The Cornell Basketball Blog endeavors to publish links to all relevant articles and blog posts on the internet that relate to Cornell basketball. Below is an article that appeared in the Columbia Daily Spectator two weeks ago that we somehow missed posting. We apologize for the late publication.After hearing a couple of weeks ago that Chris Wroblewski—a six-foot point guard from Cornell—had won the Ivy League Rookie of the Year award, I was not surprised.
The Big Red had won the Ivy League title for the second year in a row, dominating the conference from start to finish. Wroblewski did shine as a starter and a quality sixth man toward the end of the season, and his performance was particularly noteworthy considering the absence of teammate Louis Dale, reigning Ivy League Player of the Year.
But while Wroblewski is a solid choice (marking the third time in four years a Cornell player has won), the selection proved quite controversial in my mind. There were two other rookies (Columbia’s Noruwa Agho and Princeton’s Douglas Davis) who proved more vital to their clubs during league and nonconference play.
Wroblewski started just one game during league play—when Geoff Reeves went down with a concussion. But the point guard proved vital off the bench, averaging 26.2 minutes per contest during Ivy play and putting up 7.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game while posting an off-the-chart shooting percentage and assist-to-turnover ratio.
The point guard displayed excellent touch from the perimeter (hitting 52.4 percent from three-point range, 47.4 percent overall, and 73.4 percent from the line) while having a 2-1 turnover-to-assist ratio—all stellar numbers for a freshman.
While Wroblewski’s play was very solid, particularly for a freshman point guard, he was part of a team that had two All-Ivy League first teamers (Ryan Wittman and Dale) and a second team All-Leaguer (Jeff Foote), proving that he was not the most valuable rookie for any team.
Agho started 12 of the 14 Ivy League games for the Light Blue, logging a team-high 31.1 minutes per game in league action. With so many injuries throughout Ivy play, the Lions relied on Agho’s consistency from the perimeter for much of the campaign.
The six-foot three-inch guard was second among all freshmen (behind Davis) with 10 points per game during League play while adding 3.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists. He also shot 37 percent from the field. Agho consistently matched up against the opposition’s best perimeter players for nearly 30 minutes per contest.
Agho did display freshman tendencies, forcing a lot of shots, which resulted in a poor field goal percentage (34.1 percent and some struggles from the free throw line). But he was still very valuable to his team, playing much more than Wroblewski while averaging more points, rebounds and steals (1.3 per game—ranking seventh in the league).
But one thing that worked in Wroblewski’s favor was his strong play during the final two weekends of the season—something that must have resonated with the coaches who voted. The guard truly shined in the final two weekends of the season, improving upon his season averages with 29.5 minutes played, 8.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists—all while turning the ball over only four times total. Furthermore, his shooting improved. The freshman guard hit 60.9 percent of his shots, a remarkable number for a three-point shooter.
Agho, on the other hand, struggled in the final four games, averaging 7.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game. He also shot a miserable 27.3 percent while forcing a number of shots as the offense struggled down the stretch.
While the final couple of games should have more weight in the coaches’ minds, Wroblewski still did not post the best statistics (he trailed Agho and/or Davis in minutes, scoring, rebounding, and steals), nor was he the most valuable rookie to his team. So the question must be asked: how could he have garnered the award? The only plausible explanation was that he was a median pick—one that the coaches were happy to agree on, not one that was unanimous. Further, since Cornell won the league, it seemed acceptable to reward the Big Red.
But what if Columbia had not lost at the buzzer to Penn and finished the year 8-6 and second in league? Would Agho have won the award? Regardless of the what-ifs, the rationale behind the decision is kind of suspicious.
Just as the Penn loss kept Agho (and fellow freshman Issa Mase) shooting in Levien nearly an hour after the heartbreaker ended, maybe this snub will motivate the guard to work even harder than he does now to become an All-Ivy League player.
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