general 2010-2011 basketball season thread

They are raising the Sweet 16 banner tonight, should be good

Otherwise two winnable games this week especially since we are home, sounds like Wrobo might play which would be a big boost

19-3 second half run takes BU from 28-35 down to a 47-38 lead. 11-point second half lead blown against St. Bonnie a week ago. Lot of learning still to be done.

Edit: And Cornell shooting gets hot while BU turnovers mount, and Cornell comes back and it's 50-49 BU.

Edit 2: Cornell trails by one with 52.6 seconds left after Ferry's sixth three.

Edit 3: BU makes a parade of free throws to win 66-61. BU guard Darryl Partin scores 30 of BU's 46 second half points.

Cornell's 2-4 record is one blowout win, one blowout loss, and 1-4 in games of 5 points or less.

Yeah and probably add two more blowout losses to that with 2 tough games this week against Syracuse and Minn

Tonight's game @ Minnesota can be found on the Big Ten Network (472-476 on TWC in NYC) at 8 PM. You may find yourself getting this channel if - for hockey games - you've previously ordered the package which includes CBS College Sports.

Cornell hangs tough for a while @ Minnesota, but with a 9-0 run by Minnesota with about 10 mins left, and them being in the bonus the rest of the way, it looks like this one's just about over.

Edit: Perhaps I spoke too soon. Down 2 with 6 mins to play. Win or lose, a strong, strong effort from the team tonight.

Final score: Minnesota 71, Cornell 66, in a game much closer than the score indicates. A few observations from the only action I've seen this year:

- Minnesota was well schooled in realizing that Cornell was going to always look pass-first off of dribble penetration. They had their arms in passing lanes and tipped/intercepted an awful lot kick-out passes.

- If he isn't already, Errick Peck is going to be a heckuva player.

- I sure hope Courtney is focused on recruiting size. Obviously the Big 10 is a different level of competition than the Ivy League, but it was men among boy on the interior against Minnesota.

- Did I really hear the play-by-play announcer say Adam Wire is believed to have "legitimate opportunities to be looked at by NFL teams" after his Ivy league basketball days are over?

Jordan 04
- Did I really hear the play-by-play announcer say Adam Wire is believed to have "legitimate opportunities to be looked at by NFL teams" after his Ivy league basketball days are over?

I didn't listen to the game, so I can't tell if your hearing is right, but he is about the same size as Tony Gonzalez, a bit smaller than Antonio Gates and Jimmy Graham, the three basketball-to-Tight End conversions that I know about.

Did he play football in high school? (Doesn't look like it, so take the rest with a grain of salt...) If so, he is the right size to be considered someone that could bulk up again after college to play TE in the NFL.

Jordan 04
Final score: Minnesota 71, Cornell 66, in a game much closer than the score indicates. A few observations from the only action I've seen this year:

- Minnesota was well schooled in realizing that Cornell was going to always look pass-first off of dribble penetration. They had their arms in passing lanes and tipped/intercepted an awful lot kick-out passes.

- If he isn't already, Errick Peck is going to be a heckuva player.

- I sure hope Courtney is focused on recruiting size. Obviously the Big 10 is a different level of competition than the Ivy League, but it was men among boy on the interior against Minnesota.

- Did I really hear the play-by-play announcer say Adam Wire is believed to have "legitimate opportunities to be looked at by NFL teams" after his Ivy league basketball days are over?

Our recruiting class for next year so far is:
Dave LaMore C 6-10 Whitmore Lake MI Dexter HS
Deion Giddens C 6-9 Surprise AZ Willow Canyon HS
Shonn Miller G/F 6-6 Cleveland OH St. Ignatius HS
Galal Cancer G 6-2 Albany NY Christian Brothers HS
Devin Cherry G 6-3 Meridian MS HS

Lamore probably could contribute more immediately, Giddens is more of a project, hasnt played basketball for too long but has real high potential, if he does the football team could have really used him the last 4 years

The Wire quote really surprised me, announcers often say Wire looks like a tight end but I have never in 4 years heard someone say he has NFL TE potetial

Peck has shown flashes of brilliance the last 2 years, has a great ability to drive to the basket but over the last 2 years has gotten into foul trouble and has had difficulty finishing
The last 2 games, Cuse and Minn Peck has played really well after playing terrible every other game this year

This quote from Peck sort of alarmed me though:
“I think I’m a product of the hard work I put in,” he said. “Unfortunately I hadn’t been working hard---just doing the bare minimum instead of putting in the extra work. That’s not me. I just have to keep working hard and go out and enjoy the whole experience of playing Division 1 basketball.”

If you make a commitment to play DI basketball you got to put the extra time in, otherwise you are not going to compete, why would he not be putting the extra hard work in and second of all why admit this?

Maybe the work Peck needs to put in is better scripting of his quoted material.

Listening to the Cornell-Minnesota basketball game on audio feed was more enjoyable than either of the hockey games I saw this weekend. Playing even with Minnesota suggests this team is already rebuilding this year not just for a couple years down the road. Our announcers got a little hysterical about all the fouls Cornell committed and couldn't get a sense of whether (as seemed implied) the refs weren't giving the visiting Ivy League scholars a fair break, or if Cornell had to play whack-a-golden-mole to stay in contention. Maybe it was the disadvantage of playing on an Olympic size court? Or was that the other sport?

ugarte

Jordan 04
- Did I really hear the play-by-play announcer say Adam Wire is believed to have "legitimate opportunities to be looked at by NFL teams" after his Ivy league basketball days are over?

I didn't listen to the game, so I can't tell if your hearing is right, but he is about the same size as Tony Gonzalez, a bit smaller than Antonio Gates and Jimmy Graham, the three basketball-to-Tight End conversions that I know about.

Did he play football in high school? (Doesn't look like it, so take the rest with a grain of salt...) If so, he is the right size to be considered someone that could bulk up again after college to play TE in the NFL.

