Cornell Reserved Seat Season Tickets Sold Out

Season tickets for Cornell Men's Basketball reserved seats were sold out during the 2008-2009 season at a rate of $117 per seat regardless of age of ticket holder. General admission season tickets were sold at $78 per adult ($39 per child).

For the 2009-2010 season, reserved seats have once again sold out. This season the tickets were sold at the increased price of $132 per seat. General admission season tickets are still available at an increased price of $84 per adult ($42 per child).

Cornell led the Ivy League in attendance during the 2008-2009 season.

Will You Be There?

Above, a Cornell marketing poster from the 2003-2004 season.

The last time Cornell hosted a school from a BCS conference was on November 23, 2003 against Georgia Tech when 4,762 fans packed Newman Arena-- exceeding official seating capacity limits for basketball games of 4,473.

The BCS wait is now over. This season Cornell gets a visit on November 20 from Seton Hall of the Big East Conference.

Not only is Seton Hall a potential postseason team and the home opener for Cornell, but the Big Red are expected to raise the 2009-2010 Ivy League Championship Banner to the rafters during the pre-game ceremonies.

Will you be able to say you were there?

Cornell's December 29 Opponent, the La Salle Explorers Gain National Respect

CollegeHoopsNet.com(CHN) recently ranked Cornell No. 92 in the nation out of more than 340 Division I teams heading into the 2009-2100 season.

Today, CHN ranks La Salle at No. 55, while another site, HoopsReport.com ranks the Explorers at No. 48.

Cornell beat La Salle last season on December 20, 2008 in Ithaca, 79-70 and will play the Explorers again this season in Philadelphia on December 29, 2009.

Read what the college hoops prognosticators are saying about Cornell during the preseason by visiting The Cornell Basketball Blog's 2009-2010 Season Preview Index.

Spiker to Interview for Army Position on Thursday

Jeff Goodman of FoxSports.com has another update on Army's head basketball coach job search which includes Cornell assistant, Zach Spiker (above, far left). Goodman writes:

It’s still uncertain whether St. Mary’s assistant Kyle Smith is in the group of finalists or not at Army, but one source told me he is no longer in the mix. That leaves Arizona State associate head coach Dedrique Taylor, St. John’s assistant Fred Quartlebaum and Cornell assistant Zach Spiker as the three front-runners. All three will interview in the next two days with Taylor and Quartlebaum going in today and Spiker set to interview tomorrow.

While we do not want to see Spiker leave the Big Red coaching staff, he would be an excellent choice for the United States Military Academy.

In the event that Coach Spiker become Army's next head coach, the Big Red coaching staff remains stable with assistants Nat Graham (entering his 5th season with Cornell) and Woody Kampmann (entering his 3rd season with Cornell) ready to step up into increased roles.

One potential replacement for Spiker on the staff could include Kevin App (Cornell '07). App is currently serving as an assistant at Williams College.

Another intriguing candidate could include Khaliq Gant ('09), a former player and team manager, currently working in New York City.

Cornell and Ivy League Basketball on Television

Below are the games involving Ivy League teams that The Cornell Basketball Blog has identified as nationally televised games during 2009-2010. Additional games will likely be added to this list.

• December 20-Cornell vs. Davidson (Madison Square Garden)-MSG Network
• December 21-Cornell vs. St.John's or Hofstra (Madison Square Garden)-MSG Network
• December 24-Cornell at Syracuse-ESPN360
• December 29-Yale at Colorado-FSN Rocky Mountains
• December 30-Dartmouth at Quinnipiac-NESN
• December 31-Penn at Duke-ESPN2
• January 6-Cornell at Kansas-ESPN Full Court
• February 19-Yale at Princeton-ESPNU

Additionally, all of Cornell's home games are broadcast with live video and audio over the internet through Cornell's Redcast while most Ivy League teams offer similar video feeds for single game purchase.

Below are links to the Ivy League schedules:

• Cornell will play 31 games, including two Division III games (PSU Behrend and Clarkson).
• Brown will play 31 games, including two non-Division I opponents (Keene State and Philadelphia Sciences).
• Columbia will play 28 games.
• Dartmouth will play 28 games, including one Division III game (Lyndon State).
  
• Harvard will play 28 games, including one Division III game (MIT).
• Penn will play 28 games.
  
• Princeton will play 28 games, including one Division III opponent (Goucher College).
• Yale will play 31 games, including one Division III game (Albert Magnus).

(modified 10.7.09)

Recruiting News

Below, some recruiting news from around the Ivy League...

The Daily Pennsylvanian credits The Cornell Basketball Blog for breaking the story on Dau Jok's commitment to Penn.

The Harvard Crimson summarizes Harvard's ambitious recruiting trail.

TexasHoops.com reports that 6'0" point guard, Jason Brickman of San Antonio Clark High School. He chose LIU over Gardner-Webb, Arkansas-Little Rock and The Citadel. Ivy League schools Cornell and Dartmouth scouted Brickman as well.

Below are some related recruiting links:

• For posts with the label, "The Case for Cornell Basketball" (click here).
  

• For The Cornell Basketball Blog's list of Cornell Recruiting Targets and Recruiting Commitments, click here.

• For The Cornell Basketball Blog's list of Ivy League (non-Cornell) Recruiting Targets, click here.

• For The Cornell Basketball Blog's archived stories on Cornell and Ivy League Recruiting News, click here.

• For the Cornell Basketball's Official 2008-2009 Ivy League Championship Season Highlights and Recruiting Video Clip, click here.

