Jon Jaques Blogs for the New York Times

Big Red Ruminations: Goals Accomplished and Goals Remain

By Jon Jaques
New York Times Quad Blog
March 22, 2009

Cornell’s Jon Jaques has been blogging for The Quad all season and, for the second consecutive year, wrote about the Big Red’s trip to the N.C.A.A. tournament. Cornell was the 14th seed in the West region and lost to No. 3 Missouri, 78-59, on Friday in Boise, Idaho.

Sitting in our locker room at Taco Bell Arena after our 78-59 loss at the hands of the Missouri Tigers, it was obvious from the pained expressions on everyone’s faces in the room that the Cornell basketball program was way beyond moral victories.

Maybe at some point a while ago, a loss in the first round of the N.C.A.A. tournament in which we were in the thick of the game for the first half and only committed nine turnovers against a team that forces nearly 20 a game would satisfy some. Now, however, any loss, no matter how many talented our opponent is, is a disappointing one. For the second year in a row, we did not play up to our potential in the tournament.

That is taking nothing away from Missouri, which is a tremendous team that forces you to bend to its unorthodox brand of basketball and will surely make more noise in the next couple of weeks. But the loss was a little harder to swallow knowing that we didn’t play like we expected to. While our poise and toughness in the face of Missouri’s pressure defense was outstanding (we committed the fewest turnovers against the Tigers of any of their opponents this season), we missed plenty of shots we usually make and depend on hitting in order to win basketball games.

That being said, the progress our program has made has caught the attention of many around the country. At dinner with my family following the game, Missouri’s athletic director, Mike Alden, (who said he is a frequent reader of The Quad) introduced himself and graciously congratulated our team on a great game and season. Alden, familiar with the Ivy League after his time working at Penn, apparently is good friends with Cornell’s athletic director, Andy Noel Jr., who was unable to attend our game because he was with Cornell at the N.C.A.A. wrestling championships in St. Louis. That seems like a great problem to have for an athletic director, having to choose between which N.C.A.A. championship event to attend.

Not many people outside of Ithaca realize that Cornell has one of the top athletic programs in the country. How many universities can say that they are in the top 10 nationally in wrestling, hockey, and lacrosse? Oh yeah, and their basketball team made the N.C.A.A. tournament. I know it’s March, so people are coming to The Quad for basketball coverage, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a much deserved shout out to Cornell athletics in general.

As for Cornell basketball, next season should be our most exciting yet. Obviously, a three-peat in the league and a return to the tournament will be an even bigger challenge than this season was, when every team gave us its best shot and then some. But with 5 returning starters and one more year of experience, there’s no doubt that doing damage in the tournament is this team’s goal for next season. Enjoy watching the rest of the Madness! Go Mizzou!