Recruiting News

Below, some Ivy League recruiting news...

Kaleb Cyburn, a 5'9" point guard from Monteverde Academy in Florida committed to Central Connecticut over offers from Columbia, Colgate, Stetson and interest from Boston U, Davidson and Lehigh according to RecruitRecon.

NJHoops.com reports that 7'1" Matt Piotrowski of the Lawrenceville School visited Stanford and is also hearing from Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Pepperdine, Princeton and Harvard. Indiana had made contact and said they would be in to see him play soon. Coaches from Princeton and Harvard were on hand when we saw Piotrowski play Friday in the Peddie School Invitational Tournament. He does not have any timetable for a decision. "I'll make a commitment whenever it feels right. Maybe February, but I'm not sure." He said.

Scout.com reports that Pennington School's (NJ) Harold Spears, a 6'5" wing Spears has an offer from Lafayette and has expressed interest in La Salle Rider, Bucknell, Princeton, Cornell, and Yale.

TheWolverine.com reports on Patrick Lucas Perry, a 5'10" point guard from Flint (MI) Powers High School. "Harvard came to the Carman game, Coach [Kenney] Blakeney," said Lucas-Perry. "I've gotten to know him, and I really like where they're going." Lucas-Perry's current focus is on his junior season, but does plan to visit Harvard at some point, however, he hopes a big season will open more doors in recruiting. Rivals.com reports that Perry has offers on the table from Michigan and South Florida, but other reports indicate that Michigan does not have a scholarship yet to offer Perry.

NJHoops.com reports that Hakeem Harris, a 6'1" point guard at Blair Academy in New Jersey is being recruited by Northwestern, Rice, Columbia and Brown. He carries a 4.0 GPA. He originally committed to Columbia before reopening his recruitment.

Jamal Lewis, a point guard from D.C.'s Sidwell Friends School is gaining interest from Penn, Virginia, Georgetown, Xavier and George Washington according to Scout.com

A coach from Columbia was spotted scouting in Kansas City yesterday at the HyVee Shootout. Meanwhile, coaches from Brown and Yale were at the Gonzaga, D.C. Classic.

Ivy League Roster Sizes for 2010-2011

• Penn-21 total play ers, including, 7 seniors and 5 freshmen
• Columbia-18 players, including 4 seniors and 2 freshmen
• Princeton-17 total players, including, 3 seniors and 5 freshmen
• Harvard-15 total players, including 0 seniors and 3 freshman
• Yale-15 total players, including 3 seniors and 5 freshmen
• Cornell-14 players, including 3 seniors, 3 freshmen and 1 transfer
• Brown-12 players, including 5 seniors and 2 freshmen
• Dartmouth-12 total players including 2 seniors and 0 freshmen
  

IVY LEAGUE 2010-2011 RECRUITING VERBAL COMMITMENTS

CORNELL

• Dominic Scelfo G 6-1 180 New Orleans LA Jesuit HS
  
• 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

• Joe Sharkey G 6-2 Northfield MA Northfield Mt Hermon School (class of 2011)
  
• Sean McGonagil G 6-1 Riverside-Brookfield IL HS
  
• 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

• James Moore F 6-8 Carmichael CA Jesuit HS
• Laurent Rivard G 6-5 Northfield MA Northfield Mount Hermon School
  
• Ugo Okam C 7-0 Monteverde FL Monteverde Academy
  
• Matt Brown G 6-2 Northfield MA Northfield Mount Hermon School
  

Penn

• Miles Cartwright G 6-3 Los Angeles Loyola HS
  
• 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
• Steve Rennard G 6-0 Metuchen NJ St. Joseph's

Princeton

• Tom Noonan F 6-7 Philadelphia PA Penn Charter HS
  
• Ben Hazel G 6-4 Wheaton MD Good Counsel HS
  
• Chris Clement G 6-1 Round Rock TX Stony Point HS
  
• Daniel Edwards C 6-9 Highland Park TX HS
  
• T.J. Bray G 6-3 Waukesha WI Catholic Memorial HS
  

Yale

• Will Bartlett G 6-6 New York NY Collegiate School
  
• Jesse Pritchard G 6-4 180 Ames IA Blair Academy NJ
• 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

Below are some related recruiting links:

• For The Cornell Basketball Blog's list of Ivy League Commitments and Cornell Recruiting Targets (including recruit bios), click here.

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

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

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

Recruiting News

Below, a bit of recruiting news from around the Ivy League...

Southeast Polk (Iowa) 6'5" guard Jake Guenther told IowaPreps.com, "Yale has called me a couple of times. Then Columbia, USD, and UNI are sending me mail regularly."

Malachi Roberts, a 6'4" guard from Eastview High School in Wenatchee, Washington is hearing from Portland State and University of Portland, Columbia, Weber State, and Montana according to WashingtonPreps.com.

Chris Fitzgerald, a skilled 6'8" power forward told NJHoops.com that he was hearing from Cornell, Brown, Princeton, Western Michigan and Drexel. "The Ivy League is a good option." He said. "But I'm willing to go as high as I can." Fitzgerald visited Cornell and Brown unofficially. And with Cornell's RPI in nation's top 25 and win two wins against A-10 teams and a win against an SEC team, Fitzgerald can't go much "higher" than the Big Red.