• For the Cornell Basketball's Unofficial 2007-2008 Ivy League Championship Season Highlights, click here.

Spiker One of Four Finalists for Army Job

Jeff Goodman of FoxSports.com reports that there are four candidates who will make their way for on-campus interviews for the vacant Army (West Point) opening to replace Jim Crews over the next two days. They are:

- Cornell assistant Zach Spiker

- Arizona State associate head coach Dedrique Taylor

- St. John's assistant Fred Quartlebaum

- St. Mary's assistant Kyle Smith

Cornell is the Choice for the Sporting News College Basketball 2009-2010 Preview

Sporting News College Basketball 2009-2010 Preview is the latest annual to reach store magazine stands.

On page 149 of the publication (click images below for a full size view), the Sporting News predicts Cornell to win the Ivy League and projects Cornell's Ryan Wittman and Louis Dale as First Team All Ivy selections. Cornell's Eitan Chemerinski is selected as the Ivy's Top Newcomer, while Cornell's Steve Donahue is named Top Coach in the conference.

The Sporting News notes, "The Big Red has captured back-to-back Ivy League titles and consecutive bids to the NCAA Tournament."

On pages 14-15, Cornell is projected as 14 seed in the 2010 NCAA Tournament.

For more projections see The Cornell Basketball Blog's 2009-2010 Season Preview Index.

Cornell Assistant Coach Zach Spiker Contacted by Army

ESPN's Andy Katz notes that Cornell Assistant Coach, Zach Spiker (above, left of head coach, Steve Doanhue) was contacted by Army in the last week in conjunction with the Academy's vacant head coaching position search. Katz writes:

Army will bring St. John's assistant coach Fred Quartlebaum on campus Wednesday in regard to the school's suddenly vacant head-coaching position. Quartlebaum was one of a half-dozen candidates interviewed for the position. Army athletic director Kevin Anderson also talked to Tulsa assistant David Cason, St. Mary's associate head coach Kyle Smith, Wake Forest director of basketball operations Walt Corbean, Arizona State assistant coach Dedrique Taylor and Cornell assistant coach Zach Spiker. Cason and Corbean are no longer part of the search. It's unclear how many of the other candidates will also visit the West Point campus. Anderson fired Jim Crews last week. Anderson said it was for multiple reasons, but there have been multiple reports that one of the issues was a confrontation with a player.

Recruiting News: Breaking News, Penn Gets Another Guard

The Cornell Basketball Blog was informed by a source close to the situation that Des Moines (IA) Roosevelt High School 6'2" guard Dau Jok has committed to the Quakers. During the summer he was hearing from Dartmouth, Princeton, Army, Missouri State, Iowa State, North Dakota, Montana, Fairfield, Western Kentucky and Division II schools such as Mid-American Nazarene, Dallas Baptist, Southwestern, and Briar Cliff.

Jok projects to be Penn's sixth verbal commitment for the incoming class of 2010-2011 and increases Penn's projected roster to 22 players for the 2010-2011 season.

IVY LEAGUE 2010-2011 RECRUITING VERBAL COMMITMENTS

CORNELL

• Jake Matthews G 6-2 Greensburg PA Greensburg Salem HS
  
• Manny Sahota F 6-6 Bramton ONT Canada St. Marguerite d'Youville Secondary
• Anthony Gatlin F 6-8 190 Pearland HS TX/Centenary College (Junior)

Brown

• Dockery Walker F 6-7 Westtown PA HS
  

Columbia

• Dyami Starks G 6-2 Duluth East HS MN
  
• Steve Frankoski G 6-2 Hanover NJ St. Benedict's Prep School of Newark
  

Dartmouth

• 
  

Harvard

• Matt Brown G 6-2 Northfield MA Northfield Mount Hermon School
  

Penn

• Dau Jok G 6-2 Des Moines IA Roosevelt HS
  
• Cameron Gunter F 6-8 Ridley PA HS
  
• Casey James G 6-3 Mission Viejo CA Capistrano Valley HS
• Kevin Panzer F 6-8 Mission Viejo CA Capistrano Valley HS
  
• Austin Kelly G 6-2 Hollywood CA Harvard-Westlake HS
  
• Steve Rennard G 6-0 Metuchen NJ St. Joseph's

Princeton

• Daniel Edwards C 6-9 Highland Park TX HS
  
• T.J. Bray G 6-3 Waukesha WI Catholic Memorial HS
  

Yale

• Jeremiah Kreisberg F 6-8 Oakland CA Head Royce HS
  
• Greg Kelley F 6-8 Newton MA New North HS
• Isaiah Salafia G 6-3 Crowell CT HS

News and Notes: Around the Ivy League- Columbia schedule released, Dartmouth and Yale lose players

Below some news and notes around the Ivy League...

In scheduling news, this week Columbia released its 2009-2010 slate. Unfortunately for Columbia fans, the schedule appears to be the least challenging in the Ivy League. The two "premier" games are a pair of Big East opponents in DePaul and Syracuse. While Syracuse is a good test for any team, the De Paul Blue Demons are picked by most season previews to finish last again in the Big East. Outside of the two Big East teams, the remaining opponents are all low-majors and no team is picked by any major preseason preview to compete for a title within their respective low-major leagues.

Six of the Ivy League teams have officially announced their finalized schedules.

