the players…he really helped with my transition. If you were hired at Sports Illustrated to take over for Pete Thamel, wouldn’t you want to speak with him?”
While speaking with Crews helped Spiker’s transition, Army is a pretty unique place, and one would think that in order to have success at this institution, a different approach must be taken. The day-to-day lives of the student-athletes at these schools is certainly different than the average college student, but that doesn’t mean Spiker had to change his coaching approach when transitioning from an assistant at Cornell to the head man at Army.
“The approach we take is very similar to the approach we took as a staff at Cornell,” Spiker said. “Success hinges on knowing your players and building relationships with them. Going to them and bonding with them, wherever that may be.” For example, NBC Sports spoke with Spiker on July 22nd, a Monday afternoon. Earlier that morning, from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. – Spiker has gotten in the habit of referring to that as 0400 and 0800 – Spiker was with the 10th Mountain serving as OP4 for CFT … “opposing force for cadet field training”.
What makes Army unique is the “MAPS”, or the Military Academy Prep School. Its mission? “To provide academic, military and physical instruction in a moral-ethical military environment to prepare and motivate candidates for success at the United States Military Academy.”
From a basketball standpoint, that means that MAPS is essentially a redshirt year for incoming freshmen. The rest of the Patriot League does not permit any non-medical redshirts, which makes MAPS a great tool Spiker has in his arsenal. It comes as little surprise that many of Army’s freshmen cracked the lineup last season. “We knew what their record was at the prep school. They won the most games in its history. Now, that record has since been broken.”
Kyle Wilson, the Patriot League Rookie of the Year last season, was one of these freshmen who contributed from day one after having spent a year at MAPS. He led all freshmen in scoring averaging 13 points-per-game on 41.6% shooting from three. Furthermore, four Army freshmen ranked in the top ten in the league in scoring – a bright future at West Point.
A year at MAPS is also another year for a player to learn Spiker’s offensive system and bond with him off the court.
“I have a great relationship with coach [Spiker], a lot of one on one conversations,” explained Herbeck. “He has an open door policy. What’s great about coach is that he really cares about the development of his players in all facets of life.”
“Before I came to Army, I used to say I was a history buff, but now that I’m here I realize I know nothing – there’s so much history here,” said Spiker.
While true, Spiker will be looking to write his own kind of history at Army next season as the Black Knights are on a quest to win a Patriot League Championship and earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament, two areas that have eluded Army basketball throughout program history.

News and Notes: Tuesday Edition

Above, Edwin Sweetland (Class of 1899), a multi-sport varsity letterman and member of Cornell's 1898 men's basketball team.  Below, news and notes for Tuesday...

• RCS Sports released its final rankings of the top graduating high school players from the Division I rich, Houston area.  Cornell freshman, Robert Hatter is ranked No. 14, Penn recruit, Dylan Jones ranks No. 18 and Cornell freshman Desmond Flemming checks in at No. 77.

• The Roanoke Times mentions Radford's visit to Cornell during 2013.

• The Ivy League references Eitan Chemerinski's participation in the Maccabi Games.

• When Cornell faces St. Bonaventure this season, the Bonnies' roster will boast a rare 6th year senior who injured his Achilles against Cornell back in November 2011.

• Per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a Wisconsin guard selected Drake over interest from Cornell and Harvard.

• Sports Illustrated's Andy Glockner writes of Boston College, "Stevie D’s steady build worked at Cornell, and it’s starting to simmer in Chestnut Hill. Young team maturing w/ Hanlan/Anderson 1-2 punch."

• SB Nation covers the transfers into the Purdue program and writes:

The first senior to transfer into Purdue was Errick Peck, an Indiana native who attended college previously at Cornell. The 6'6 forward averaged just less than 10 points per game and 5 rebounds per game in his last season at Cornell and has one more year of eligibility due to a knee injury that caused him to miss an earlier season. Peck was a relatively modest shooter at Cornell, making around 35% of his three pointers and almost 70% from the free throw line in his career. His numbers aren't staggering, but Purdue desperately needs to establish an outside shooting presence, as well as add some experience to the roster. As a fifth year senior Peck has been around the game long enough to bring some leadership to the table, though he'll be facing heavy competition for playing time.