My "Did I hear correctly?" was rhetorical, since I re-wound and listened to it again at the time and quoted the announcer verbatim. I would have assumed that, even if he was the perfect size/build, believing he has a shot at the NFL after never playing a down of college football is an awful big leap of faith.

phillysportsfan
This quote from Peck sort of alarmed me though:
“I think I’m a product of the hard work I put in,” he said. “Unfortunately I hadn’t been working hard---just doing the bare minimum instead of putting in the extra work. That’s not me. I just have to keep working hard and go out and enjoy the whole experience of playing Division 1 basketball.”

If you make a commitment to play DI basketball you got to put the extra time in, otherwise you are not going to compete, why would he not be putting the extra hard work in and second of all why admit this?

I can't speak for why he wasn't putting in extra hard work, but I don't think this is an unusual admission from player, especially those on the ascent. The most public example recently has been Michael Vick. In every interview this season, I've heard him make mention of the fact that he wasn't the hardest worker with the Falcons, and he didn't do much beyond what was required in terms of work and practice.

I'm sure Peck wouldn't admit to prior laziness if he, and more importantly, his coach, didn't think that was squarely in the past.

billhoward

Our announcers got a little hysterical about all the fouls Cornell committed and couldn't get a sense of whether (as seemed implied) the refs weren't giving the visiting Ivy League scholars a fair break, or if Cornell had to play whack-a-golden-mole to stay in contention.

I thought the refereeing was perfectly fair; never at any point during the game did I think twice about the refs, usually an indication they're doing a good job. If anything, I thought we got the better of some out-of-bounds calls which in real time seemed to favor Minnesota, but went our way (to the vocal dismay of the crowd). And given how poorly Minnesota was shooting from the line, I think them being in the bonus for some much game time helped, not hindered, us. I was much more comfortable with them missing 40% of their free throws than I would have been with them having additional opportunities to dominate us in the pain for easy 2's.

Binghamton 70, Cornell 68 after Cornell blows a late-first-half 16-point lead.

Al DeFlorio
Binghamton 70, Cornell 68 after Cornell blows a late-first-half 16-point lead.

really inexcusable loss, just terrible shot selection, well on our way to a bottom 4 Ivy finish, more likely bottom 3

another day another loss, this team is terrible, would not be surprised to see us finish 8th in the league

Please do not hold back. Tell us how you really feel.

a bit of an overreaction but if we cant beat UNH next week then we probably will finish 8th

Philly, your "overreaction" is understandable; the Binghamton and Bucknell losses were very disappointing. Right now, I'd be pleased with the way the guys turned their season around if they finish 7-7 in the league.

dont think it was an overreaction at this point

another day, another loss, originally I was hoping we would get to .500 by the end of the season but it aint happening, this team would be lucky to reach 10 wins at this point, 8th place Ivy is a real possibility, what a difference a year makes

The offense was finally somewhat fluid, Osgood showed some of the offensive production from the Albany/Hall games, Peck had another good game, but at the end of the game Courtney blew it
Sure Ferry and Groebe took terrible shots but how Courtney not call a timeout when we are down by 3 with the ball, 30s left to setup a play. Instead we immediately rush a 3, no timeout. Then after UNH gives us a gift by missing 2 free throws, we airball a 3 immediately, fine Courtney dont call a timeout the first time but how after seeing the team rush a shot the first time do you not call a timeout the 2nd time. What were you thinking? This team has failed to execute in crunch time over and over again, call a timeout and setup a play, this is going to be a long year and may be a long 3-4 years

Cornell shoots 64% overall, including 18 in a row, and 71% on treys, to beat Wofford 86-80

Al DeFlorio
Cornell shoots 64% overall, including 18 in a row, and 71% on treys, to beat Wofford 86-80

But oddly only went 11-21 from the line, and missed a number of FTs down the stretch that allowed Wofford to have a chance.

Al DeFlorio
Cornell shoots 64% overall, including 18 in a row, and 71% on treys, to beat Wofford 86-80

Wow. They were about 15 behind at one point, right (vague recollection from hockey broadcast)?

Trotsky

Al DeFlorio
Cornell shoots 64% overall, including 18 in a row, and 71% on treys, to beat Wofford 86-80

Wow. They were about 15 behind at one point, right (vague recollection from hockey broadcast)?

No. They were down big in the first half to UNH the day before, when they shot 40% overall and 26% treys, but came back only to lose by two.

This was a 17 point lead with 11 minutes and change to go, that was whittled to four in the last minute. The win is great, but it's hard to get too excited when you win by six after hitting over 70% of your three-pointers. Nice to to have the skill to do that, but it's not happening very often (if again this season),

The offense is just far too dependent on the three point shot, which leads to long, painful scoring slumps.

Philly, I wouldn't throw the towel in on Courtney just yet. I won't defend our end of game performance -- it's been brutal -- but it's Courtney's first year in the big chair. He can learn and manage late game situations better down the road. It's like watching a freshman point guard make ill-advised passes: if he improves, you give him more playing time; if he's still making those mistakes as a junior or senior, you move on. But, unless something dramatic happens, this season is not going to be featured prominently on Coach C's resume.

Based on what Courtney said when he was hired, I can't imagine we have the personnel to run what he wants to run. I think he's trying to adapt as best he can, but he just doesn't have the experience to do it. And this team has enough flawed players to challenge someone as experienced as Coach D.

This year has to be considered a write-off. The Sweet 16 team is gone gone gone. 4 of those seniors are off playing professionally somewhere. Let that sink in. The drop off from 2009-10 to 2010-11 was going to be huge. Add in the switch from an offense-minded coach to a defense-minded coach, who is playing three years of Donahue-system recruits, and there are going to be more than just growing pains.

If the 2011 team is a hangover from the glory of 2010, I can live with that. I want to give Courtney a few years to establish a program instead of acting like some entitled asshole who roots for, say, Kentucky and calls for the coach's head whenever the team loses three in a row.

ugarte
This year has to be considered a write-off. The Sweet 16 team is gone gone gone. 4 of those seniors are off playing professionally somewhere. Let that sink in. The drop off from 2009-10 to 2010-11 was going to be huge. Add in the switch from an offense-minded coach to a defense-minded coach, who is playing three years of Donahue-system recruits, and there are going to be more than just growing pains.