• Cornell will play 31 games, including two Division III games (PSU Behrend and Clarkson)
• Brown will play 31 games, including two non-Division I opponents (Keene State and Philadelphia Sciences)
• Columbia will play 28 games
  
• Harvard will play 28 games, including one Division III game (MIT).
• Princeton will play 28 games, including one non-Division I opponent (Goucher College)
• Yale will play 31 games, including one Division III game (Albert Magnus)
  

In related Ivy scheduling news, Seton Hall's Herb Pope, a 6'9" former elite high school All-American and transfer from New Mexico State told NBEBasketballReport that the Pirates are expecting a big season. Seton Hall visits Cornell's gym, Newman Arena on November 20.

RushTheCourt.net has a story on the implosion at Binghamton. Notably for the Ivies, Cornell nearly scheduled Binghamton this season but a date was never agreed upon. Now the Bearcats must play the season without five key players, each recently booted off the roster.

But Binghamton is not the only D-I program with significant discipline issues. Several members of the Kansas Jawhawks' basketball team were involved in a physical altercation with the school's football team. Cornell faces Kansas on January 6.

Meanwhile, Cornell's season opening opponent on November 14, the Crimson Tide of Alabama lost a forward for the season.

In Ivy League roster news, Yale center, Garrett Fiddler, a 6'10" post was removed from the official team roster this week. Fiddler averaged 5.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game a year ago. The Bulldogs are scheduled to play on December 29 and December 31 at Colorado and Colorado State respectively, both games originally set as homecomings for Fiddler.

Also dropping from an Ivy roster is Dartmouth big man, Elgin Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald averaged 4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game a year ago for the Green.

Below are the projected roster sizes for the Ivy League teams for the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 seasons.

• Cornell (updated roster) (for '09-'10- 19 players, including 8 seniors) (for '10-'11-- 14 total players, including 3 seniors, 2 high school verbal commitments and 1 transfer)

• Columbia (updated roster) (for '09-'10- 18 players, including 3 seniors) (for '10-'11-- 17 total players including, 3 seniors and 2 high school verbal commitments)

• Princeton (no updated roster)

• Harvard (updated roster) (for '09-'10- 18 players, including 4 seniors) (for '10-'11-- 15 total players including 0 seniors and 1 high school verbal commitment)
  

• Penn (updated roster) (for '09-'10- 17 players, including 1 senior) (for '10-'11-- 22 total players, including, 7 seniors and 6 high school verbal commitments)

• Dartmouth (updated roster) (for '09-'10- 15 players, including 2 seniors) (for '10-'11-- 13 total players including 2 seniors)
  

• Yale (updated roster) (for '09-'10- 14 players, including 4 seniors) (for '10-'11-- 13 total players including 3 seniors and 3 high school verbal commitments)

• Brown (updated roster) (for '09-'10- 14 players, including 0 seniors) (for '10-'11-- 15 total players including 4 seniors and 1 high school verbal commitment)
  

Below is a list of players who were on Ivy League rosters at the beginning of '08-'09, but left their team due to reasons other than exhaustion of NCAA eligibility and/or graduation.

BROWN
Noel Hollingsworth
Morgan Kelly
Colin Aldridge

COLUMBIA
none

CORNELL
Marc Van Burck

DARTMOUTH
Brandon Ware
Elgin Fitzgerald

HARVARD
Eric Groszyk
T.J. Carey
Kyle Fitzgerald
Adam Demuyakor
Ndu Okereke
Darryl Finkton
Cem Dinc
Alex Blankenau

PENN
Tommy McMahon
Harrison Gaines
Remy Cofield
Garvin Hunt

PRINCETON
Unknown- 2009-2010 roster not yet available

YALE
Garrett Fiddler

Recruiting News

Below, some recruiting news from around the Ivies...

The Duluth News Tribune reports that Columbia received a verbal commitment from Dyami Starks, a 6'2" guard from Duluth East High School in Minnesota. Drake and Bucknell reportedly offered during the summer, but pulled their offers when Starks did not want to immediately commit.

HoopsIndiana.com reports that Matt Kamieniecki, a 6'7" power forward and the son of former Yankees pitcher Scott Kamieniecki, committed to Ball State. The Clarkston, Michigan forward reportedly had offers from Western Michigan, IPFW, and Wofford and was also receiving interest from Cornell, Penn, Dayton, Michigan, and Bucknell.

MinnesotaPreps.com reports that Cornell, Saint Louis, Northwestern and Oregon State are the schools most involved with Jake Kreuser, a talented 7'0" center from Sibley High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The University of Minnesota Gophers are also continually scouting him. Cornell has been hot on Kresuer's trail for quite a while.

Below are some related recruiting links:

• For posts with the label, "The Case for Cornell Basketball" (click here).
  

• For The Cornell Basketball Blog's list of Cornell Recruiting Targets and Recruiting Commitments, click here.

• For The Cornell Basketball Blog's list of Ivy League (non-Cornell) Recruiting Targets, click here.

• For The Cornell Basketball Blog's archived stories on Cornell and Ivy League Recruiting News, click here.

• For the Cornell Basketball's Official 2008-2009 Ivy League Championship Season Highlights and Recruiting Video Clip, click here.

• For the Cornell Basketball's Unofficial 2007-2008 Ivy League Championship Season Highlights, click here.

It is our time...

Find out what the hoops pundits are saying about Cornell Basketball during the preseason by visiting The Cornell Basketball Blog's 2009-2010 Season Preview Index.

"Cornell looks good for three straight."-- Lindy's College Basketball 2009-2010 Preview

"The Big Red ran away with the Ivy League title...The Big Red should cruise to another bid." --Rivals.com

This might be the Ivy League's best team in more than a decade." --Athlon Sports' College Basketball Preview, '09-'10.