ChicagoHoops.com reports that James Sikam, a 6'6" forward from Brehm Prep in Illinois, a member of the class of 2011, is out for the remainder of the season with an injury to his face. He already unofficially visited Harvard and has interest from Vanderbilt, Virginia and Illinois. Harvard is also recruiting teammate Bruce Barron, a 6'3" guard.

ChicagoHoops.com also reports that 6'2" Chasson Randle, a guard from Rock Island, Illinois High School has interest from Harvard, Stanford and Notre Dame.

Peter Alexis, a 6'11' 265 lb. post player from from Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Holy Redeemer High School committed to Penn State over interest from Yale, West Virginia and Texas A&M.

Coaches from Princeton and Harvard attended the Peddie School Tournament in New Jersey to scout 7'1" Lawrenceville postgrad Matt Piotrowski. However, the post player is hoping to land an admission to Stanford.

Coaches from Brown and Yale were spotted at the Gonzaga Classic in Washignton, D.C.

The Terrapin Times reports that the Miller School's (Virgina) Brice Kofane, a 6'8" forward, has interest from Harvard, Maryland and "other mid to high D-1 schools."

Scout.com reports that Rayner Moquete, a 6'1" guard at Our Savior New American in Centereach, New York committed to Fordham over interest from Cornell, Columbia and Yale among others.

Scout.com reports that 6'8" 190 lb. Robert Sampson, son of former NBA star, Ralph Sampson, has a scholarship offer from Mt. St. Mary's and interest from Penn. He attends the Bullis School in Potomac, Maryland.

Ivy League Roster Sizes for 2010-2011

• Penn-21 total play ers, including, 7 seniors and 5 freshmen
• Columbia-18 players, including 4 seniors and 2 freshmen
• Princeton-17 total players, including, 3 seniors and 5 freshmen
• Harvard-15 total players, including 0 seniors and 3 freshman
• Yale-15 total players, including 3 seniors and 5 freshmen
• Cornell-14 players, including 3 seniors, 3 freshmen and 1 transfer
• Brown-12 players, including 5 seniors and 2 freshmen
• Dartmouth-12 total players including 2 seniors and 0 freshmen
  

IVY LEAGUE 2010-2011 RECRUITING VERBAL COMMITMENTS

CORNELL

• Dominic Scelfo G 6-1 180 New Orleans LA Jesuit HS
  
• 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

• Joe Sharkey G 6-2 Northfield MA Northfield Mt Hermon School (class of 2011)
  
• Sean McGonagil G 6-1 Riverside-Brookfield IL HS
  
• 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

• Laurent Rivard G 6-5 Northfield MA Northfield Mount Hermon School
  
• Ugo Okam C 7-0 Monteverde FL Monteverde Academy
  
• Matt Brown G 6-2 Northfield MA Northfield Mount Hermon School
  

Penn

• Miles Cartwright G 6-3 Los Angeles Loyola HS
  
• 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
• Steve Rennard G 6-0 Metuchen NJ St. Joseph's

Princeton

• Tom Noonan F 6-7 Philadelphia PA Penn Charter HS
  
• Ben Hazel G 6-4 Wheaton MD Good Counsel HS
  
• Chris Clement G 6-1 Round Rock TX Stony Point HS
  
• Daniel Edwards C 6-9 Highland Park TX HS
  
• T.J. Bray G 6-3 Waukesha WI Catholic Memorial HS
  

Yale

• Will Bartlett G 6-6 New York NY Collegiate School
  
• Jesse Pritchard G 6-4 180 Ames IA Blair Academy NJ
• 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

Below are some related recruiting links:

• For The Cornell Basketball Blog's list of Ivy League Commitments and Cornell Recruiting Targets (including recruit bios), click here.

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

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

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

Dominic Scelfo Still on the Mend

Cornell recruit, Dominic Scelfo, a 6'1" guard is still sitting out following a surgery to repair a torn meniscus. NewOrleans.com referred to him as "one of the city’s most highly touted recruits at guard."

Crown Magazine Profiles Manny Sahota

Following some stellar early presseason tournament performances, Crown Magazine, a high school basketball publication in Canada profiles Cornell recruit, Manny Sahota.

Manny Sahota 6’6” SF 2010 St.Marguerite d’youville – Sahota did a great job carrying his team through the event with his consistent play. The Cornell Commit has a solid build and mixes up his game quite well, whether he is knocking down shots on the perimeter, creating in the midrange, or banging down low for tough buckets. He is active on the boards. Sahota is more athletic than he appears. He doesn’t standout in one department he just does everything well and has room to improve his overall game to become a better player.

Pittsburgh Post Gazette Profiles Jake Matthews

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette profiles the WPIAL's five best guards, four of which have already committed to Division I programs. Cornell recruit, Jake Matthews is among them:

JAKE MATTHEWS

Greensburg Salem

Height/Weight: 6-2, 160.

College: Signed with Cornell, the Ivy League champion the last two years. "Cornell told me Jake was the No. 1 shooting guard they wanted this year," said Greensburg Salem coach Paul Sapotichne.

Check this out: Matthews is a shooting guard who averaged 16.1 points last year for a team that made it to the PIAA Class AAA final. He made 73 3-pointers and shot 39 percent from 3-point range.

Matthews says: "Last year, we had four senior starters. I just need to step up and be more of a leader this year.