If the 2011 team is a hangover from the glory of 2010, I can live with that. I want to give Courtney a few years to establish a program instead of acting like some entitled asshole who roots for, say, Kentucky and calls for the coach's head whenever the team loses three in a row.

Well said. Donahue's first few Cornell seasons were no masterpieces, either (7-20, 5-22, 9-18).

ugarte
instead of acting like some entitled asshole who roots for, say, Cornell hockey and calls for the coach's head whenever the team loses three in a row.

FYP

I saw parts of BC's dismantling of South Carolina yesterday (aside: there was no one in S.C.'s arena for the game). It was a vintage Donahue-type performance -- great ball movement with lots of wide-open 3's. BC has better overall athleticism than last year's Cornell team, but doesn't have a Foote-like big man. They are likely not a top-20 team, but certainly will be competitive in what looks like a fairly mediocre ACC (except for Duke).

ugarte
This year has to be considered a write-off. The Sweet 16 team is gone gone gone. 4 of those seniors are off playing professionally somewhere. Let that sink in. The drop off from 2009-10 to 2010-11 was going to be huge. Add in the switch from an offense-minded coach to a defense-minded coach, who is playing three years of Donahue-system recruits, and there are going to be more than just growing pains.

If the 2011 team is a hangover from the glory of 2010, I can live with that. I want to give Courtney a few years to establish a program instead of acting like some entitled asshole who roots for, say, Kentucky and calls for the coach's head whenever the team loses three in a row.

I am not calling for Courtney's head, give him 5 years to get his first recruit class all the way through, I am just saying he has not managed end game situations well especially that UNH game

I expected us to play better that we have this year, beating the Bonnies, UNH, Binghamton, and maybe Lehigh but probably overrated the current talent of this team at the beginning of the season, at least Peck has seemed to find his offensive groove, he should be a monster the next 2 years

Al DeFlorio
Cornell shoots 64% overall, including 18 in a row, and 71% on treys, to beat Wofford 86-80

Just remembered that Wofford gave Wisconsin a tough first-round game in last year's NCAA tournament, losing 53-49.

Buffalo 78 Cornell 66 @ Newman. An astounding 28% shooting night from inside the arc. How is that even possible?

This is looking like a lost season for hoops, and if that is the price to pay for last season so be it. There is time out there for Courtney's first batch of recruits next season, but the rebuilding may not start until then.

mountainred
Buffalo 78 Cornell 66 @ Newman. An astounding 28% shooting night from inside the arc. How is that even possible?

This is looking like a lost season for hoops, and if that is the price to pay for last season so be it. There is time out there for Courtney's first batch of recruits next season, but the rebuilding may not start until then.

No real inside presence, and we are getting killed down low on both ends of the court. I thought Coury would give us a more physical presence around the basket, but I was wrong.

mountainred
Buffalo 78 Cornell 66 @ Newman. An astounding 28% shooting night from inside the arc. How is that even possible?

This is looking like a lost season for hoops, and if that is the price to pay for last season so be it. There is time out there for Courtney's first batch of recruits next season, but the rebuilding may not start until then.

I'm doing some cleaning around my apartment and came across an ESPN magazine from last spring. On the "page 2" editorial by Steve Wulf there is this about sports agony and ecstasy:

"Imagine what it was like on the Cornell campus on March 19, what with the double celebration over the Big Red men's basketball team upsetting Temple in Jacksonville and the women's hockey team beating No. 1 Mercyhurst in the Frozen Four in Minneapolis.".

Don't forget the men's ice hockey team was on its way to winning the ECAC and the wrestling time was having a very good weekend as well.

Yes, it will be a very tough year for men's ice hockey and basketball, but when weekends like March 19 - 21, 2010 happen, it is so very sweet, very special and very memorable. I'm okay with this trade off. IMHO, it is much better than the sense of entitlement that some schools (like the one ~ 5 miles down the road from me or any in the SEC) have with respect to their athletic teams.

Rita

mountainred
Buffalo 78 Cornell 66 @ Newman. An astounding 28% shooting night from inside the arc. How is that even possible?

This is looking like a lost season for hoops, and if that is the price to pay for last season so be it. There is time out there for Courtney's first batch of recruits next season, but the rebuilding may not start until then.

I'm doing some cleaning around my apartment and came across an ESPN magazine from last spring. On the "page 2" editorial by Steve Wulf there is this about sports agony and ecstasy:

"Imagine what it was like on the Cornell campus on March 19, what with the double celebration over the Big Red men's basketball team upsetting Temple in Jacksonville and the women's hockey team beating No. 1 Mercyhurst in the Frozen Four in Minneapolis.".

Don't forget the men's ice hockey team was on its way to winning the ECAC and the wrestling time was having a very good weekend as well.

Yes, it will be a very tough year for men's ice hockey and basketball, but when weekends like March 19 - 21, 2010 happen, it is so very sweet, very special and very memorable. I'm okay with this trade off. IMHO, it is much better than the sense of entitlement that some schools (like the one ~ 5 miles down the road from me or any in the SEC) have with respect to their athletic teams.

When does lacrosse season start?

Rita
I'm doing some cleaning around my apartment and came across an ESPN magazine from last spring. On the "page 2" editorial by Steve Wulf there is this about sports agony and ecstasy:

"Imagine what it was like on the Cornell campus on March 19, what with the double celebration over the Big Red men's basketball team upsetting Temple in Jacksonville and the women's hockey team beating No. 1 Mercyhurst in the Frozen Four in Minneapolis.".

Don't forget the men's ice hockey team was on its way to winning the ECAC and the wrestling time was having a very good weekend as well.

Yes, it will be a very tough year for men's ice hockey and basketball, but when weekends like March 19 - 21, 2010 happen, it is so very sweet, very special and very memorable. I'm okay with this trade off. IMHO, it is much better than the sense of entitlement that some schools (like the one ~ 5 miles down the road from me or any in the SEC) have with respect to their athletic teams.