"Cornell is entering this season as the favorite to win its third consecutive Ivy League title and with good reason." --BleacherReport.com.

"With everybody back, Cornell has the weapons to be a tough match-up in March... Two years ago Cornell went 14-0 in conference play. Do not be surprised if that record is seen again this year. While some teams in the Ivy League are getting better, this is clearly the best team in the conference."-- CollegeHoopsNet.com.

The Cornell Basketball Blog now on Twitter

In addition to our coverage of BIG RED and Ivy League hoops here on The Cornell Basketball Blog and on our community forum and message board, we are pleased to announce the launch of our new Twitter page.


(originally published 9.17.09)

Recruiting News

A bit of news and notes on the Ivy League recruiting trail. Above, a retro-Cornell jersey from the mid 90s.

New England Recruiting Report published a pair of Ivy-themed stories concerning Harvard's big recruiting weekend and Laurent Rivard's scheduled visit to Georgia Tech.

As for Cornell, the Big Red are in a couple of major recruiting battles with some schools from Conference USA and the Atlantic-10, not to mention major BCS conferences.

For some of these immediate impact Cornell prospects (whose identities we've mostly kept off this website), the the ultimate decision may come down to taking scholarships outside the Ivy vs. seizing the opportunity of obtaining the Ivy League education.

But it is not a unilateral decision by the high school student-athlete. The Big Red coaching staff also must decide with each prospect if the athlete is a beneficial addition to Cornell. In Ivy League recruiting, it is important to understand that Ivy schools consider numerous factors in the decision to extend an offer to an athlete (and to hold the offer open). These factors include, but are not limited to the prospect's athletic ability/potential, their personality/character profile, the financial/economic background, as well as the academic profile. With respect to the latter, admissibility is not the only academic issue under consideration. Ivy programs want strong students for a myriad of reasons. Additionally, with respect to economic background, prospects who do not require financial aid packages are generally more attractive than prospects that require hefty financial assistance packages.

Wittman Named All-Ivy by Blue Ribbon Yearbook

The new 2009-2010 Blue Ribbon Yearbook named Cornell's Ryan Wittman, Harvard's Jeremy Lin, Brown's Matt Mullery, Penn's Tyler Bernardini and Yale's Alex Zampier as preseason All-Ivy 1st Teamers.

See The Cornell Basketball Blog's 2009-2010 Season Preview Index for more season previews and preseason awards.

News and Notes: Around the Ivy League, Harvard Roster Released with Surprises

Below, some news and notes around the Ivy League.

-Penn has announced its policies for its "Line" for season men's basketball tickets. An annual ritual, some Penn students camp out for season tickets and build school spirit and camaraderie in the process. But still, "the Line" for Penn basketball season tickets is a bit of an oxymoron. As reported repeatedly in the Daily Pennsylvanian, there just is not enough demand for Penn basketball tickets to even warrant having a Line. Usually only a few hundred students show-up for Penn's "Line." And unlike Cornell hockey, where season tickets for the Big Red actually sell-out on an annual basis and students religiously camp out for the prized tickets out of necessity, Penn virtually never sells out the Palestra for basketball. In fact, last season, it was Cornell that led the Ivy League in attendance, while the Palestra usually remained half-empty.

-Harvard announced its coaching clinic led by Tommy Amaker.

-Harvard also announced its roster and it contains a pair of surprise freshmen additions--Spencer de Mars and Peter Edelson. But more significantly, the roster now totals 18 players with just three seniors. Certainly roster overcrowding issues facing the Crimson in Cambridge. Princeton's remains the league's lone roster hold out:

• Cornell (updated roster)
• Columbia (updated roster)
  
• Princeton (no updated roster)
  
• Penn (updated roster)
  
• Harvard (updated roster))
• Dartmouth (updated roster)
• Yale (updated roster)
• Brown (updated roster)

Big Red Depth Chart

Cornell is coming off of two consecutive Ivy titles and NCAA Tournament appearances. With the return of five starters and seven of the team's top eight players from a year ago, Cornell is a no-brainer choice for the favorite to win the Ivy League this season.

But what Ivy League basketball observers might not know about the Big Red is Cornell's newly acquired depth on the bench. With the addition of two immediate impact transfers and five freshmen, Cornell becomes even deeper and more dangerous than a year ago. Below is a brief overlook of Cornell's 2009-2010 depth chart.

CENTER

Jeff Foote, a two-time All-Ivy League selection and the reigning league Defensive Player of the Year returns to anchor the paint with his long frame, but this time around, the athletic seven-footer enters the season even stronger at 265 lbs. (up from 245 lbs. a year ago).

A year ago when Foote was taking rests off the floor, Cornell was forced to use a pair of undersized 6'7" forwards in the middle-- either Alex Tyler or the now graduated, Brian Kreefer. But with this year's addition of 6'9" 245 lb. Kentucky transfer, Mark Coury, Cornell not only adds much needed size and Division I experience to the reserve center position, but adds a back-up with a reputation for high energy and mixing it up under the glass. His work ethic was so impressive that two different Kentucky coaches praised him.

Cornell also has added insurance in the paint with 6'9" junior Aaron Osgood, who is now finally practicing health.

POWER FORWARD

Tyler will once again start as Cornell's "Mr. Blue Collar" power forward. At 245 lbs. Tyler likes to throw his body around like a wrecking ball in the paint and does all of the squad's dirty work. If Cornell wants to go "bigger"-- the Big Red might play Coury at power forward alongside Foote for a twin-tower look. But Cornell's depth at the "4" goes far beyond Tyler and Coury.

