Alumni News: Toppert '05 and Mercedes '01

We recently updated the whereabouts of some young alums of the Cornell Basketball program. Below are some additional updates on a pair of Cornell's all-time leading scorers. Above, Cody Toppert ('05).

Ray Mercedes ('01), a former All-Ivy League Honorable Mention selection for the Big Red during the 1999-2000 season, played professionally with San Carlos (Dominican Republic) after graduating Cornell. He subsequently graduate from Boston College School of Law and is now practicing law with the global firm, Weil Gotshal in the Corporate Department in New York City.

As we previsouly reported, Cody Toppert ('05) has signed for the 2009-2010 season with MEG Goettingen of the Bundesliga (the BBL), the highest level professional basketball league in Germany. Below is an article from the June 23 issue of the Arizona Republic covering some of Toppert's preparation for the 2009-2010 season.

Cody Toppert got married on a recent Saturday. He was back under Russ Pennell's watch at the Arizona Premier Academy facility in Gilbert that Monday.

You don't go on a honeymoon when you're trying to make a living at a passion that got in your blood as a tyke.

Toppert, eight years removed from being the New Mexico high school Player of the Year, is among a throng of college graduates and former NBA players working out daily under the new Grand Canyon University men's coach who used to run the club program for grade-school and high school players here.
Since mid-May, nearly every mid-afternoon, players coming through the Premier gym have included Washington State guard Taylor Rochestie, Stanford forward Lawrence Hill, Brigham Young guard Lee Cummard, former Indiana Pacers center David Harrison, and former NBA star Dale Ellis' son, Chris.

The NBA draft is Thursday. But not everybody running intense drills under Pennell will be watching the draft board. The two-round draft is only a small fraction of pro-basketball opportunities.

There are the NBA Development League, overseas, the Continental Basketball Association.

The hopeful players pay a fee to get the instruction and work inside Premier, where the evaporative coolers make it hot and sweaty.

"We're trying to help their skill levels improve," Pennell said. " . . . These guys are trying to stay in shape, get ready for tryouts and summer leagues. We're just trying to help them get better."

Pennell's resume improved drastically by taking the University of Arizona to the NCAA's Sweet 16 last season on an interim basis.

A year before that, Pennell was taking high school kids to AAU tournaments in Las Vegas and Southern California.

Ellis, a 6-foot-9, 267-pound power forward, left Georgia to spend the summer working on his game to get beyond the D-League.

"It's a good atmosphere to work in," said Ellis, who played with New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul in college at Wake Forest. "Get that good work in and not get any injuries.

"It's a nice learning environment."

Harrison, 7 feet, signed last season with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He knows his career is day to day. He can't afford to spend the off-season sitting around.

Toppert, a 6-4 lefty guard, can shoot the lights out. When he and his younger brother Chad, a 6-7 guard who played at New Mexico, get together on the same team for three-on-three games, the other teams don't stand a chance. Even a honeymoon takes a back seat to hoops dreams for Cody Toppert.

"I got married - that was fun, had a blast," he said. "But I've got to get back in here to make sure I stay in shape."