"I went to see Cornell play the other day against St. Joseph's. I haven't seen anything I don't like about Cornell. Their offense is perfect for me. It's up-tempo and everyone is a smart player."

Best WPIAL player: "Tom Droney has the size and the smarts. He has the flash and can only get better. I'd kind of lean toward him. The only downfall is that he plays in Class A. But I'm sure if he played Quad-A, he'd perform just as well."

News on Cornell Recruit Jake Matthews

Below, several references to Cornell recruit, Jake Mathews in the news today.

From Pittsburgh Post Gazette's High School Basketball Notebook:

Greensburg Salem -- The Golden Lions return just one starter from last year's team that advanced to the PIAA Class AAA championship game. But their sophomore class is one of the most talented groups of players in the area. And, that one returning starter is pretty good. Senior Jake Matthews, a Cornell recruit, averaged 16.1 points per game and fueled Greensburg Salem's playoff run, scoring more than 15 points in each of the Golden Lions' final five games.

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette also notes, "As of November, four WPIAL boys' basketball standouts had signed letters of intent to play at the Division I level. They include Droney, as well as Mt. Lebanon's Even Pierce (Wagner), Greensburg Salem's Jake Matthews (Cornell) and Chartiers Valley's T.J. McConnell (Duquesne)."

Finally, the newspaper published today a feature story on Matthews.

PG East: Matthews doesn't plan to let the Golden Lions tarnish

By Chris Adamski
Pittsburgh Post Gazette/Tri-State Sports & News Service
December 10, 2009

Paul Sapotichne has been a head coach at the high school level for 34 years, and he's set to begin his 27th at Greensburg Salem tomorrow night.

But, in what might seem surprising, he said that this year has brought him something he hasn't seen before.

The Golden Lions' star guard, Jake Matthews, committed to playing at Cornell University, the two-time reigning Ivy League champion.

"It's really neat for our program," Sapotichne said. "We've had very successful teams and I think we have a very good program and we've had some great individual players over the years. We've had players play college ball at D-II or D-III, but Jake is truly the first player I have had who has [played for] a Division I school.

"That doesn't mean that I haven't had players talented enough to do it ... but I'm pleased and proud of Jake. He comes from a great family and a great basketball family, and Cornell is a very good program ... and obviously a very good school."

The Big Red are picked to win the Ivy League title for the third consecutive season and have already won road games at Alabama and UMass and are 6-2 with the only defeats coming to Seton Hall and Syracuse of the Big East (the Orange were ranked No. 9 nationally at the time and Seton Hall is 7-0).

This season, they also will play two games at New York's Madison Square Garden and play a game at Kansas, the team currently ranked No. 1 by the Associated Press and coaches' polls.

"I always wanted to play in the Ivy League ... and there's a lot of factors," said Matthews, a 6-foot-2 senior who has a 4.0 GPA. "It kind of seems like the perfect place for me.

"I went to the campus, and it was unbelievable. Of course, it's a great academic school, and the type of offense they run, the way coach [Steve] Donahue runs his program, they're not just what people think when they think of Ivy League. They're not like any other Ivy team, if you look at the tough schedule and who they've beaten."

Sapotichne said Donahue told him while recruiting Matthews that Matthews was the No. 1 guard he was targeting in the country.

"That makes me feel good, makes me feel happy for him," Sapotichne said.

Matthews is the grandson of Bernie Matthews, who coached at St. Vincent College in Latrobe for 36 seasons. Jake's father, also named Bernie, played at Division I Sanford University, and his brother, Paul, also was a standout guard at Greensburg Salem.

Jake admits that being around the sport so much since he was a young boy greatly aided in his development as a player.

The combination of "book smarts" and "basketball smarts" combines with a sweet stroke to make for quite the player.

Greensburg Salem, which opens against Franklin Regional at the Hempfield tournament 6:30 p.m. tomorrow, was a PIAA Class AAA finalist last season, Matthews' second as a starter after contributing to the varsity team as a freshman.

"He has gotten better each and every year," Sapotichne said. "He's an outstanding shooter... and he does much more than just shoot the basketball. I think when Jake was a sophomore, people looked at him and said, 'He's a good shooter.' Now, he is truly a very good basketball player.

"He can handle the ball, pass the ball very well, and he's such a good scorer, he can score not only by shooting but also by taking it to the hoop. And he's worked so hard on his defense and become one of the best defenders I've had. It's all a credit to his work."

Matthews figured he needed to work hard as he accepts a role as unquestioned leader -- he's also the only unanimously selected captain by his teammates in Sapotichne's 27 seasons at Greensburg Salem -- because he is the only returning starter from last season's 23-6 team.

Only 185 points from 1,000 in his career, Matthews will be depended on to increase his 16.1 points per game average.

He will be joined in the Lions' starting lineup by forward Drew Manley and guard T.J. Olesky, both seniors, and guard/forward Raevann Mottley and guard Casey Hope, both juniors, unless senior guard Trey Parsley and/or senior forward John Munsch cracks the top end of the rotation.

Junior guard David Nowicki, a transfer from Greensburg Central Catholic, and six sophomores also will push for significant playing time. The sophomores helped lead the Greensburg Salem junior varsity team to a very strong season last year.

"For goals, we just always expect to do well," Matthews said. "Last year, if you asked us before the season if the goal was to play for a state championship, you'd say yeah. You obviously want to have high expectations but I probably would not have thought that last year we'd be in the state finals.