Junior Adam Wire is a jack-of-all-trades forward and brings defense and toughness with his good sized 6'6"/220 lb. body. Newly acquired added depth comes with freshman Josh Figini, who at 6'9" 200 lbs. brings a diverse perimeter skill set for a "4-man." His 6'6" classmate, Errick Peck, possesses athleticism, energy and leaping ability, giving Cornell yet another interesting option up front. Cornell can also gives looks at steady veterans Pete Reynolds (6'8" Sr.), Jon Jaques (6'7" Sr.), and Andre Wilkins (6'5" Sr.), or newcomer Eitan Chemerinski (6'8" Fr.).

SMALL FORWARD (WING)/SHOOTING GUARD

Possibly Cornell's deepest positions, the Big Red will start at small forward the three-time All-Ivy selection, Ryan Wittman. Wittman is the prototype Division I small forward who can score off the dribble or from the perimeter. He is also a vastly improved defender. He will be backed up by a committee of talented wings who will fill double-time as shooting guards.

Geoff Reeves, a 6'4" senior returns as the starting shooting guard and should continue to fill that role by reasons of seniority and experience. The athletic and sharpshooting Reeves could also see time behind Wittman as a small forward.

Another new added luxury to the roster, sharing minutes with Reeves and Wittman at the shooting guard and small forward, will be 6'4" scorer, Max Groebe, a transfer via UMass. Groebe, like Coury, is an All-Ivy caliber talent.

Beyond the terrific trio of Wittman, Reeves and Groebe, Cornell can utilize the services of talented 6'5" sniping sophomore, Alex Hill or call on 6'7" freshman, Pete McMillan. Hill could be a future star in the league.

POINT GUARD

So many options for Cornell at the point. The position is locked down by three-time All-Ivy selection, 5'11" Louis Dale and reigning Rookie of the Year, 6'1" sophomore, Chris Wroblewski.

Dale is arguably the Ivy's top talent.

Because of his strong defense and scoring ability off the ball, Wroblewksi can also be utilized as a shooting guard in situations where Cornell wants a pair of "ball handlers" on the floor. But no surprises here, the starting point job is Dale's. Wroblewski may seem less time in the backcourt due to the arrival of Groebe and the renewed health of Dale.

A new third option at point guard is 6'2" freshman, Miles Asafo-Adjei, who is being billed as an ultra athletic speedster who is strong enough on the defensive end to command almost immediate playing time.

Recruiting News: Big Weekend for Harvard

Below, some recruiting news from around the Ivy League.

Northstar Basketball Blog reports that Harvard leads for the services of Aaron Brown, a 6'4" guard from St. Benedict's Prep in Newark, N.J. Brown's second and third choices are Penn and Auburn respectively with Virginia Tech and Providence also fighting to get into the picture.

Northstar Basketball Blog also reports that Chase Plummer, a 6'5" guard from St. Patrick's High School in Elizabeth, N.J. and Wayne Newsom, a 6'7" forward from Piscataway, N.J. appear focused on non-Ivy low and mid major schools after showing some Ivy interest earlier during the summer.

Finally, the site reports that James Herring, a 6'3" guard from Phillips Exeter Academy has a top three in the following order-- Dartmouth, Bucknell, followed by Cornell with NJIT and Columbia fighting to get involved.

Harvard had a big recruiting weekend last weekend with visits from 6'7" Josh Huestis (Russell HS) Great Falls, Mt. and 6'8" Cameroon native, Brice Kofane (Miller School) Charlottesville, Va. Harvard's primary competitor for Huestis could be USC while Kofane is hearing from Boston College, La Salle, and URI.

But this is the even bigger weekend for the Crimson with the following reported visitors, each of whom hold multiple high major scholarship offers.

• Majok Majok (Northfield Mounter Hermon School) Northfield, MA 6-8
  
• Austin Carroll (Worcester Academy) Worcester, MA 6-3
• Pe'Shon Howard (Oak Hill Academy) Oak Hill, VA 6-3 (not confirmed visit)
• Ugo Okam (Monteverde Academy) Monteverde, FL 7-1
• Rod Odom (Middlesex School) Concord, MA 6-8/195
• Dwight Powell (IMG Acad. of Brandeton FL), Ontario, Canada 6-8

Stats Watch: Assist Leaders

Above, Cornell's Louis Dale drives around a pick set by Jeff Foote on Penn's Zach Rosen last season. Rosen and Dale finished 1st and 5th respectively in the Ivy League a year ago in assists.

Below we post the Ivy League's team and individual leaders in assists for the '08-'09 season. Players listed in italics are returning. Four Cornell players finished among the league's top 15 in helpers while the Big Red led the league in team assists.

ASSISTS		G	No.	Avg/G
1.	Cornell	14	221	15.8
2.	Penn	14	187	13.4
3.	Brown	14	169	12.1
4.	Harvard	14	168	12.0
5.	Yale	14	166	11.9
6.	Princeton	14	158	11.3
7.	Columbia	14	152	10.9
8.	Dartmouth	14	123	8.8

ASSISTS		Cl	GP	No.	Avg/G
1.	Rosen, Zack-PENN		14	71	5.1
2.	Skrelja, Chris-BRWN		14	53	3.8
3.	Schroeder, Marcus-PRIN		14	52	3.7
	Housman, Drew-HARV		14	52	3.7
5.	Dale, Louis-COR		14	50	3.6
6.	Lin, Jeremy-HARV		14	47	3.4
7.	Andrews, Chris-YALE		14	40	2.9
8.	Wroblewski, Chris-COR		14	38	2.7
9.	Wittman, Ryan-COR		14	36	2.6
10.	Pinick, Travis-YALE		14	35	2.5
11.	Foley, Patrick-COL		12	26	2.2
12.	Buczak, Pawel-PRIN		14	29	2.1
13.	Foote, Jeff-COR		14	27	1.9
14.	Braswell, Porter-YALE		13	25	1.9
15.	Mullery, Matt-BRWN		14	26	1.9
	Belcore, Rob-PENN		14	26	1.9
	Agho, Noruwa-COL		14	26	1.9

Roster Report: Dartmouth Updates Roster

In roster report news, Dartmouth has finally updated its roster by adding the names of its freshmen recruits. Only Harvard and Princeton remain of the Ivy teams that have yet to update their rosters for '09-'10.