While making a stop in the Ithaca area over the holidays, I noticed at that someone took it upon themselves to make sure those good feelings were captured in 2 publications:

[www.news.cornell.edu]

Both are very well done, but very pricey for what they are (they're each slightly thicker than a game program and cost $30 each). Glossy cover, full color photos, and accompanying essays, articles, stats, & recaps

From the PTA at Northeast Elementary:

Cornell Men's and Women's Basketball is hosting KIDS WEEKEND, this Saturday and Sunday, January 8th and 9th. All kids (12 & under) will receive FREE admission, FREE popcorn, and a FREE Cornell Basketball T-shirt! And during the games, you can even customize your T-shirt with the fabric markers provided! The men's team plays Stony Brook at 2pm on Saturday, and the women's team plays Longwood at 2pm on Sunday. Come to one... come to both! Come cheer on the Big Red this weekend... KIDS WEEKEND!

My kids are young enough to be free, but not so young that the idea of handing them fabric markers makes me nervous.

CK

Here's something I never thought I would hear. I was just watching the UConn-Notre Dame men's basketball game, and the announcer said that Notre Dame reminded him of last year's Cornell team with the way they moved the ball around and had the confidence that comes with having a bunch of seniors on the court. Who would have thought that a Big East team would be compared in a favorable light to the Big Red!

Rita

mountainred
Buffalo 78 Cornell 66 @ Newman. An astounding 28% shooting night from inside the arc. How is that even possible?

This is looking like a lost season for hoops, and if that is the price to pay for last season so be it. There is time out there for Courtney's first batch of recruits next season, but the rebuilding may not start until then.

I'm doing some cleaning around my apartment and came across an ESPN magazine from last spring. On the "page 2" editorial by Steve Wulf there is this about sports agony and ecstasy:

"Imagine what it was like on the Cornell campus on March 19, what with the double celebration over the Big Red men's basketball team upsetting Temple in Jacksonville and the women's hockey team beating No. 1 Mercyhurst in the Frozen Four in Minneapolis.".

Don't forget the men's ice hockey team was on its way to winning the ECAC and the wrestling time was having a very good weekend as well.

Yes, it will be a very tough year for men's ice hockey and basketball, but when weekends like March 19 - 21, 2010 happen, it is so very sweet, very special and very memorable. I'm okay with this trade off. IMHO, it is much better than the sense of entitlement that some schools (like the one ~ 5 miles down the road from me or any in the SEC) have with respect to their athletic teams.

Regarding that weekend, it was spring break and dead quiet :D

But there remains a glorious memory, sitting in a house on State St. the Sunday after the Men's hockey team won the ECAC title, flipping channels between basketball beating up Wisconsin and the women headed for triple OT. Absolute delirium.

dbilmes
Here's something I never thought I would hear. I was just watching the UConn-Notre Dame men's basketball game, and the announcer said that Notre Dame reminded him of last year's Cornell team with the way they moved the ball around and had the confidence that comes with having a bunch of seniors on the court. Who would have thought that a Big East team would be compared in a favorable light to the Big Red!

what a difference a year makes! lose to Dartmouth for the first time in 5 years, were down by 28 at one point in the 2nd half, team looked liked they were just going through the motions and Courtney even admitted it saying "complete lack of effort, focus and attention". I still have faith in Courtney once he brings his recruits in next year but he has not done a good job this year, offense should not be this pathetic and unorganized at this point in the season, throwing the ball to guys who arent there

At this point, it may be best just to pretend this year never happened. Perhaps we canceled the season as a homage to last year's squad? I'm willing to go with that.

This team is less than the sum of its parts -- parts which should at least be able to contend for .500. Some is bad luck (Wrobo just has never been healthy and this team needed him to be), but mostly this is a team that has not improved over the course of the season or gotten any real consistency from its main guys. I have no idea what Courtney's rotation is, and I don't think he does either; there is a real sense of desperation/frustration in his bench use. In fairness to Coach C, it's not like he's been sitting guys whose play was demanding more court time.

I'm with Philly, I want to see what Courtney can do with his players. And those guys will have a ton of minutes out there next season.

mountainred
At this point, it may be best just to pretend this year never happened. Perhaps we canceled the season as a homage to last year's squad? I'm willing to go with that.

This team is less than the sum of its parts -- parts which should at least be able to contend for .500. Some is bad luck (Wrobo just has never been healthy and this team needed him to be), but mostly this is a team that has not improved over the course of the season or gotten any real consistency from its main guys. I have no idea what Courtney's rotation is, and I don't think he does either; there is a real sense of desperation/frustration in his bench use. In fairness to Coach C, it's not like he's been sitting guys whose play was demanding more court time.

I'm with Philly, I want to see what Courtney can do with his players. And those guys will have a ton of minutes out there next season.

yeah you are right about the lack of improvement, looking back I have know idea how we beat Albany or Delaware, especially by how much they beat Delaware by

Yeah, so we lost some games we shouldn't have. We've still got that Sweet Sixteen banner now hanging from the rafters, the wrestlers and women's hockey team are kicking butt, the hockey team might still make its move (upward), lacrosse looks good, and the basketball team may well be back next year ready to challenge for the league title (or the year after). In addition to that incredible three-year run to close out his time here, Donahue left Cornell believing "Cornell basketball doesn't have to suck year in, year out." There were times a generation ago on the hill when we finished near the bottom of the Ivies in hoops and still got in trouble with the NCAA. This is real progress.