"So why not again this year? We want to go as far as we can. We always have high expectations."

Greensburg Salem's Jake Matthews looks to pass around Farrell's Robert Trudo in a PIAA Class AAA

Recruiting News

Below, some recruiting news from around the Ivy League.

The Cornell coaching staff has to feel pretty good so far with its incoming recruiting class. The Big Red already have commitments from four key pieces.

• In the point guard (combo guard) role, Cornell has a commitment from Dominic Scelfo, a crafty 6'1" prospect who has a reputation as Louisiana's top outside shooter. He is also a crafty penetrator off the dribble and turned down offers from much bigger conferences such as Conference USA to play in the Ivy League.
• At the second guard slot, Cornell secured the services of 6'2" Jake Matthews from Pittsburgh, Pa. Like Scelfo, Matthews can flat out shoot the ball, but also brings great bounce and athleticism to the program and reminds us of a shorter version of Geoff Reeves.
• Cornell also adds a prototype small forward in 6'6" Manny Sahota from Brampton, Ontario. For a forward, Sahota is skilled handling the basketball and can finish above the rim in transition. He also brings an excellent mid range game off the dribble. Sahota is off to a solid start for his senior season at Brampton, Ontario's D'Youville School. In the season opener, he pumped in 29 points as D'Youville topped Fletchers Meadow 69-36.
• Finally, Cornell adds its transfer from Centenary College, 6'8" Anthony Gatlin, who can play either forward position or in the backcourt. Gatlin can score in a variety of ways and will help Cornell immediately.
  

With respect to prospects, a pair of Cornell's top frontcourt targets from the class of 2010 are holding scholarship offers to BCS conference programs. At least one of these highly recruited post players has indicated a planned visit to Cornell. Both players appear to be way off the radar screens of major recruiting websites.

James Siakam, a class of 2011 6'7" forward from Carbondale, Illinois and Brehm Prep has a top three list of Illinois, Vanderbilt and Harvard according to InsideIllini.com.

Mike Turner, a 6'7" forward from Chicago University High School has an offer from Southern Illinois, and is also being recruited by Princeton, Indiana State, Loyola, Western Illinois, Nevada, Toledo, and St. Francis according ChicagoHoops.com. He is a member of the class of 2011.

Johnny O'Bryant of Cleveland High School in Mississippi, a 6'9" 235 lb, forward claims offers from Harvard as well as from Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Baylor, Arkansas, and Alabama. He is a member of the class of 2011.

Keaton Miles, a 2011 product from Dallas Lincoln High School, already has offers from Baylor, Northwestern, Oklahoma State, SMU and Texas A&M. He is also drawing interest from Wake Forest, Stanford, Washington and Harvard according to RivalsHoops.com.

Ivy League Roster Sizes for 2010-2011

• Penn-21 total play ers, including, 7 seniors and 5 freshmen
• Columbia-18 players, including 4 seniors and 2 freshmen
• Princeton-17 total players, including, 3 seniors and 5 freshmen
• Harvard-15 total players, including 0 seniors and 3 freshman
• Yale-15 total players, including 3 seniors and 5 freshmen
• Cornell-14 players, including 3 seniors, 3 freshmen and 1 transfer
• Brown-12 players, including 5 seniors and 2 freshmen
• Dartmouth-12 total players including 2 seniors and 0 freshmen
  

IVY LEAGUE 2010-2011 RECRUITING VERBAL COMMITMENTS

CORNELL

• Dominic Scelfo G 6-1 180 New Orleans LA Jesuit HS
  
• 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

• Joe Sharkey G 6-2 Northfield MA Northfield Mt Hermon School (class of 2011)
  
• Sean McGonagil G 6-1 Riverside-Brookfield IL HS
  
• 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

• Laurent Rivard G 6-5 Northfield MA Northfield Mount Hermon School
  
• Ugo Okam C 7-0 Monteverde FL Monteverde Academy
  
• Matt Brown G 6-2 Northfield MA Northfield Mount Hermon School
  

Penn

• Miles Cartwright G 6-3 Los Angeles Loyola HS
  
• 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
• Steve Rennard G 6-0 Metuchen NJ St. Joseph's

Princeton

• Tom Noonan F 6-7 Philadelphia PA Penn Charter HS
  
• Ben Hazel G 6-4 Wheaton MD Good Counsel HS
  
• Chris Clement G 6-1 Round Rock TX Stony Point HS
  
• Daniel Edwards C 6-9 Highland Park TX HS
  
• T.J. Bray G 6-3 Waukesha WI Catholic Memorial HS
  

Yale

• Will Bartlett G 6-6 New York NY Collegiate School
  
• Jesse Pritchard G 6-4 180 Ames IA Blair Academy NJ
• 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

Below are some related recruiting links:

• For The Cornell Basketball Blog's list of Ivy League Commitments and Cornell Recruiting Targets (including recruit bios), click here.

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

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

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

Recruiting News: Harvard Receives Verbal from Cali Forward

In recruiting news, Harvard received a verbal commitment from James Moore, a 6'8" forward from Jesuit High School in Carmichael, California. Moore visited Cornell the weekend of October 31.