• Cornell (updated roster)
• Columbia (updated roster)
  
• Princeton (no updated roster)
  
• Penn (updated roster)
  
• Harvard (no updated roster))
• Dartmouth (updated roster)
• Yale (updated roster)
• Brown (updated roster)

Below is a list of players who were on Ivy League rosters at the beginning of '08-'09, but left their team due to reasons other than exhaustion of NCAA eligibility and/or graduation.

BROWN
Noel Hollingsworth
Morgan Kelly
Colin Aldridge

COLUMBIA
none

CORNELL
Marc Van Burck

DARTMOUTH
Brandon Ware

HARVARD
Eric Groszyk
T.J. Carey
Kyle Fitzgerald
Adam Demuyakor
Ndu Okereke
Darryl Finkton
Cem Dinc
Alex Blankenau

PENN
Tommy McMahon
Harrison Gaines
Remy Cofield
Garvin Hunt

PRINCETON
Unknown- 2009-2010 roster not yet available

YALE
none

Roster Report: Big Red Have Depth

Cornell's Aaron Osgood (No. 4) has showed a lot of potential for the Big Red.

Most fans of Ivy League basketball are familiar with Cornell's star veterans. Players such as Ryan Wittman, Louis Dale, and Jeff Foote get the most playing time and grab all of the media attention and spotlight.

Ancient Eight spectators, however, do not get much of an opportunity to see the skill level and the depth of Cornell's reserves on the scout team. Regardless of what fans around the league know or do not know about the Big Red's younger players, Cornell's coaching staff believes they have a second unit that could play with most Ivy opponents' regular rotations.

Cornell head coach Steve Donahue told the Ithaca Journal last March, "I'd take that group [Cornell's reserves] against anyone [in the league]." Below, we spotlight three of Cornell's reserves who could play big roles for Cornell in the coming seasons.

Aaron Osgood (Jr., 6'9" 230 lbs.)-Osgood could be Cornell's "most complete" frontcourt player. He is also one of the team's most athletic players. During the '08-'09 preseason, he was expected by the program to earn minutes in the regular rotation. However, a slew of injuries kept him off the playing floor for much of the year. When healthy, the junior has range on his jump shot extending beyond the foul line and excels on the defensive end, blocking shots and rebounding. Do not be surprised if he earns minutes this season.

Adam Wire (Jr., 6'6" 220 lbs.)-Wire is one of the most versatile players in the Ivy League. He is strong and physical enough to play power forward, but yet has the ball handling and perimeter skill set to also run the point and break full court pressure. He also possesses great defensive instincts and is one of Cornell's best on the ball defenders. Cornell usually inserts Wire into game situations where the Big Red need a boost of defensive intensity. Last year he appeared in 29 games, averaging 15.1 minutes per contest. During that time, he contributed a well rounded 2.7 points. 3.1 rebounds, 1.4 steals and .9 assists per game. One of the best finishers on the team, Wire had four dunks last season.

Alex Hill (So., 6'5" 190 lbs.)-Like Osgood and Wire, Hill is athletic and can be an explosive scorer. He can run the break and finish in transition with slam dunks or pull up and shoot from long distance in the half court offense. A year ago, Hill knocked down 9/20 from beyond the arc and on the year scored 32 points in just 46 minutes.

News and Notes: Around the Ivy League, Penn Looks to Build Student Support

This week the Fire Glen Miller blog announced its discontinuation after one season and its chief editor has taken on a new role in the Penn Athletics Department in building student support at Penn's home games.

The Fire Glen Miller site was launched during late 2008 and initially labeled itself a "hate blog" of Penn's coaching staff. It later softened its approach and converted into general coverage of Penn basketball.

Although discontinued, the site's creation symbolizes a growing unrest among Penn's basketball supporters following a disastrous 2008-2009 campaign for the Quakers. Penn not only struggled on the playing floor, where the Quakers finished with a losing season (10-18, 6-8 Ivy) and were manhandled by their Ivy competition in the Palestra (1-6 Ivy home record), but Penn also suffered from serious internal turmoil after four players quit the program prematurely and at least one of the players publicly blasted the Penn coaching staff in the Daily Pennsylvanian.

The Cornell Basketball Blog projected a 3rd place finish from the Quakers for 2009-2010, a marked improvement from a year ago. But if Penn does not improve this season-- and it will get a lot of competition from Cornell, Princeton, Harvard and Columbia to finish in the league's top half -- expect the grumbling to get louder in West Philadelphia. And regardless of the Athletics Department's gimmicky promotions, the students will stay far away from the Palestra.

2009-10 Cornell Men's Basketball Information Center

Cornell Athletics (CornellBigRed.com) has made available the Cornell Men's Basketball Information Center.