News and Notes: Friday Edition

Below, news and notes for Friday...

• Ned Tomic leads the Akron Canton AmPro in both scoring (27.5) and rebounding (11.5).

• The Cornell Rebounder Club's  "Welcome Back Picnic" is just around the corner on August 28.  If we are all lucky, Cornell Athletics will give us some video footage as they have in the past.

• Princeton released its schedule and previewed Cornell, noting, "First-team All-Ivy Leaguer 6-7 Shonn Miller (11.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg) is back, though Cornell's next two leading scorers, 6-3 Johnathan Gray (10.0 ppg) and 6-6 Errick Peck (9.7 ppg) are not. Twelve Big Red players got a start last season, and five of those players are on the upcoming season's roster."

• Below is a tentative listing of opponents on Cornell's 28-game 2013-2014 schedule which will include 6 home nonconference games.  The games listed are in no particular order. Teams which participated in the 2013 postseason are noted.  Cornell's nonconference schedule will likely feature three Top 35 preseason teams, two in the Top 10 (Syracuse is one of them).  The opponents:

1. at Syracuse (2013 NCAA Tournament Final Four) (Season opener)
2. vs. Loyola (MD) (2013 CollegeInsider.com Invitational Tournament
3. vs. Binghamton
4. at Western Michigan (2013 College Basketball Invitational)
5. at St. Bonaventure
6. at Stony Brook (2013 Postseason National Invitational Tournament)
7. at St. Peter's
8. at Colgate
9. NOVEMBER 22, 7 pm, vs. Siena 
10. NOVEMBER 25, 7  pm vs. Radford
11. DECEMBER 7, vs. St. Francis (PA)
12. at BCS Opponent (Contract signed, "NCAA Tournament team")
13. at BCS Opponent (Contract signed, "NCAA Tournament team")
14. vs. Division III Opponent
15. PLUS 14 Ivy League Games

News and Notes: Monday Edition

Above, Dates in Cornell Basketball History.  Top, an advertisement for Cornell's 1993 "Rally Around the Red" Employee/Family Night along with a t-shirt from the event.  Bottom, a rare Cornell Basketball t-shirt from the 2010 Sweet Sixteen run, complete with the Tournament's bracket results printed on the reverse side.  Below, news and notes...

• NESN reports this weekend that Jay Larranaga, the former Cornell assistant coach under Bill Courtney, remains a "serious" candidate for the head coaching job of the Philadelphia 76ers.  Back in 2010, Larranaga was the lead recruiter for Cornell junior, Dave Lamore.

• The Pittsburgh Basketball Club officially posted its All League Team from the Pro Am.  Cornell's Nolan Cressler made the cut. 

• Take a look at some of the names on the roster of the 1992 USBL team, the Philadelphia Spirit, which included Cornell's Bill Courtney.

• BC Interruption mentions Eitan Chemerinski's participation in the Maccabi Games.

• Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports writes, "Cornell transfer Errick Peck is going to be a factor for Purdue. The 6-6 veteran averaged 9.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game last season for the Big Red, and could start at power forward for the Boilermakers thanks to his experience and intangibles. Peck is eligible to play immediately since he already graduated from Cornell. Look for Purdue to be one of the more improved teams in the Big Ten next season."  

• CBS adds that Peck will be an "underrated" piece added to the roster.

• Nets Daily writes of the NBA D-League's Springfield Armor's former head coach, Bob McKinnon, "During his tenure in Springfield, the Armor produced three players who were called up by the Nets --Dennis Horner and Jerry Smith two years ago-- and Kris Joseph this season. Willie Reed (Grizzlies) and Jeff Foote (Hornets) also got called up [to the NBA] from Springfield."  McKinnon is now coach of the LA Defenders in the D-League.