Recruiting News: A Pair of Prized Penn Recruits Decommit

ESPNInsider/ScoutsInc. confirms that 6'8" forward, Kevin Panzer of Capistrano High School in Mission Viejo, California has withdrawn his commitment to attend Penn next season.  No reason was given for the decision.  Panzer originally committed to Penn over scholarship offers from Gonzaga and the University of Colorado. 

A second Penn recruit, 6'2" Austin Kelly of Harvard-Westlake High School in Los Angeles also decommitted from Penn back in September according to a source close to his recruitment.  The reason for Kelly's decommitment is personal and is unrelated to Panzer's decision.

Recruiting News

Below, some recruiting news from around the Ivy League.

CaliforniaPreps.com reports that St. Mary's, Syracuse, UCLA, Santa Barbara and Harvard are among those monitoring Max Hooper, a 6'6" wing from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California.

The WildcatReport notes that Pe'Shon Howard, a 6'2" guard from Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, received a scholarship offer from Northwestern. He was previously reportedly considering South Florida and Harvard, but the Crimson may have been eliminated.

ChicagoHoops.com reports that Western Michigan, Marquette, Western Illinois and Yale are among those recruiting class of 2011 member and Belleville Althoff High School's (Illinois) Carson Sonnenberg, a 6'5" forward.

Recruiting News: Princeton Takes 5th Recruit

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

Tom Noonan, a 6'7" forwward from Penn Charter School in Philadelphia committed to Princeton according to the Philadelphia Daily News. He had no other Division I offers and was recruited primarily by Division III schools-Williams, Amherst, Hamilton and NYU. He drew "fleeting interest from Yale and Cornell."

According to the State Journal Register, Cornell, Wright State and Northern Iowa are pursuing Isiah Hale, a 5'8" point guard from Springfield, Illinois.

ChicagoHoops.com reports that Evanston's Garrett Jones, 6'0" guard and a member of the class of 2011, has Ivy League programs in hot pursuit, as well as Loyola and Wisconsin-Green Bay.

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 Ivy League Commitments and Cornell Recruiting Targets (including recruit bios), click here.

• For The Cornell Basketball Blog's list of Ivy League 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.

Ivy League Roster Sizes for 2010-2011

• Penn-23 total players, including, 7 seniors and 7 freshmen
• Columbia-18 players, including 4 seniors and 2 freshmen
• Princeton-17 total players, including, 3 seniors and 5 freshmen
• Harvard-15 total players, including 0 seniors and 3 freshman
• Yale-15 total players, including 3 seniors and 5 freshmen
• Cornell-14 players, including 3 seniors, 3 freshmen and 1 transfer
• Brown-13 players, including 5 seniors and 2 freshmen
• Dartmouth-12 total players including 2 seniors and 0 freshmen
  

IVY LEAGUE 2010-2011 RECRUITING VERBAL COMMITMENTS

CORNELL

• Dominic Scelfo G 6-1 180 New Orleans LA Jesuit HS
  
• 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

• Joe Sharkey G 6-2 Northfield MA Northfield Mt Hermon School (class of 2011)
  
• Sean McGonagil G 6-1 Riverside-Brookfield IL HS
  
• 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

• Laurent Rivard G 6-5 Northfield MA Northfield Mount Hermon School
  
• Ugo Okam C 7-0 Monteverde FL Monteverde Academy
  
• Matt Brown G 6-2 Northfield MA Northfield Mount Hermon School
  

Penn

• Miles Cartwright G 6-3 Los Angeles Loyola HS
  
• 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

• Tom Noonan F 6-7 Philadelphia PA Penn Charter HS
  
• Ben Hazel G 6-4 Wheaton MD Good Counsel HS
  
• Chris Clement G 6-1 Round Rock TX Stony Point HS
  
• Daniel Edwards C 6-9 Highland Park TX HS
  
• T.J. Bray G 6-3 Waukesha WI Catholic Memorial HS
  

Yale

• Will Bartlett G 6-6 New York NY Collegiate School
  
• Jesse Pritchard G 6-4 180 Ames IA Blair Academy NJ
• 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

Recruiting News

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

If you haven't been following our regular recruiting news reports, you might be surprised to learn that Cornell already has a four person recruiting class in place for next season. The class is led by guard/forward 6'8" Anthony Gatlin, a transfer from Centenary College. The three freshmen in the class include Dominic Scelfo, a 6'2" pure point guard from New Orleans, Jake Matthews, an explosive 6'2" combo guard from Pittsburgh and 6'6" Many Sahota, a wiry and bouncy 6'6" wing from Brampton, Ontario, Canada. All three players received substantial Division I recruitment with Scelfo notably turning down scholarships from Conference USA and Atlantic 10 programs in order to play at Cornell.

In other recruiting news, the Chicago Tribune has a story on Maren Kukoc, a 6'6" wing from Highland Park High School in Illinois. Kukoc is the son of former Chicago Bull Toni Kukoc and is a former teammate of Cornell's Chris Wroblewski. Kukoc has visited several Ivy League schools including Cornell and Penn.

NBE Basketball Report reports that Majok Majok, a 6'8" forward from the Northfield Mount Hermon School plans to pick a future destination in December and is considering Harvard, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma, Providence, Virginia. Rumor has it that Majok's top choice is Harvard, but until he receives SAT scores suitable for admission, he is unable to commit. Several Ivies did not recruit Majok due to the uncertainty in his academic profile.