Cornell Athletics released the following:

The Cornell Men's Basketball Information Center gives you a one-click option for all the information you need for the upcoming 2009-10 season. All the information typically found in the media guide is included, including updated bios, program history and information on how to follow Cornell throughout the season is included.

2009-10 Cornell Men's Basketball Information Center

Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Steve Donahue (Ursinus ’84)
Record at Cornell: 117-133 (10th season)
Career Record: 117-133 (10th season)

Assistant Coaches:
Zach Spiker (Ithaca '00)
Nat Graham (Penn '97)
Woody Kampmann (Hobart '05)

Cornell Athletics Staff Directory

2009-10 Cornell Men's Basketball Schedule
2009-10 Cornell Men's Basketball Roster
2009-10 Quick Facts I PDF Version
Newman Arena

2009-10 Season Outlook
Men's Basketball Player Bios (click names on roster)
Career Statistics for active 2009-10 players

CornellBigRed.com Men's Basketball Page
Buy tickets online for all home games
Purchase Cornell All-Access Pass for video of all home games and audio of all home and road games
Watch Cornell on YouTube
Follow Cornell on Twitter
Live stats of Big Red home men's basketball games
Receive text updates (standard text-messaging rates apply)
Receive RSS news feeds on your computer
The Ithaca Journal Sports Section
The Cornell Daily Sun Sports Section
WHCU870.com
WVBR.com
Slope Media

Game 1: at Alabama * Nov. 14, 2009 at TBA * Coleman Coliseum (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
Game 2: at Massachusetts * Nov. 18, 2009 at TBA * Mullins Center (Amherst, Mass.)
Game 3: Seton Hall * Nov. 20, 2009 at 7 p.m. * Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
Game 4: at Syracuse * Nov. 24, 2009 at 7 p.m. * The Carrier Dome (Syracuse, N.Y.)
Game 5: at Drexel * Nov. 27, 2009 at TBA * Daskalakis Athletic Center (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Game 6: vs. Vermont * Nov. 28, 2009 at TBA * Daskalakis Athletic Center (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Game 7: vs. Toledo * Nov. 29, 2009 at TBA * Daskalakis Athletic Center (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Game 8: at Bucknell * Dec. 2, 2009 at 7 p.m. * Sojka Pavilion (Lewisburg, Pa.)
Game 9: Saint Joseph's * Dec. 6, 2009 at 2 p.m. * Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
Game 10: vs. Davidson * Dec. 20, 2009 at TBA * Madison Square Garden (New York, N.Y.)
Game 11: at St. John's/vs. Hofstra * Dec. 21, 2009 at TBA * Madison Square Garden (New York, N.Y.)
Game 12: at La Salle * Dec. 29, 2009 at TBA * Tom Gola Arena (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Game 13: Penn State-Behrend * Dec. 31, 2009 at 2 p.m. * Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
Game 14: Bryant * Jan. 2, 2010 at 2 p.m.* Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
Game 15: at Kansas * Jan. 6, 2010 at 7 p.m. CT * Allen Fieldhouse (Lawrence, Kan.)
Game 16: at South Dakota * Jan. 8, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. CT * Dakota Dome (Vermillion, S.D.)
Game 17: Clarkson * Jan. 11, 2010 at 7 p.m. * Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
Game 18: Columbia * Jan. 16, 2010 at 4 p.m. * Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
Game 19: at Columbia * Jan. 23, 2010 at 7 p.m. * Levien Gymnasium (New York, N.Y.)
Game 20: Dartmouth * Jan. 29, 2010 at 7 p.m. * Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
Game 21: Harvard * Jan. 30, 2010 at 7 p.m. * Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
Game 22: Yale * Feb. 5, 2010 at 7 p.m. * Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
Game 23: Brown * Feb. 6, 2010 at 7 p.m. * Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
Game 24: at Penn * Feb. 12, 2010 at 7 p.m. * The Palestra (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Game 25: at Princeton * Feb. 13, 2010 at 6 p.m. * Jadwin Gymnasium (Princeton, N.J.)
Game 26: at Harvard * Feb. 19, 2010 at 7 p.m. * Lavietes Pavilion (Cambridge, Mass.)
Game 27: at Dartmouth * Feb. 20, 2010 at 7 p.m. * Leede Arena (Hanover, N.H.)
Game 28: Princeton * Feb. 26, 2010 at 7 p.m. * Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
Game 29: Penn * Feb. 27, 2010 at 7 p.m. * Newman Arena (Ithaca, N.Y.)
Game 30: at Brown * March 5, 2010 at 7 p.m. * The Pizzitola Sports Center (Providence, R.I.)
Game 31: at Yale * March 6, 2010 at 7 p.m. * Payne Whitney Gymnasium (New Haven, Conn.)

2008-09 Final Results
2008-09 Final Statistics
2008-09 Final Ivy League Standings
2008-09 All-Ivy Announcement
2008-09 Cornell Men's Basketball Media Guide

Cornell Men's Basketball History
Archived Statistics (since 1946-47)
All-Time Letter Winners
Year-by-Year Leaders (PDF)
Year-by-Year Stats (PDF)
Team Game Records (PDF)
Team Season Records (PDF)
Individual Game Records (PDF)
Individual Season Records (PDF)
Individual Career Records (PDF)
Men's Basketball vs. All Opponents (PDF)
All-Time Results (PDF)
All-Time Player Stats - Since 1946-47 (PDF)

Cornell University Official Web Site
About Cornell
Visiting Cornell
Cornell University Admissions
Cornell President David J. Skorton

Ivy League Official Web Site
Ivy League Men's Basketball Record Book
Ivy League Statistics
Ivy League Standings

Cornell Basketball in the News

The reverse side of Cornell's 2008-2009 Newman Nation t-shirts.

