Recruiting News: One that Got Away from Us....

Although his name was not splashed around here on The Cornell Basketball Blog (yes, we sometimes keep recruiting names off the Blog), make no mistake about it, Cornell really wanted San Antonio's Ned Cox. Unfortunately, the explosive 6'1" guard opted to take a scholarship to Evansville. Below is an excerpt from an article appearing in the Evansville Courier Press, the first public announcement of Cox's recruitment by Cornell and commitment to Evansville.

Small but spectacular

Go to youtube.com, the popular Internet site with video on any and everything.

Type in the name of Ned Cox, the latest recruit for the University of Evansville men's basketball team. Next, click on the picture next to the tagline that reads: "Judson senior Ned Cox dunks through legs."

Then, in all of four seconds, you can see the 6-foot-1 guard from San Antonio, Texas, bounce the ball in front of him, take three dribbles, windmill and dunk furiously.

There's also a longer video below it — "Judson Rockets Warmups" — that features Cox's entire team dunking in warmups during their 36-2 season. Cox is No. 22.

Cox laughed when a caller mentioned his YouTube celebrity on Thursday, saying dunking was a small part of a total game that helped him average 15.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.2 steals.

"I actually got most of my points working off the ball," said Cox, a 40 percent shooter on 3-pointers. "That's one of the things that made Evansville attractive. I'm going to like playing in their motion offense.

"The coaches there told me they're leaning on making me a point guard, but they said they'll also play me off the ball. In high school, we played three guards and it was just whoever got it took it up the floor. But at the end of the game, I got the ball."

UE coach Marty Simmons said Cox was just another player who will help the Aces reach their goal of being faster, more athletic and more dangerous offensively.

"Ned brings speed, quickness and extreme athleticism," said Simmons. "He can really get off the floor, but he's also a great kid and student who had a lot of other options."

Cox, who will major in business finance, said other schools recruiting him included the Air Force Academy, Cornell, North Texas and Furman. UE won out, though.

"I pretty much just loved everything about the University of Evansville," said Cox. "The campus was very nice, and I really liked the way the coaches and players interacted with each other. I think I'll fit right in."

Also on the signing from TexasHoops.com:

"I signed with them yesterday [Wednesday] when I got back from my visit," said Cox, a 6-1, 170-pound senior guard. "I talked to my parents, and I thought it was the right fit for me. It's been a long process, but I wanted to take it slow and use all of my options."

Cox became the sixth recruit to sign with the Purple Aces this season. He chose Evansville over Furman, Air Force, Cornell and North Texas.

Additionally from the Evansville Courier Press:

Cox joins a UE program that went 17-14 this past season and finished fifth in the 10-team Missouri Valley Conference.