Recruiting News

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

The big news this week is that Cornell lost out to Bucknell on one of the Big Red's top prospects. Cameron Ayers, a 6'4" guard from Germantown Academy in Germantown, Pa. selected the Bison over steady pursuit from Cornell, Temple, and Miami (OH). Ayers took an official visit to Cornell but had not been admitted yet, as he planned on retaking his SAT in December to qualify for Cornell's admissions standards. Prior to the fall he was hearing from the likes of Georgetown, Georgia Tech and Saint Joseph’s. Ayers is the son of coach, Randy Ayers. He is currently an assistant coach for the 76ers and is the former head coach for both the Sixers and Ohio State University. See the stories below on Cameron's commitment:

• Times Herald
• Philadelphia Daily News
• Philadelphia Inquirer
• Philly Burbs
  

PelicanPreps.com reports that Dartmouth, Cornell, and Tulane are all showing interest in 6'5" Will Norman of St. Thomas More High School in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Benilde-St. Margaret's (MN) forward Peter Crawford had interest from Dartmouth, but the 6'5 forward committed to Minnesota-Duluth this week.

NEHoopsNews reports that Ryan Romich, a 6'6" wing from Groton-Dunstable Regional High School in Massachusetts has received interest from Colgate, Iona, Elon, Northeastern and Bucknell, with offers from Iona and Colgate on the table. Cornell was previously mentioned as involved but may have backed off.

Nathan Harries from Alpharetta, Georgia and Centennial high school, a 6'2" guard in the class of 2011 has an offer from Georgia State but it also receiving interest from Harvard and Princeton.

Recruiting News

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

Jake Keuser, a 6'11" post player from Sibley High School in Minneapolis committed to Lafayette. Kreuser was offered by Cornell during the summer, but he wanted a full scholarship, which Ivies do not offer. Accordingly, the parties moved in different directions. During the recruiting process Kreuser received offers from Santa Clara, Wisconsin Green Bay, and North Dakota State and had strong interest from Saint Louis, Yale, South Dakota, North Dakota and Loyola-Chicago. Coaches from Saint Louis were up to see Kreuser four times this fall and he visited the school two weekends ago.

Josh Elbaum, a 6'4" guard attending Northfield Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts will take an unofficial visit to Columbia this week.

Review of Cornell Recruit, Dominic Scelfo from the Louisiana Basketball Report

The following comes from the Louisiana Basketball Report, published by Bobby Sibley, Head Coach of the AAU team, the Louisiana D-1 Ambassadors and a scout for the PelicanPreps.com website, part of the Rivals.com network

Louisiana Basketball Report Gets love

The Cornell Basketball Blog has recently mentioned our site for giving Dominick Scelfo a little publicity for committing to the Big Red. The blog goes on to talk about Scelfo's game and describe him as this:

"Scelfo is a point guard in the Steve Nash mold. Although not the best athlete on the floor when facing other college prospects, his motor is always running, he makes his teammates around him better, but is also able to find his own shots by either penetrating into the lane or getting a shot off from the outside."- Cornell Basketball Blog

I couldn't agree more. Scelfo is very talented guard that can really run a team and make others better. He proved his value this summer teaming with LSU signee Matt Derenbecker of Coutry Day, Langston Galloway, a St. Joseph's signee and Patrick Robinson a Northwestern State signee both of whom attend Christian Life. This talent quartet along with East Ascension's Keith Flemin and Brady Hadden of Jesuit led their Mid-City Cyclones team to a 7th place finish at the AAU 17-under nationals. The first time I saw Scelfo was when he was 15 in 2007. He was a small white kid, floppy hair and a tight reversible jersey that looked as if it needed grease to take it off. I remember saying to myself that he can't possibly be any good like people are saying he is, can he? Well it turned out that within 5 minutes of watching I knew he was special. Two years later I watched him, Galloway and Robinson dominate a tournament held in Baton Rouge that included the likes of LaQuinton Ross, Andre Stringer, Jalen Courtney, Deville Smith, Demarco Cox, Johnny O'Bryan, Rashad Perkins, Cedric McAfee, Jarnell Stokes, Nate Rucker and many others. In the group mentinoned there are 3 kids signed with SEC schools, 2 players that are top 10 nationally and 2 more that are top 50 nationally. The last name, Rucker is signed to N. Illinois, and he is a stud too. Just last weekend in a exhibition game at a local middle school in Memphis, Rucker broke the backboard on a dunk... With all that said, I definitely think Cornell is getting a steal. For Scelfo to play at a high level against these guys, I see nothing but great things ahead of this young man from Jesuit HS in New Orleans. Dominick is a blue-collar type player that any coach would love to have, he is a great kid that is humble, works hard and is a winner. Congratulations Dominick on your committment to the Big Red of Cornell.

Recruiting News

Below, some recruiting news from around the Ivy League. Above, Cornell recruit, Jake Matthews plays in the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) in the Pittsburgh area.

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette notes that "Five boys' players from the WPIAL are headed to Division I colleges. Sewickley Academy's Tom Droney is headed to Davidson, Greensburg Salem's Jake Matthews to Cornell, Chartiers Valley's T.J. McConnell to Duquesne, Hempfield's Nate Perry to Appalachian State and Mt. Lebanon's Even Pierce to Wagner."

A Montana State blogger notes the commitment of Casey Trujeque, a 5'7" guard from Los Angeles Price H.S. to Montana State. Several Ivies recruited him and he had reported offers from Columbia and Harvard.