• Below is a partial tentative listing of opponents on Cornell's 28-game 2013-2014 schedule which will include 6 home nonconference games.  The games listed are in no particular order. Teams which participated in the 2013 postseason are noted:

1. at Syracuse (2013 NCAA Tournament Final Four)
2. at Western Michigan (2013 College Basketball Invitational)
3. at St. Bonaventure
4. at Stony Brook (2013 Postseason National Invitational Tournament)
5. at St. Peter's
6. at Colgate
7. vs. Loyola (MD) (2013 CollegeInsider.com Invitational Tournament)
8. vs. Radford
9. vs. Binghamton
10. NOVEMBER 22, 7 pm, vs. Siena
11. DECEMBER 7, vs. St. Francis (PA)
12. at BCS Opponent (Verbal agreement, Contract not signed yet)
13. at BCS Opponent (not yet determined)
14. vs. Division III Opponent (not yet determined)
15. PLUS 14 Ivy League Games

• If you missed it, check out Cornell's 2012-2013 season highlight video.

• Below is an updated list of players committed to Ivy League schools in the class of 2013 (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
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) 
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)

• Below, a look at the "Cornell Coaching Plantations"  -- the men's college basketball coaches with ties to Cornell University.

  Ryan Wittman (Cornell Class of '10)-Graduate student  assistant coach at Boston College.  Played for Cornell under Steve Donahue.

  Jon Jaques (Cornell Class of '10)-Graduate student assistant coach at Columbia University. Played for Cornell under Steve Donahue. 

  Kevin App (Cornell Class of '07)-Assistant coach at Army. Played for Cornell under Steve Donahue.

  Yanni Hufnagel (Cornell Class of '06)-Assistant coach at Vanderbilt. Served as student-manager at Cornell under Steve Donahue.
  
  Steve Donahue-Head coach of Boston College. Served as head coach at Cornell between 2000-2010.
  
  Zach Spiker-Head coach of Army. He served as an assistant coach at Cornell under Steve Donahue from 2004-2009.
  
  Joe Burke-Head coach of Skidmore College (Division III). He was an assistant coach at Cornell under Steve Donahue between 2001-2004.

  Ricky Yahn-Head coach, Concordia College of Michigan. He was an assistant coach at Cornell during 2010-2011 under Bill Courtney.

  Arlen Galloway-Head coach, Wentworth Institute of Technology.  He was an assistant coach at Cornell between 2011-2013 under Bill Courtney.

  Izzi Metz-Former Head coach Hobart College (Division III). He served as a Cornell assistant coach for five seasons between 2001-2006 under Steve Donahue and is currently an assistant coach and head of basketball operations at Boston College under Donahue.
  
  Nat Graham-Associate Head Coach (assistant) at Boston College under Steve Donahue. Served as an assistant coach under Donahue at Cornell from 2005-2010.
  
  Woody Kampmann-Assistant coach at Boston College under Steve Donahue. Served as an assistant coach under Donahue at Cornell from 2007-2010.
  
  Ryan Woerner-Former student intern coach under Steve Donahue during the 2009-2010 season and assistant coach for Cornell's women's team during 2010-2011. Currently director of basketball operations at St. Peter's.
  
  Steve Robinson-Assistant coach at North Carolina under Roy Williams. He was an assistant coach for Mike Dement at Cornell for two seasons, including on the 1988 Ivy League Championship team.
  
  Paul Fortier-Assistant coach at Cal Poly. He served as an assistant coach at Cornell during 2003-2005 under Steve Donahue.

  Desmond Oliver-Assistant coach at Charlotte. He was an assistant coach at Cornell between 1998-2000 under Scott Thompson.

  
  
  
  
• Throughout the year we provide periodic updates on Cornell's alumni playing professionally. Below, some updates: 

-Jeff Aubry ('99) (Halcones Rojos, LNBP Mexico premier league/Indios de Mayaguez, BSN Puerto Rico premier league)-As of August 5, Aubry's season in Puerto Rico concluded where he averaged 7.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game for Mayaguez in the Puerto Rico BSN, the island's premier league.  Mayaquez finished the season 19-17 and in 6th place out of 10 teams in the league and was eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs.  A 6'11" center, Aubry splits his time in both the Mexican and Puerto Rican professional leagues. A well traveled pro player, Aubry spent several seasons in the NBA D League in the early part of his career with the Fayetteville Patriots and Florida Flame and earned honorable mention all NBA D League in 2002. Aubry joins Jeff Foote (Cornell '10) (Springfield Armor), Ryan Wittman (Cornell '10) (Ft. Wayne Mad Ants) and Cody Toppert (Cornell '05) (Albuquerque Thunderbirds) as Cornell veterans of the NBA D-League.  (Cornell's four NBA D-League veterans is the most in Ivy League.)  During his more than a decade of pro experience, Aubry also played professionally in  the ABA (Miami Tropics) and abroad  in Puerto Rico (Arecibo Capitanes, Leones de Ponce, and Santurce, BSN Puerto Rico), Spain (Tarragona, LEB Gold Spain 2nd Division), Mexico (Halcones Rojos and Chihuahua Dorados, LNBP Mexico premier league), Poland (Slask Wroclaw, PLK Poland premier league), Argentina (Libertad Sunchales, Liga A Argentina), Uruguay (Hebraica, LUB Uruguay )and Peru (Alas Peruanas, Peru).