Yeah I think you are right about Donahue changing the culture so that Cornell basketball is no longer a punch line, he showed it is possible for the basketball team to have tremendous success and hopefully that only boosted administration support of the team. I still have faith in Courtney and believe with next year's recruiting class we should finish top half of the league and maybe the following year could challenge for a title. Harvard will probably be the unanimous preseason pick to win the league next year as they have no seniors and are bringing in another possible top 25 recruiting class

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh these team is driving me insane, played a great game @Yale for the first 38min Peck played well, got real offensive production from Eitan, Ferry scored, Gray chipped in, all was going well and then after some missed free throws and a failure to break the press we lose the game after having a 10pt lead with 2min left
Hopefully Courtney can figure this out for next year but I just dont understand how we can lose this many games by a few points

I was going to go to this game, but decided not to at the last minute. I'm glad I was spared the sight of the lucky-to-win Yalies storming the court at the end of the game.

dbilmes
I was going to go to this game, but decided not to at the last minute. I'm glad I was spared the sight of the lucky-to-win Yalies storming the court at the end of the game.

Please tell me they didn't actually storm the court....

No Yale didnt storm the court, if they did that would have been as bad as UMBC storming the court against Binghamton last week

While everyone is partying it up in the hockey forum because of the great comeback against SLU, I thought I'd slip in here to mention that Cornell bounced back from the crushing loss to Yale last night by thumping Brown by 12 for the team's first Ivy win of the season.

ugarte
While everyone is partying it up in the hockey forum because of the great comeback against SLU, I thought I'd slip in here to mention that Cornell bounced back from the crushing loss to Yale last night by thumping Brown by 12 for the team's first Ivy win of the season.

Played without Aaron Osgood this weekend, too. Signs of progress.

ugarte
While everyone is partying it up in the hockey forum because of the great comeback against SLU, I thought I'd slip in here to mention that Cornell bounced back from the crushing loss to Yale last night by thumping Brown by 12 for the team's first Ivy win of the season.

yeah great to see them rebound from the Yale loss with a win instead of giving up. Promising to have 6 players with double digit points and only one of them is a senior. Cant wait for some home games finally next weekend against the P's

finally some home games, big weekend against the P's, I hope for a split but even that will be tough
With hockey being away hopefully some students show up because attendance at the Bonnies game was pitiful

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 3rd best game I have ever been at besides last years NCAA wins, kill Penn in the first half and then begin to lose control, Penn takes 9pt lead in 2nd half and then we creep back with a called off Mark Coury tip in a 0.8 left on the clock. Bull call gives Penn a 1 and 1 with 1.3 left and they miss it. Wire throws up a 3/4 court shot off the rim. We dominate OT on Groebe's great 3pt shooting. Amazing win to beat those arrogant Penn fans and see Rosen practically crying at the end. I hate Penn.

By the way, calling out all the students, you missed arguably one of the best Cornell league games ever, I would say better than any league game over the last 3 years, given the struggles and trials this season! Students wake up who jumped off the bandwagon already, there is plenty of time to get drunk and go to parties after the game. Show up next time and support your team loudly and save the idiotic texting/twittering/facebooking/whatever else every second of your life until after the game, you make me hate this generation. We have a great chance to knock off the league leader and undefeated Princeton

Beating Penn is always good, especially when a bad call tried to hand the game to the Quakers. Considering the record, the wins over Brown (after the late collapse the night before) and last night (after blowing a 17 point first half lead) show a lot of character.

I still have no idea what Courtney is doing starting Figini, Matthews and MAA, since they combined for a total of 19 minutes. But, you can't argue about results.

It is strange to start those 3 but I guess who starts doesnt really matter. Not sure why he starts Figini but he might start Miles and Matthews to setup a good defensive presence since they usually play decent defense. Either that or he is trying to get them ready for next year but I think probably 1 or 2 of Cancer, Cherry, Miller will probably end up starting at some point next year

Courtney's reason for the starting lineup:
Courtney started Wroblewski, Jake Matthews, Miles Asafo-Adjei, Peck and Figini for the third straight game. He said afterward he likes starting with that lineup for two reasons: it's Cornell's best energy lineup, and that energy has helped the Big Red get off to better starts; two, it allows him to find limits for Drew Ferry's minutes - he'll get at least 3 minutes on the bench at the start of each half.

What's the old saying: "It's not who starts, but who finishes"? Call me less than convinced on Coach C's rationale, even though the last four games have all be competitive and much more in line with what I was expecting this season. I mean, you are a division 1 basketball coach, shouldn't you be able to adjust playing time in a manner other than artificially adjusting your starting line-up to include players who are not part of your five best?

Great game with Princeton, but another disappointing finish. Cornell's last two possessions looked awful and ended with Mark Coury taking the shot (option #6 of the five guys on the floor. Meanwhile on the Tigers last possession, Cornell doubles the ball and leave Kareem Maddox all alone; Maddox was basically carrying Princeton all night and even I knew Princeton wanted/needed him to take the last shot. Oh, and again no TO to set up the last possession even though the BR clearly needed to calm down after Maddox's shot.

There were some positives. Forcing 18 turnovers and nearly beating the top team in the league despite shooting 3-17 from behind the arc (Ferry and Groebe were a combined 0-9) and no Osgood. There were times it looked like Princeton could go inside any time they wanted. Gutty performance, but not enough.

Yeah tough game to lose, I dont really mind not calling the timeout there, we did end up getting a decent look
I still dont get why Courtney is so against calling timeouts, most DI coaches use too many of them
Maddox was just too good, we gave away too many easy layups in the first half and fouled too much giving them and 1's in the 2nd half
Yeah tough to have to rely on a Coury hook shot to win it but PU's defense was just too tough on that play

Well hopefully we can carry the positives from this weekend into next weekend and knock off Harvard, unfortunately due to the Harvard hockey game there probably will not be too many students there

Personally Philly, I don't think a shot by Mark counts as a good look, by definition. Not trying to pick on Coury, he's been very solid the past couple of weeks, but he will never be known for his scoring touch. The last minute of the game sums up the difference between Cornell and Princeton this year -- with one possession to win the game, Princeton got the ball to their best player on the night and he scored. With two possessions to win or tie the game, Cornell could not get the ball to one of their scorers in a good position. And, on the flip side, Cornell couldn't make the huge stop and Princeton got two. No question, the Tigers know how to play defense and I didn't mean to imply that Princeton didn't have a big hand in how the game ended.

