By Brian Delaney
Ithaca Journal
November 30, 2009
At the beginning of Sunday's post-game press conference, minutes after Cornell dispatched Drexel for its third straight win, Steve Donahue got choked up.
The win was nice, but it was no different than any other non-league road victory in November. No one's season ended. No dreams were crushed. To those who don't follow the Big Red, Donahue's emotions were probably more cause for confusion than anything else.
But they were certainly sincere, evoked by two game-sealing free throws knocked down by Jon Jaques in the final seconds.
Donahue then did the best thing he could think of to reward his senior tri-captain. He selected Jaques (pronounced 'Jakes') to the Legends Classic Philadelphia Subregional all-tournament team.
"I can't say enough about Jon Jaques," Donahue said. "I know people were surprised by that, but (deep breath). To me, it's um, he's what we're all about. No one cares about how it gets done, and that kid (deep breath, long pause) ... Yeah, let me finish with that, just because he's our captain. Three years of not playing. You don't know how difficult those two foul shots are for a kid like that. And then to go in and knock them down when we've got two guys in foul trouble, a guy hurt and a guy with the flu, he doesn't miss a beat with everything we do.
"He does everything we ask as a teammate and a member of our team, and that's why we're good."
Within the program, Jaques -- a 6-foot-7 small forward with a sweet shooting stroke -- is as well-liked and as valued as anyone. For four years, he's donned a white practice jersey and played the role of the upcoming opponent's best wing player. On game days, he has sat on the bench offering encouragement and advice to teammates, embracing his role as deep reserve and setting an example for younger players who could very well leapfrog him on the depth chart.
Donahue has always maintained that five or six years ago, a player of Jaques' talents would have seen significant minutes. But for the last 2 1/2 seasons, Jaques has merely been caught in a numbers game on a winning team.
On Sunday, it was numbers that opened a door. Starting forward Alex Tyler sat out with an injury. Replacement Adam Wire picked up three fouls in three minutes and center Jeff Foote drew two fouls and sat for the final 8:37 of the first half.
Jaques played 11 first-half minutes. He didn't score, but he was not a liability. Far from it. He came away with a steal, a rebound and played good defense. And in a free-throw shooting situation late, Donahue did not hesitate to sub Jaques in for Foote.
"This was special," Jaques said. "Obviously my first significant minutes in a while, so it was special to come in and help the team win. Even if I hadn't made the free throws, I was happy with how I was contributing."
His teammates loved it.
"He loves basketball more than anybody on this team," Tyler said. "To see him go out there and actually get some minutes and play well, it's so great when somebody has a chance and they're given a chance and they take advantage of it. Everyone on this team loves it when he gets an opportunity like that."
Jaques' contributions are likely not done. Tyler is targeting the Dec. 20-21 series at Madison Square Garden for his return. Cornell visits Bucknell on Wednesday and hosts St. Joseph's on Sunday.
What the?
Rare occurrence alert: On Nov. 24, Drexel beat Penn at the Palestra, 58-49. Incredibly, neither team hit a 3-pointer.
Drexel was 0-for-11, and Penn was 0-for-8. Credit Penn's Mike Mahoney for this tidbit: the last time two teams didn't make a 3 was Feb. 9, 2002, when Charleston Southern and Elon went a combined 0-for-18.
Weekly honors
For the second time this season, Cornell's Ryan Wittman will split the Ivy League Men's Basketball Player of the Week award.
Wittman and Columbia's Noruwa Agho shared the honor.
No comments:
Post a Comment