-Alex Tyler ('10) (Rockville Victors, Atlantic Coast Professional Basketball League)-Tyler finished his rookie season with the Victors.

-Louis Dale ('10) (KAOD Dramas, Greece A1 premier league)-As of August 5, Dale concluded his season and averaged 7.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.  KAOD finished 11-15 and in 9th place out of 14 teams in the A1.  Dale spent his  first two professional seasons both in Germany's BBK Bundesliga, the country's premier league with Goettingen.

-Jeff Foote ('10) (Zalgiris, Lithuania LKL premier league/EuroLeague/VTB Russian League)-As of August 5, Zalgiris' season is concluded.  Foote averaged 7.1 points and 4.8 rebounds per game for Zalgiris in the Lithuanian premier league, the LKL.  During the LKL regular season, Zalgiris finished 10-2 and in 4th place out of 12 teams but won the league championship in a 4-0 finals sweep of Lietuvos Rytas.  Foote was named to the LKL's All Star team for the 2012-2013 season.  Zalgiris also finished 8-2 in the 6-team Group C in the opening round of the EuroLeague and was elimited after finishing 6-8 in Group E in the EuroLeague's Top 16 round.  In EuroLeague action, Foote averaged 5.2 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.  In a third league of competition, the Eastern European VTB League, Zalgiris finished 16-2 and in 1st place out of 10 teams in Group B.  Zalgiris was eliminated in the semifinals of the VTB playoffs.  Zalgiris is currently ranked #5 in Europe.  Prior to the start of the 2012-2013 season, Foote played with the Brooklyn Nets in the NBA Summer League and participated in the team's free agent mini-camp.  During 2011-2012, Foote averaged 15.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game in the NBA D-League for the Springfield Armor (the Brooklyn Nets' affiliate) after being named a starter at the D-League's All-Star Game during February and was named Second Team All NBA D-League. Foote finished the D-League season ranked 4th in double-doubles and also 4th in rebounds. Foote averaged 1.0 points and 1.5 rebounds per game in 4 games for the NBA's New Orleans Hornets during a 10-day contract between March 9 and March 19. Foote was ranked by the D-League as its #6 overall NBA prospect.  During April 2012 he was profiled in a video on NBA.com.  He participated in the Portland Trailblazers' 2011-2012 preseason training camp and played the 2011-2012 preseason with with Zastal of       the PLK Poland premier league and the full 2010-2011 season in Spain (Melilla, LEB Gold Spain 2nd division) while on loan from Euro League powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel's premier league.

• Visit our growing directory of Cornell Basketball Linkedin profiles.

• Below is a directory listing of some Twitter feeds associated with the Cornell basketball program.