VPHoops.com makes reference to Cornell's potential game against Hofstra in either the championship or consolation of the Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival between December 20-21.

Big Red Rankings

The 2009-2010 preseason rankings are still rolling out. Thus far, some of the following sites have ranked Cornell nationally among the nation's top 100 teams.

• Rivals.com ranks Cornell No. 86
  
• BleacherReport.com ranks Cornell No. 52
  
• CollegeHoopsNet.com ranks Cornell No. 92

Notably, Cornell is the only Ivy League team to crack the top 150 in any major ranking of the nation's 340 plus Division I programs.

See The Cornell Basketball Blog's 2009-2010 Season Preview Index for more details on these rankings.

MidMajorMadness.com (MMM) is also continually counting down and ranking the nation's Division I teams for the 2009-2010 season.

Below is an excerpt of MMM's rankings released to date. Cornell's 2009-2010 opponents are in bold. The site has ranked teams from 344-204 and now has ranked six of the eight Ivy League teams.

344. NJIT

330. Toledo: The loss of guard/forward, Tyrone Kent along with two other starters from the 2008-09 season is going to make a big impact on Toldeo’s overall performance. Tyrone averaged 15.1 points along with 5.2 rebounds per game. On the upside, the Rockets have 6’ 9", Justin Anyijong to help make up for Kent’s absence. Anyijong’s defensive presence might be able to help make up for the loss of athleticism that the 2008-09 senior class brought to the team.

329. Dartmouth: The Big Green lose their weapon, Alex Barnett who averaged a team high of 19.4 points along with 5.6 rebounds per game. If that is not hard enough to deal with, they will also lose Kurt Graeber who was a big threat on the defensive end of the court. Head coach Terry Dunn is going to have to rely heavily on his underclassmen to make up for the loss of the two starters.

308. Bryant: The only way Tim O’Shea can improve upon his Bears’ 8-21 record from the 2008-09 season is if they can figure out a way to create some offensive production. The team is set to lose Peter Lambert who finished third on the team in scoring last year. This will set the team back a bit but should not be too harmful. The Bears must continue to play great defense as well as create more scoring opportunities.

307. Brown: The Bears will look forward to see the standout forward, Matt Mullery return for his final year under head coach Jesse Agel. Mullery put up all-star quality stat lines, averaging 16.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.1 bloacks per game. The downside to the Bears is that they are losing two role players in Chris Skrelja and Scott Friske. The two will leave a major hole in the Bears defense that Mullery might not be able to fill by himself.

291. Columbia: The loss of Jason Miller is going to be difficult to overcome. Miller was a talented inside-man that pulled in 6.6 rebounds to go along with 9.8 points per game. The sophmore guard Noruwa Agho should do a sufficient job making up for Miller on offense but Agho is more of a perimeter player so the post play will still be down. The only solution to the post game is if head coach Joe Jones can get Asenso Ampim to perform well on a consistent basis. Ampim has the size and strength to be an inside presence however he seems to lack the aggressiveness.

290. Fordham

283. Bucknell: The Bison had a very frustrating 2008-09 season that was plagued with long scoring slumps and weak defense. However, Dave Paulsen’s team looks as if it has the potential to be a dark horse for the 2009-10 season. The team will feature the combination of G.W. Boon and Patrick Behan. Boon is an electrifying scorer that has the ability to put up 20 points per game. Behan is an excellent inside scorer that can also be a rebounding threat. If Paulsen can teach his team to take advantage of scoring attempts they should be able to make a drastic improvement.

271. Air Force

262. Penn: The Quakers had high hopes heading into the 2008-09 season. Glen Miller’s crew was almost a unanimous pick to be a contender for the Ivy League championship. The Quakers seemed to not be able to handle the pressure and ended the year with a 10-18 record mainly due to their poor performance at home in conference play. Last years team was fairly young and seemed promising for the upcoming season. This all changed when their top young player Harrison Gaines announced his intentions of transferring. Gaines scored 9.9 points per game in 2008-09 and was one of the few players that continuously played to his full ability.

259. SMU

245. Harvard: Harvard needs to defend and rebound better in order to be a legitimate league contender. Coach Tommy Amaker is entering his third season as coach and got some upset wins last season in and out of the Ivy League. High scoring guard Jeremy Lin (17.8 ppg) returns with rising forward Keith Wright (8.1 ppg). Look for Harvard to improve slightly, but post a record on the lower end of .500. 242. Columbia: Contingent on a developing frontcourt this season, the Lions could contend for a top four finish in the league. Injuries were a major factor last season and limited a promising conference season to a 7-7 finish. Coach Joe Jones needs to find a way to get something from his rebuilding frontcourt, and former Lasalle forward Brian Grimes may be the answer. However guard Patrick Foley (10.9 ppg) missed 9 games and must find a way to stay healthy in order for the Lions to have an impact.

244. Hawaii

243. William & Mary

230. Yale: Having lost their number one and number three scorers, the Bulldogs are going to struggle offensively, which could result in a second-division finish in the Ivy League. With Ross Morin and Travis Pinick gone, number two on the list, guard Alex Zampier (13.2 ppg) will be the subject of a lot of defensive discussions this season. However the ability of point guard Porter Braswell to take control as a floor general this season will determine whether Yale will finish in the upper half of the league.

228. Colorado

217. Rice

216. Indiana

214. Colorado St.

208. Charlotte

205. George Washington