Scout.com reports that Chandler Fraser-Pauls, a 6'0" basketball/soccer player from the Pennington School in Pennington, New Jersey, is now getting serious recruiting interest in the sport of soccer from Boston University, Cornell, and Bucknell. Columbia, Brown, Lafayette, and Vermont have picked up the recruiting interest in Chandler in basketball.

Recruiting News

Below, some recruiting news from around the Ivy League. Above, Cornel's Jeff Foote rejects a shot of Cornell freshman 6'9" Josh Figini during Cornell's Red-White scrimmage back in October.

Well, it was signing day this week and not a lot of news or surprises for Ivy programs. But here are a few nuggets.

The Episcopal School of Dallas announced that Trevor Fuller will attend San Diego. He was recruited by Southern Illinois, Colorado, George Mason, Cornell, Tulane and Harvard according to the school. Scout.com reported that he had offers from Missouri State, Southern Illinois, Richmond, Tulane and UTEP.

The Towson Tiger Examiner reports that Towson signed 6'11" center Jamel Flash from West Hempstead High School. He was recruited by Ivy league schools Columbia and Yale.

Hoop Scoop reports that Sandro Carissimo from New Rochelle Prep in New York, a 6'1" guard signed with Vermont. He received Ivy interest. Specifically, interest was from Albany, Brown, Davidson, Harvard, Holy Cross, and St. Francis New York according to Scout.com.

Forrest Robinson, a 6'9" forward from Eastland, Texas committed to Utah according to Rivals.com. He had interest from Penn.

Recruiting News

Below, some recruiting news from around the Ivy League.

The Louisiana Basketball Report references Dominic Scelfo's commitment to Cornell. The 6'3" 180 lb. guard from Jesuit High School in New Orleans had scholarship offers from Tulane, Saint Louis, New Orleans, UT-San Antonio, Army and Louisiana Lafayette before he focused on Cornell during the summer.

Scelfo is a point guard in the Steve Nash mold. Although not the best athlete on the floor when facing other college prospects, his motor is always running, he makes his teammates around him better, but is also able to find his own shots by either penetrating into the lane or getting a shot off from the outside.

Rivals.com reports that Harvard could dip back into the talent pool at Montverde (Fla.) Academy. Haukur Palsson, who has traveled from Iceland to play at Montverde is a 6'6" 215 lb. small forward in the class of 2010 who is getting interest from Harvard, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt and VCU. Harvard recently received a commitment from developing post player, Ugo Okam from Montverde.

The Duluth News Tribune references Duluth East guard Dyami Starks' commitment to Columbia and that Steve Tecker committed to South Dakota. Tecker attends Northwestern HS in Maple, Wisconsin. he had interest from Yale, Bucknell, Drake, Saint Louis, Indiana State, Northern Iowa, and Green Bay.

Wisconsin freshman Mike Bruesewitz told Wisconsin Athletics, "None of the Ivy League schools really recruited me that hard. They talked to me a couple times. My brother talked to the Princeton basketball coach about me coming there maybe, but I was getting recruited by some other schools as well, like Davidson and Bucknell. I did like Princeton’s campus, but I’m glad I ended up here."

Scout.com reports that Joey Gripper, a member of the class of 2011 at the Abington Friends School in Pennsylvania has offers from Penn, Harvard, St. Bonaventure, and Drexel. Meanwhile, Charlotte, Davidson, La Salle, Maine, Northeastern, Stanford, and Seton Hall have expressed interest.

Recruiting News

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

Checking in and around the Ivy, it looks like all eight Ivy programs may continue recruiting into the winter period. Nevertheless, it appears to us that while some of the Ivies should be recruiting, others seem to be over-recruiting at this point.

The latter group includes, Penn, Columbia and Harvard. Penn already projects to have a roster of 23 players for 2010-2011. Meanwhile, Columbia has 18 slated for next season while Harvard is holding in place 17, none of which are seniors. Significant player cuts appear inevitable at all three of these programs.

On the flip side of that coin, Brown seriously needs to add some warm bodies. The Bears had the shallowest bench in Ivy last year and only have 13 players on their current roster. The 2010-2011 Brown roster will also have just 13 players, including 5 seniors graduating in May '11.

Meanwhile, Cornell projects just a slightly bigger roster than Brown with 14, including 3 seniors. To address its shortage of players, the Big Red could potentially add a few new recruits to its class this winter and are actively tracking both frontcourt and backcourt high school players. Cornell is also always open to accept a transfer from a junior college or a four-year school. Although, at this early stage in the season, there are not many four-year players seeking to transfer. This will quickly change by January.

In other recruiting news, NEHoopsNews reports that D.J. Irving, a 5'8" guard from Archbishop Carroll High School in Radnor, Pennsylvanian committed to Boston University. He received interest from Penn, Mt. St. Mary's, Robert Morris, Bucknell, Army, Vermont.

Also, Anthony Taylor, a 5'10" guard from Pleasntiville, N.J. committed to Longwood over interest from Brown.

By the way, we are hearing from a few sources that Brown recruit, Sean McGonagil is the best incoming guard in the Ivy League next year. Nevertheless, he has not received nearly the amount of hype of a few of the other guards committed to Ivy schools.

