Ithaca Journal Previews the Cornell Big Red

Below, the Ithaca Journal's preview of Cornell Basketball 2009-2010. All articles written by the Journal's Brian Delaney.

2009-10 Ivy League Men's Basketball Votes by media members

Team (votes) Points

1. Cornell (16) 128
2. Princeton 96
3. Penn 92
4. Harvard 86
5. Yale 59
6. Columbia 55
7. Brown 41
8. Dartmouth 19

2009-10 Season Cornell men schedule
Date Opponent Time
Nov. 14 at Alabama 2 p.m.
Nov. 18 at UMass& 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 20 SETON HALL 7 p.m.
Nov. 24 at Syracuse 7 p.m.
Nov. 27 vs. Toledo& at Drexel 2 p.m.
Nov. 28 vs. Vermont& at Drexel 2 p.m.
Nov. 29 at Drexel& 2:30 p.m.
Dec. 2 at Bucknell 7 p.m.
Dec. 6 ST. JOSEPH'S 2 p.m.
Dec. 20 vs. Davidson^ Noon
Dec. 21 vs. St. John's/Hofstra^ 7/9 p.m.
Dec. 29 at La Salle 4 p.m.
Dec. 31 PENN ST. ERIE-BEHREND 2 p.m.
Jan. 2 BRYANT 2 p.m.
Jan. 6 at Kansas 8 p.m.
Jan. 8 at South Dakota 8:30 p.m.
Jan. 11 CLARKSON 7 p.m.
Jan. 16 COLUMBIA 4 p.m.
Jan. 23 at Columbia 7 p.m.
Jan. 29 DARTMOUTH 7 p.m.
Jan. 30 HARVARD 7 p.m.
Feb. 5 YALE 7 p.m.
Feb. 6 BROWN 7 p.m.
Feb. 12 at Penn 7 p.m
Feb. 13 at Princeton 6 p.m.
Feb. 19 at Harvard 7 p.m.
Feb. 20 at Dartmouth 7 p.m.
Feb. 26 PRINCETON 7 p.m.
Feb. 27 PENN 7 p.m.
Mar. 5 at Brown 7 p.m
Mar. 6 at Yale 7 p.m.
& Legends Classic game
^ at Madison Square Garden, New York

The trio of Jeff Foote, left, Louis Dale and Ryan Wittman are back this year hoping to lead the Big Red to its third straight Ivy League men's basketball title.

Cornell seeks signature season Powerful Big Red men aim to take next step in 'the dance'

Bucknell in 2005 and 2006, Davidson and Siena in 2008, and Siena again last season.

Three East Coast men's basketball programs that gracefully played the role of upstart mid-major knocking off major conference teams in the opening rounds of previous NCAA tournaments.

Theirs are the stories that college basketball fans live for come March.

Twice now, Cornell has stood on the cusp of such moments, only to be outmatched in successive years by Stanford and Missouri. A third, and perhaps final, opportunity awaits.

The 2009-10 season marks the swan song for a large senior class that has carved a name for Big Red basketball amidst the great Ivy League teams- mostly from Penn and Princeton. Ryan Wittman, two-time first-team all-Ivy League small forward, believes Cornell's name will join the likes of Bucknell, Davidson and Siena come March.

And he's not alone.

"We see teams winning multiple games in the tournament, teams like Siena, and we look at those teams like we're as good as those teams, if not better than those teams," said Wittman, echoing sentiments shared by teammates. "I think this year's the year for us to really take that next step forward."

'Best team by far'

Reasons abound for Cornell's confidence. The foundation of back-to-back Ivy League championship teams remains intact. Coach Steve Donahue has five senior starters returning. There's also 2008-09 Ivy League Rookie of the Year Chris Wroblewski and reserve forward Adam Wire. And two quality transfers have been added- deadly perimeter shooter Max Groebe from Massachusetts, and rugged power forward Mark Coury from Kentucky.

Earlier this week, Yale guard Alex Zampier was quoted in the New Haven Register as saying about Cornell, "They could be one of the best teams in Ivy League history."

Donahue minced no words.