Still, feeling better about the team/program. Would love to see them play a role in the league race by knocking off Harvard. Plus, next year effectively sees 8 new players if you include Scleflo (sp?) and Tarwater. I thought both of those guys could play in this league, so adding them to Miller, Cancer and Cherry could give us a very different look.

Yeah I agree but Coury's shot was blocked right? I meant Ferry had a decent look at the buzzer although I would rather have seen Wrobo take that shot given Ferry's trouble shooting last night

Promising to hear that Ferry was practicing shooting after the game, obviously upset going 0-5, hope for him to have a big night on Friday
Yeah I am looking forward to next year's recruits but you never know what to expect with freshman, hopefully Figini and Eitan can bulk up this summer and be more of an option at center next year
The good part about Scelfo and Tarwater redshirting is that they would be ready to make an immediate impact, dont have to worry about adjusting to the workload here or anything like that, plus Tarwater did play in a few games

Yeah beating Harvard Friday night would be great, going to need Ferry and Groebe to shoot better though, hopefully Harvard has a rough start and thoughts of 86-50 start creeping into their head

Eitan has been an enormous surprise to me this season. Before the season, the only expectation I had for his career was that he'd get a degree from a great university. He looked so scrawny and his high school league didn't test him at all; I assumed he'd spend his career on the deep bench until he decided to focus on his academics. Then, after more than a season and a half of DNPs, he's averaged 5 points and 3 rebounds over the last six games. And looked like a D1 player. Okay, a D1 player who really needs to bulk up, but still. Very happy he's proven me wrong.

You would have to think Harvard would spend all Friday night getting the ball down low to Wright and Casey and basically trying to double what Maddox did on Saturday night. Thankfully, Harvard is coached by Tommy Amaker, who may not figure that out. I think Harvard is ripe to be knocked off; they are essentially a six man roster and are starting to look a little ragged from the Ivy weekends. It would take The Red's best game of the season and spectactular shooting night from the guards. But, it's doable.

What's exciting about next year's class is the size. For all purposes, 8 new players. Freshman are a crap shoot, but you have to roll a lot of craps for a class of that size (and which has a good reputation) to have no impact.

Yeah agree on Eitan, he was usually the guy who didnt get to travel with the team on the road and I figured about all we would hear from him was that he was the smartest guy on the team.

Harvard is ripe to be beaten after sneaking by Penn 2OT, beating Yale by 3, and Brown having a 24pt lead on them, someone is going to beat them before they play Princeton again and it might be us

Yeah next year's class is exciting but I still would like to close this year out strong with at least 3 victories, 4 would be great but 3 is probably more realistic

Can we please change the thread title back to the original title? The ALL CAPS "shout" is somewhat annoying.

Jeff Hopkins '82
Can we please change the thread title back to the original title? The ALL CAPS "shout" is somewhat annoying.

Yeah, it might not be a bad idea to start a new thread if you want to draw specific attention to upcoming games. I'm changing the title back.

Beeeej

Jeff Hopkins '82
Can we please change the thread title back to the original title? The ALL CAPS "shout" is somewhat annoying.

Yeah, it might not be a bad idea to start a new thread if you want to draw specific attention to upcoming games. I'm changing the title back.

Tnx, Beeeej.

JH

Jeff Hopkins '82
Can we please change the thread title back to the original title? The ALL CAPS "shout" is somewhat annoying.

Sorry just trying to draw attention to the game on Friday since the student attendance has been so pathetic this year, too many fans jumped off the bandwagon already yet were at the first game to get a free shirt

Cornell withstands a late rally to beat Penn by a pair. I have to admit, I'm pretty happy with how this season has gone. Not as happy as last season but the team has really improved of the course of the Ivy schedule and I look forward to seeing what Courtney can do with players recruited for his system.

Also, Harvard may have choked away the title tonight, so that's pretty cool.

Yeah funny that this years team did something last year's team could not, sweep Penn

Yeah we have been in every Ivy league game except for the two games against Harvard, in which the players admitted they respected Harvard too much and tried to just keep it close.

I hate to expect too much from the freshman next year but I am really interested to see what Miller, Cherry, Cancer can do, those three seem to be some of the better recruits we have brought in on paper in awhile. I think our guard play will be good next year but the big question will be what we can get from our frontcourt. Figini and Eitan really need to bulk up this summer as Foote did and Lamore might be able to contribute early on too. It also works out that I think the team is up for their summer trip this year that they do every 4 years

I'd like to see a top 4 finish in the league next year, maybe competing for a Ivy league title in 2-3 years. Next year is basically Harvard's title to lose, given that they are already a contender and they have no seniors since Amaker cut them all.

It will be interesting to see who wins the league this year, Harvard is at home but beating Penn and Princeton on back to back nights wont be easy especially when Princeton only has to play Dartmouth the night before.

Wins in the Palestra are few and far between for Cornell; wasn't there a twenty-odd game losing streak there for the Big Red? Now, the team is two home games against Brown (who they beat) and Yale (who they should have) from finishing 6-8 in the League, something I really didn't think was possible after the 0-5 start. Unlike some Ivy squads who started the way Cornell started, this team didn't give up on the season. The amazing thing to me is that this late season improvement has been without Osgood and only minimal contributions from Wire. Not sure what happened there, I would told you Adam was on the top five players on this team when the season began -- but he just doesn't seem to work in Coach Courtney's system.

Freshman are always a crap shoot, but my guess is that Courtney is going to have them play as many minutes as they can. On paper, that looks possible. Giddens may wind up as a steal, a guy Cornell catches on the upswing. One thing to like about LaMore -- he doesn't appear to shoot three pointers. This team could use a post player that likes to play the post.