ScoutHoops.com reports that Brian Holmes, a 6'1" guard out of Winter Springs (Fla.) High, made a commitment to North Florida on Monday evening. After playing for the Florida Rams during the spring and summer, Holmes also picked up interest from Gardner-Webb and Columbia.

Mat Piotrowski, a 2009 graduate of New Jersey’s Atlantic Christian High School, is currently taking a postgrad year at in-state Lawrenceville Prep School. Piotrowski, a 7'1" center recently spoke with the Bootleg.com after visiting Stanford during October 31. Apparently several Ivies are after him.

My high school was a small, Christian school and our league wasn’t that strong. We played a lot of public schools. … Stanford was the first to start recruiting me. They came sophomore year. Trent Johnson was first person I met from Stanford. He came down to see me work out. Then, with the coaching change, things chilled out, but they popped back on the scene last year. They said they were just getting the recruiting process together, so I waited until the spring. I had no solid offers on the table and so I decided to take a prep year and see how things went. They came on stronger, so I’m pretty happy with it. I have some interest from mid-majors, but right now, I’m putting that on hold to see from Stanford. Right now, I’m waiting on admissions I believe. [Piotrowski reports a 3.8 GPA and 1750 SAT.]...A lot of Ivies want me really bad. I just worked out for Lafayette and am just waiting to see on Stanford or Georgia Tech. For high majors, it’s Stanford and Georgia Tech showing interest. I’m waiting on the Georgia Tech head coach, he’s waiting to see me, to get me on an official before things go too far with Stanford...none of the big-time programs really know about me, but then they come and see me work out, and then there’s scrambling, ‘Whoa, we’ve never seen this kid before.’ Stanford’s coaches said they won’t offer until I’m accepted, which makes total sense. How can you have an offer from a school and not be accepted? So that’s where we are.

Recruiting News

Below, some recruiting news from around the Ivy League.

TexasHoops.com reports that Jacoby Harrison, a 6'6" 245 lb. power forward from North Shore High School in Galena Park, Texas has a scholarship offer from Hartford and is receiving recruitment interest from Penn, Lamar, Liberty, Alabama, Marquette, Stanford, Tulsa and Wichita State, among others. He is a member of the class of 2011.

With Cornell's recruiting commitment over the weekend from Dominc Scelfo, the Big Red coaching staff is doing a great job filling future backcourt needs. The 6'3" Scelfo and 6'2" Jake Matthews are interchangeable guards. Both can play either point guard or shooting guard. Meanwhile, 6'6" Many Sahota fills a need on the wing.

Scelfo is comparable to Adam Gore, Chris Wroblewski or even Drew Housman. Probably not the best athlete you will see on the floor, Scelfo has a high basketball IQ and just knows where to position himself and his teammates. He is crafty with the basketball and rarely makes mistakes. He is one of the top long range shooters in Louisiana high school basketball and also has a knack for getting into the paint.

Mathews is comparable to a shorter version of Geoff Reeves, but reminds us even more of a former Penn standout, Andrew Toole. Matthews has a killer scoring instinct and just finds ways to get to the rim. He is also terrific on transition and possesses tremendous athleticism for an Ivy League player.

Sahota is a prototype small forward, capable of scoring from the outside, hitting a mid range shot off the dribble or screen, or finishing hard at the rim.

All three recruits are committed to defense and bring a passion for the game, which is self-evident every time they step onto the floor.

The additions of Scelfo, Mathews and Sahota raises Cornell's roster size to 14 players for the 2010-2011 season.

Below are lists of the Ivy League roster sizes and the incoming recruits for the 2010-2011 season.

Ivy League Roster Sizes for 2010-2011

• Penn-23 total players, including, 7 seniors and 7 freshmen
• Columbia-18 players, including 4 seniors and 2 freshmen
• Harvard-17 total players, including 0 seniors and 3 freshman
• Princeton-16 total players, including, 3 seniors and 4 freshmen
• Yale-15 total players, including 3 seniors and 5 freshmen.
• Cornell-14 players, including 3 seniors, 3 freshmen and 1 transfer
• Brown-13 players, including 5 seniors and 2 freshmen
• Dartmouth-12 total players including 2 seniors and 0 freshmen
  

IVY LEAGUE 2010-2011 RECRUITING VERBAL COMMITMENTS

CORNELL

• Dominic Scelfo G 6-3 180 New Orleans LA Jesuit HS
  
• 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

• Joe Sharkey G 6-2 Northfield MA Northfield Mt Hermon School (class of 2011)
  
• Sean McGonagil G 6-1 Riverside-Brookfield IL HS
  
• 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

• Laurent Rivard G 6-5 Northfield MA Northfield Mount Hermon School
  
• Ugo Okam C 7-0 Monteverde FL Monteverde Academy
  
• Matt Brown G 6-2 Northfield MA Northfield Mount Hermon School
  

Penn

• Miles Cartwright G 6-3 Los Angeles Loyola HS
  
• 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

• Ben Hazel G 6-4 Wheaton MD Good Counsel HS
  
• Chris Clement G 6-1 Round Rock TX Stony Point HS
  
• Daniel Edwards C 6-9 Highland Park TX HS
  
• T.J. Bray G 6-3 Waukesha WI Catholic Memorial HS
  

Yale

• Will Bartlett G 6-6 New York NY Collegiate School
  
• Jesse Pritchard G 6-4 180 Ames IA Blair Academy NJ
• 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