"It's our best team by far," Donahue said. "There's no doubt. It's the deepest, it's the most talented, it's the most experienced, and they have a great attitude. As I say all the time, there's not a lot of drama. These kids just go to work, and they enjoy playing."

The non-conference schedule is loaded. Cornell opens Saturday afternoon at Alabama, travels to UMass on Nov. 18 then hosts Seton Hall on Nov. 20 and visits Syracuse on Nov. 24. They'll visit preseason No. 1 Kansas on Jan. 6, and play two games in the Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden before Christmas, one against Davidson.

At the forefront remain The Big Three- the 6-foot-6 Wittman, 5-11 point guard Louis Dale and 7-foot center Jeff Foote.

But the "light years different" improvements over the offseason by Foote and Dale, Donahue said, has only added to the expectations.

Best Foote forward

After the Missouri loss, Foote weighed about 235 pounds. He struggled at times to keep weight on during the season, with daily two-hour practices and the league's exhausting Friday-Saturday game schedule taking its toll.

Foote and Jay Andress, assistant strength and conditioning coach, put together an aggressive weight-lifting program to help the Spencer-Van Etten graduate improve in three primary areas: stamina, explosion off the floor and upper-body strength.

All three would help shore up Foote's weaknesses on the court: finishing around the basket and rebounding with more consistency. A not-so-subtle sign of Foote's growing confidence? He's no longer wearing a t-shirt under his uniform.

"My goal weight was 255 and I passed that a little bit," said Foote, who averaged 11.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.1 blocks last season. "I kind of surprised myself with how much I added on during the summer. I think I surprised (Andress). I was listed at 245 last year, but it was probably like 235. Now I'm around 260, 265 pretty consistently."

To maintain that, Foote will have to eat intelligently and continue to work out, he said, harsh lessons learned from last season.

"I know last year I had a real tough time with it," he said. "I think I learned a lot of things from it, about hydration, how much I have to eat, staying in the weight room during the season, that kind of thing."

'Completely different'

Foote's play so far speaks for itself, teammates say.

"He was pretty good at 235, but him at 260 is a completely different player," Wittman said.

Donahue, whose Ivy League basketball knowledge dates two-plus decades, says Foote is well on his way to being the league's best true center he's seen in that span.

"I've followed the league a long time, and you've got to go back to the early '80's and maybe those guys who were getting drafted in the NBA before you saw a guy with this size, this strength, this athleticism, this skill," he said. "There just hasn't been anybody near this.

"There were a couple big guys at Dartmouth that were very good finesse players, that made their teams better," he added. "I think (Brian) Cusworth at Harvard was a very good basketball player, a very good offensive player. I think the difference is, in my opinion, is that Jeff plays all facets of the game. At that size I just don't know if there's been anybody I've seen like him."

Run, Louis, run

From Donahue's perspective, Dale took a minor step backward last season, after being voted Ivy League Player of the Year as a sophomore.

Dale missed the first eight games with a hamstring injury that cost him, all told, about three months of pick-up games, conditioning and regular season time. The latter showed especially, Donahue said, as Dale's shooting percentages and minutes dipped slightly when he returned.

Thus, Dale (13.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg) went on a running program to build stamina, going 45 or 50 minutes a pop, three or four times a week.

"I'm hoping we can get 30 to 35 minutes a game and he gets rid of those little fouls, because I think they're fatigue fouls," Donahue said. "So I'm really proud of how he's prepared for this season. It shows already. I think people recognize that he's a way different player and he had a great year last year. He's just much better conditioned to have a terrific year this year."

Loving the long ball

The three-point shot remains Cornell's tour de force, with Wittman, Dale, Wroblewski and Geoff Reeves all shooting better than 40 percent in past seasons.

Groebe can shoot it as well as anyone, and owns arguably the quickest release. Wittman shot 42 percent from beyond the arc last season, en route to averaging a team-high 18.5 points per game. Wroblewski made 44 percent of his attempts, and Reeves shot 42 percent. Dale shot 47 percent as a freshman.

As a team, Cornell ranked fourth in Division I in three-point field goal percentage (.411) each of the last two years.