Hard to imagine this team competing next year, next year's Harvard team could well be Amaker-proof. But a winning league record looks like a plausible goal.

mountainred
Wins in the Palestra are few and far between for Cornell; wasn't there a twenty-odd game losing streak there for the Big Red? Now, the team is two home games against Brown (who they beat) and Yale (who they should have) from finishing 6-8 in the League, something I really didn't think was possible after the 0-5 start. Unlike some Ivy squads who started the way Cornell started, this team didn't give up on the season. The amazing thing to me is that this late season improvement has been without Osgood and only minimal contributions from Wire. Not sure what happened there, I would told you Adam was on the top five players on this team when the season began -- but he just doesn't seem to work in Coach Courtney's system.

Too bad there's no Ivy tournament. It would be interesting to see this team play some of the upper echelon with a restart on the season and a neutral court.

Yeah these are the kinds of years we wish there was a tournament, while last year a fluke upset in the tournament may have kept us from even getting to the NCAA's

phillysportsfan
Yeah these are the kinds of years we wish there was a tournament, while last year a fluke upset in the tournament may have kept us from even getting to the NCAA's

However much this team has improved, I still don't think that they would go on a three game run. I guess that's the fun of a tournament, though, since I think the same thing about the hockey team and I'm hoping like hell that they pull off an upset or two.

ugarte

phillysportsfan
Yeah these are the kinds of years we wish there was a tournament, while last year a fluke upset in the tournament may have kept us from even getting to the NCAA's

However much this team has improved, I still don't think that they would go on a three game run. I guess that's the fun of a tournament, though, since I think the same thing about the hockey team and I'm hoping like hell that they pull off an upset or two.

No, I wouldn't expect a 3-game run either. In fact, I'd (figuratively) bet against them if they played Princeton or Harvard. But if I remember correctly, last year we were in a tournament and it was a gas, even if we only won two games before losing the third.

Spanish team Foote is playing for put out the above highlight video called Jeff Foote es SuperBlockMan

phillysportsfan




Spanish team Foote is playing for put out the above highlight video called Jeff Foote es SuperBlockMan

I hope his salary isn't based on the number of fans attending those games!

phillysportsfan




Spanish team Foote is playing for put out the above highlight video called Jeff Foote es SuperBlockMan

Oh my, how awesome is this?

The old Christopher Reeve '74 jersey

Cornell 75, Brown [not Yale; that's Saturday] 66, final weekend of the season.

Harvard beats Penn 79-64, hosts Princeton Saturday.

billhoward
Cornell 75, Yale 66, final weekend of the season.

Harvard beats Penn 79-64, hosts Princeton Saturday.

We beat Brown not Yale, it was a game of runs and we punched back harder at the end, good to see this team finally close out a game in the final minutes strong, lets get a win tomorrow and end this season of hell on a 3 game win streak

Brown didnt score a single point the last 6:54 of the game we were down by 4 at the time

PU @ Harvard showdown for the league is tomorrow, game will be on espn3.com

phillysportsfan
PU @ Harvard showdown for the league is tomorrow, game will be on espn3.com

If Harvard wins they only clinch a tie. Penn and Princeton play next Tuesday. If Princeton loses to Harvard and beats Penn then Harvard and Princeton play at a neutral location for the autobid.

Yeah sorry I just meant its a big game that could decide the league winner because if PU wins they are in

Harvard beat Princeton 78-67 for a share of their first Ivy League title ever. If it were 2012 I would think the apocalypse is indeed upon us.

nyc94
Harvard beat Princeton 78-67 for a share of their first Ivy League title ever. If it were 2012 I would think the apocalypse is indeed upon us.

Yeah Harvard fans are really testing the basketball gods by storming the court without fully clinching yet, the playoff should be a good game, I wish it was here so we could boo both of them

Also we had a solid win 68-55 over Yale without Peck who had to attend a family funeral, great to end the season on a 3 game winning streak, cant wait till next year with the team playing better and some solid recruits coming in, although Harvard it is really Harvard's league to lose

phillysportsfan

nyc94
Harvard beat Princeton 78-67 for a share of their first Ivy League title ever. If it were 2012 I would think the apocalypse is indeed upon us.

Yeah Harvard fans are really testing the basketball gods by storming the court without fully clinching yet, the playoff should be a good game, I wish it was here so we could boo both of them

The live Twitter results that show up in Google are pretty funny. Most seem to think they won the title outright. Some think they won the Ivy tournament. Only one acknowledgment that they await the outcome of Tuesday's game.

Yeah the league really confuses everyone by not having a tournament, hopefully the playoff game will get on ESPN/2

Funny to see the hockey team there actively heckling Greg Mangano the whole game and Mangano yelling back at them, Mangano is a good player but a real headcase

phillysportsfan

nyc94
Harvard beat Princeton 78-67 for a share of their first Ivy League title ever. If it were 2012 I would think the apocalypse is indeed upon us.

Yeah Harvard fans are really testing the basketball gods by storming the court without fully clinching yet, the playoff should be a good game, I wish it was here so we could boo both of them

Also we had a solid win 68-55 over Yale without Peck who had to attend a family funeral, great to end the season on a 3 game winning streak, cant wait till next year with the team playing better and some solid recruits coming in, although Harvard it is really Harvard's league to lose

But they did clinch at least a share, and would they storm the court if PU loses Tuesday? And if PU wins they have a share of the title, their first ever. I think it was appropriate to storm the court. Even if they lose a playoff, they still have the title.

Jim Hyla

phillysportsfan

nyc94
Harvard beat Princeton 78-67 for a share of their first Ivy League title ever. If it were 2012 I would think the apocalypse is indeed upon us.

Yeah Harvard fans are really testing the basketball gods by storming the court without fully clinching yet, the playoff should be a good game, I wish it was here so we could boo both of them

Also we had a solid win 68-55 over Yale without Peck who had to attend a family funeral, great to end the season on a 3 game winning streak, cant wait till next year with the team playing better and some solid recruits coming in, although Harvard it is really Harvard's league to lose

But they did clinch at least a share, and would they storm the court if PU loses Tuesday? And if PU wins they have a share of the title, their first ever. I think it was appropriate to storm the court. Even if they lose a playoff, they still have the title.