-Josh Wexler ('88)
-Rich Medina ('92)
-Bo Buttenback ('98)
-Dan Wendt ('98)
-Brian Williamson ('03)
-Jacques Vigneault ('03)
-Cody Toppert ('05)
-Steve Cobb ('05)
-Ryan Rourke ('06)
-Andrew Naeve ('07)
-Jason Canady ('08)
-Khaliq Gant ('09)
-Conor Mullen ('09)
-Brian Kreefer ('09)
-Ryan Wittman ('10)
-Pete Reynolds ('10)
-Jon Jaques ('10)
-Louis Dale ('10)
-Alex Tyler ('10)
-Geoff Reeves ('10)
-Jeff Foote ('10)
-Andre Wilkins ('10) (inactive)
-Aaron Osgood ('11)
-Adam Wire ('11)
-Max Groebe ('12)
-Chris Wroblewski ('12)
-Andrew Ferry ('12)
-Jonathan Gray ('13)
-Miles Asafo Adjei ('13)
-Peter McMillan ('13)
-Errick Peck ('13)
-Josh Figini ('13)
-Manny Sahota (former player)
-The Cornell Rebounders Club
-Galal Cancer ()
-Ned Tomic ()
-Dominick Scelfo ()
-Jake Mathews ()
-Dwight Tarwater ()
-Dave LaMore ()
-Shonn Miller ()
-Devin Cherry ()
-Nolan Cressler ()
-Braxston Bunce ()
-Holt Harmon ()
-Robert Mischler ()
-David Onuorah ()
-Robert Hatter ()
-Desmond Fleming ()
-Darryl Smith ()
-Jeremy Hartigan, Cornell SID ()
-Assistant Coach Mike Blaine ()
-Assistant Coach Marlon Sears ()
-Brian Delaney, ESPN Radio Ithaca ()
-Barry Leonard, Cornell Redcast/Play-By-Play Annnouncer
-Ed Boulat, Ithaca Journal
-Cornell Daily Sun Sports ()
-Slope Sports ()
-WVBR Sports
-Former assistant coach, Jay Larranaga
-Former assistant coach, Ricky Yahn ()
-Former head coach, Steve Donahue ()
-Former intern assistant Ryan Woerner ()
-Former assistant coach, Zach Spiker ()
-Former assistant coach, Nat Graham ()
-Former assistant coach, Woody Kampmann ()
-Former assistant coach, Izzi Metz ()
-Former assistant coach, Paul Fortier ()
-Former assistant coach Arlen Galloway ()

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News and Notes: Thursday Edition

Above, A Date in Cornell Basketball History, February 7, 1951, Roger Chadwick in action against Syracuse in Barton Hall. Below, news and notes for Thursday...

• The Rebounders Club is planning the Welcome Back Picnic for the players on August 28.

• The Pittsburgh Tribune writes on Nolan Cressler's summer:

Plum grad Cressler named to Pittsburgh Pro-Am all-league squad

Plum graduate Nolan Cressler, a rising sophomore at Cornell University, was one of six players to be named to the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Pro Am Summer League all-star team.

Pitt senior forward Talib Zanna helped PGT Trucking win the league title last week, and he is an all-star, as well as Duquesne forward Ovie Soko, former Pitt player Chevy Troutman, Beaver Falls and University of Nebraska alum Lance Jeter, Duquesne guard Derrick Colter and Robert Morris swing man Lucky Jones.

Cressler averaged 23 points over seven league games for the P&W BMW team.

“Everyone on the (all-league team) are great players,” Cressler said.

“It's an honor to be with those names.”

P&W BMW finished the six-game regular season in first place with a 5-1 record and received a bye into the playoff semifinals.

However, P&W BMW saw its season end suddenly with a 108-90 loss to The Lair, a squad made up primarily of players from Duquesne and West Virginia.

“We were disappointed because we had the top seed for the playoffs and thought we could win the whole thing,” Cressler said.

“The team we lost to in the semifinals (The Lair) we had beaten pretty good the week before. At the same time, it's a fun summer league, so you don't want to get too upset.”

Cressler had one of the highest-scoring games of the season when he pumped in 38 points on 14-of-20 shooting (60 percent) to help P&W upend PGT Trucking, 90-83, on July 1.

“I had been following the Pro-Am league for a number of years, and I knew what it was all about,” Cressler said.

“It was fun to have the opportunity to play at a high level over the summer. It was great to play against different guys I've never played against and play with some guys I never played with before.”

Cressler said he again enjoyed playing on the same team with brother, Andrew, a Plum grad and a rising senior at Pitt-Johnstown.

Andrew Cressler recorded several double-digit totals to help P&W reach the playoffs.

“We work out together almost every day, and we've played on the same summer-league teams for years,” Cressler said.

“It was just another great opportunity to be on the same court. We push each other, and a lot of my work ethic comes from watching him. We have a pretty good chemistry out there.”

The Cressler brothers hope to play in the league again next summer.