A lasting legacy

Cornell wants a "couple signature wins" in its non-conference schedule, Foote said.

The Big Red needs those victories, actually. If Cornell wins the Ivy League for a third straight season, those signature wins will help ensure a higher NCAA tournament seed than the pair of 14s received in 2008 and 2009.

No Cornell player is taking the Ivy League lightly. With what they considered an improved team over the 2007-08 club that went 14-0, the Big Red lost road games to Yale, Harvard and Princeton last season.

"We know, especially based on the league last year, that the league is the hardest thing and the most important thing," senior tri-captain Jon Jaques said. "It's probably even harder than the Kansas game or the games at Madison Square Garden, just because away games in this league are honestly the most difficult thing we have on the schedule."

But what does exist is a desire to leave a longstanding legacy- one that makes an impact on a national scale.

"It's been a crazy transition," Dale said. "Just from freshmen year when there was nobody in the stands, to sophomore year where we sold out the Harvard game, which was insane.

"I think our senior class wants to leave a legacy of accomplishing something that no Cornell team in history has done: Get to the tournament and advance. I think that's what we're trying to do and hopefully we can be that Cinderella team and make the Sweet 16."

Adam Wire, a 6-foot-5 forward, worked his way into Cornell's rotation as a sophomore thanks to his defense, rebounding, and ability to finish above the rim in transition.

Donahue has luxury of depth mixed with top-notch talent

In some ways, Steve Donahue's job as game manager will never be as difficult as it will be this year.

The bulk of last season's 21-10 team, which went 11-3 in the Ivy League, returns. A strong freshman class and two transfers add depth, but leave Donahue in a quandary of finding the best mix and match of minutes, and rotation, for a group that could easily go 12 deep.

One factor that will help is a condensed playing schedule in the first semester. Cornell plays nine games between Saturday and a Dec. 6 home contest against St. Joseph's. Included in that span are three games on consecutive days at Drexel that wrap up a four-game set in the Legends Classic.

"I want everybody happy," Donahue said. "I want everybody rewarded for all their hard work. That's always there. But I'm also confident that everyone understands their role and I don't worry about it too much."

Here's the breakdown, position by position, of Cornell's likely rotation:

* Point guard: Senior Louis Dale and sophomore Chris Wroblewski have proven adept ballhandlers, distributors, scorers and defenders. So much so, in fact, that they'll probably see a good deal of time on the floor together. Freshman Miles Asafo-Adjei is pushing both hard in practice, but will likely need to wait until next year to make a significant impact.

* Shooting guard: Senior Geoff Reeves manned this spot last season, starting 28 games and playing an average of 26.1 minutes per contest. He shot 42 percent from 3-point territory and made terrific strides defensively for the second straight year. UMass transfer Max Groebe - who has two years of eligibility remaining - will come off the bench, but trails Reeves in a couple of areas.

"Geoff Reeves has proven to be a terrific defender, a versatile player in the sense that he can post up, take you off the dribble, is probably a better finisher and things like that, that I don't know if Max brings," Donahue said. "I think Max is more of a guy who's going to stretch the defense with his range. ... I think Geoff Reeves is a really good basketball player that has proven to me what he can do. I would hope Max can be similar in the long run."

* Small forward: Ryan Wittman will begin his fourth season as starter here, and is the likely frontrunner for Ivy League Player of the Year. He's averaged 34.1, 33.7 and 35.4 minutes per game in his three seasons, and there's no reason to think that will change.

Donahue does have an assortment of wing players on his roster. Junior Adam Wire, a 6-5 combo forward, and 6-6 freshman Errick Peck could see time. Reeves can play the 3 in spots, as can senior tri-captain Jon Jaques should injuries occur. Senior Andre Wilkins can sometimes be used as a defensive specialist.

* Power forward: Senior Alex Tyler remains one of Donahue's favorite players. The 6-7 forward has an assortment of post moves, is tough underneath and sets great screens. His best attribute is his team-first nature. He's been good for 22-25 minutes a game, and did a great job last year of staying out of foul trouble. His stock skyrockets once Ivy League play rolls around.