I don't think anyone thinks like this in basketball. If you don't go to the tournament, who cares? It is different in hockey if for no other reason than that the tournament is so much lower profile.

Yeah it is sorta ok since they have never even been co-champs and wouldnt have the chance if PU lost on Tuesday. Plus just another opportunity to pick on Harvard and the expert on court storming ruled it as a violation:

[stfu.wikispot.org]

I ain't down wit this one. Didn't clinch anything. RT @thehoopsreport: Harvard fans rushed the court.

— stfhoops (@stfhoops) March 6, 2011

I ain't down wit this one. Didn't clinch anything. RT @TheHoopsReport: Harvard fans rushed the court.

phillysportsfan
Yeah it is sorta ok since they have never even been co-champs and wouldnt have the chance if PU lost on Tuesday. Plus just another opportunity to pick on Harvard and the expert on court storming ruled it as a violation:

[stfu.wikispot.org]

I ain't down wit this one. Didn't clinch anything. RT @thehoopsreport: Harvard fans rushed the court.

— stfhoops (@stfhoops) March 6, 2011

I ain't down wit this one. Didn't clinch anything. RT @TheHoopsReport: Harvard fans rushed the court.

Pretty funny were this tweeted by a Harvard student from, say, Grosse Point.

billhoward

phillysportsfan
Yeah it is sorta ok since they have never even been co-champs and wouldnt have the chance if PU lost on Tuesday. Plus just another opportunity to pick on Harvard and the expert on court storming ruled it as a violation:

[stfu.wikispot.org]

I ain't down wit this one. Didn't clinch anything. RT @thehoopsreport: Harvard fans rushed the court.

— stfhoops (@stfhoops) March 6, 2011

I ain't down wit this one. Didn't clinch anything. RT @TheHoopsReport: Harvard fans rushed the court.

Pretty funny were this tweeted by a Harvard student from, say, Grosse Point.

Huh? That joke is over my head, I dont understand?

phillysportsfan

billhoward

phillysportsfan
Yeah it is sorta ok since they have never even been co-champs and wouldnt have the chance if PU lost on Tuesday. Plus just another opportunity to pick on Harvard and the expert on court storming ruled it as a violation:

[stfu.wikispot.org]

I ain't down wit this one. Didn't clinch anything. RT @thehoopsreport: Harvard fans rushed the court.

— stfhoops (@stfhoops) March 6, 2011

I ain't down wit this one. Didn't clinch anything. RT @TheHoopsReport: Harvard fans rushed the court.

Pretty funny were this tweeted by a Harvard student from, say, Grosse Point.

Huh? That joke is over my head, I dont understand?

(Sorry. If you have to explain the joke, it flopped.) I picked at random one of America's wealthiest areas. It could have been Weston / Wellesley, Mass; hester County outside Philly; or Cherry Creek, Colorado (photo) - a place where kids grow up with clenched teeth, some matriculate to Harvard, and then decide to wear baggy jeans and pick up the urban patois to sound authentic. Like the tweet (ain't down wit this one). Eamon McEneaney '77 (RIP 9/11) did a devastating spoof of short white kids from Long Island who thought they were Dr. J (Julius Erving).
[clear]

phillysportsfan
Yeah it is sorta ok since they have never even been co-champs and wouldnt have the chance if PU lost on Tuesday. Plus just another opportunity to pick on Harvard and the expert on court storming ruled it as a violation:

[stfu.wikispot.org]

I ain't down wit this one. Didn't clinch anything. RT @thehoopsreport: Harvard fans rushed the court.

— stfhoops (@stfhoops) March 6, 2011

I ain't down wit this one. Didn't clinch anything. RT @TheHoopsReport: Harvard fans rushed the court.

Rules-For-Storming
When to Storm:

Your team breaks a long losing streak against a particularly difficult opponent.

How about: A long losing streak of never winning a championship, and

Rules-For-Storming
Not OK:

The Ivy League? I don't think so. (We've softened our stance on this somewhat. Clinching an Ivy championship is sufficient grounds.)

Ah I get it now, interesting that Wire is apparently considering trying to go to the NFL, Big Ten announcers during the MN game mentioned it but I didnt really believe but Barry mentioned it again tonight on the broadcast

phillysportsfan

billhoward

phillysportsfan
Yeah it is sorta ok since they have never even been co-champs and wouldnt have the chance if PU lost on Tuesday. Plus just another opportunity to pick on Harvard and the expert on court storming ruled it as a violation:

[stfu.wikispot.org]

I ain't down wit this one. Didn't clinch anything. RT @thehoopsreport: Harvard fans rushed the court.

— stfhoops (@stfhoops) March 6, 2011

I ain't down wit this one. Didn't clinch anything. RT @TheHoopsReport: Harvard fans rushed the court.

Pretty funny were this tweeted by a Harvard student from, say, Grosse Point.

Huh? That joke is over my head, I dont understand?

Don't feel bad, most of his jokes aren't very good.

Princeton leads Penn 61-49 with 3:19 to play.
edit: Princeton leads Penn 67-57 with :49 to play.
edit: 70-58 Final

Yeah playoff Saturday at Yale 4pm, and our pathetic league couldnt even get it on tv, only on espn3

phillysportsfan
Yeah playoff Saturday at Yale 4pm, and our pathetic league couldnt even get it on tv, only on espn3

Aren't there about a dozen other league tournaments going on at the same time?

yeah there is ACC on espn, Southland on ESPN2 and women's WAC final on ESPNU

I would think the playoff would probably get more viewers than women's basketball at least but I guess espn cant just push them aside

Maybe YES could preempt the Dave Winfield biography at 4 PM.

phillysportsfan
Yeah playoff Saturday at Yale 4pm, and our pathetic league couldnt even get it on tv, only on espn3

Would anybody watch?

Yeah I would think more people than a women's game or the Southland final, Harvard has gotten a lot of press over the last week

playoff sold out in 30min, Yale only holds 2500, they should have had it at a bigger arena, league screws up again