Mark Coury, a 6-9, 240-pound forward, will come off the bench. He's an excellent low-post defender and rebounder - on both ends of the court - with a limited offensive game. He can also play center. Wire is also capable of playing the 4, and little-used senior Pete Reynolds is a guy Donahue has confidence in, in short spurts.

* Center: There's no one better in the Ivy than Jeff Foote, who will benefit greatly from Mark Coury's presence in games against teams such as Syracuse (Arinze Onuaku, Rick Jackson). A terrific passer and shotblocker, Foote is the reigning Ivy defensive player of the year.

Home, Sweet Home

Cornell enters the 2009-10 season with a 21-game winning streak - and 26 wins in its last 27 games dating back to the 2006-2007 season - at Newman Arena.

That streak will be tested when Seton Hall visits on Friday night, Nov. 20. The Pirates will be the first major conference member to play at Newman since Georgia Tech visited in November, 2003.

Here's the streak:

* 2008-09 season (13-0) at home
March 7 Princeton W, 60-51
March 6 Penn W, 83-59
Feb. 14 Dartmouth W, 79-76 (2 OT)
Feb. 13 Harvard W, 96-75
Jan. 31 Yale W, 64-36
Jan. 30 Brown W, 90-58
Jan. 24 Columbia W, 83-72
Jan. 6 Bucknell W, 75-64
Jan. 3 Ursinus W, 99-45
Dec. 31 Quinnipiac W, 73-70
Dec. 29 Boston W, 89-59
Dec. 20 La Salle W, 79-70
Nov. 14 S.Dakota W, 79-69
* 2007-08 season (12-1 at home)
March 1 Harvard W, 86-53
Feb. 29 Dartmouth W, 75-59
Feb. 23 Brown W, 74-65
Feb. 22 Yale W, 85-65
Feb. 9 Penn W, 87-74
Feb. 8 Princeton W, 72-61
Jan. 19 Columbia W, 70-64
Jan. 10 Alvernia W, 91-46
Dec. 1 Colgate L, 73-76
Nov. 27 Binghamton W, 73-68
Nov. 25 Siena W, 83-77
Nov. 20 Army W, 93-78
Nov. 10 Lehigh W, 87-83
* 2006-07 season
March 3 Dartmouth W, 76-53

Talented freshman class must wait its turn

Will Cornell's success in Ivy League basketball be a flash in the pan, once the current crop of seniors graduates? Or will it be sustained?

That answer won't come for two or three years, but coach Steve Donahue believes his freshman class of five is capable of extending the program's success another full cycle.

This season, however, will likely prove a prolonged test of patience for the freshmen. Their main roles will be to push the first string every day in practice, and step in where need be should injuries occur.

Errick Peck, a 6-foot-6 combo forward out of Indianapolis, appears first in line to crack the regular rotation. As a senior last winter, he was named most valuable player of the Indiana-Kentucky All-Star Classic, which features players mostly headed to big-time programs like Purdue and Indiana.

"I think he's as talented a player coming into this program as we've ever had," Donahue said. "In terms of his athletic ability, basketball skill, all that- at this stage."

Miles Asafo-Adjei, a 6-2 point guard from Nashville with a defense-first reputation, has made life difficult on Louis Dale and Chris Wroblewski in practice.

"Miles is someone in particular in practice that really adds something," Donahue said. "He's so athletic and quick, we've never had a guy that Lou had to guard like that. Or Chris, even. So if you don't watch, he's going by you. So that's a good person to have. We've never had that."

Josh Figini, a 6-9, 200-pound forward, and Eitan Chemerinski, a 6-9, 195-pound forward, need to get bigger but have exhibited versatile skill sets. Both can square up and shoot from the perimeter, put the ball on the floor, or score inside.

"They are as good as any front court players that we've ever brought in," Donahue said. "They're just thin right now in terms of strength, and they're going against older, experienced guys every day, which is hard for them."

Pete McMillan is a 6-7 wing who can shoot the 3, but finds himself in a logjam at arguably Cornell's deepest position.