Ivy League Basketball News

Brian Delaney of the Ithaca Journal provides more details from his earlier discussion with Cornell coach Bill Courtney.  Courtney on the Cornell frosh:

On 6-5 Canadian forward Manny Sahota: “He’s a guy with tremendous potential. A really good athlete. Can play both forward spots, had a really good senior year and followed it up with some all-star games where he played pretty well. He’s a guy going forward, in the future, I think can be a really good player. He’s got to learn a little bit more about the game, stuff like that.”

On 6-3 Dominick Scelfo and 6-2 Jake Matthews: “They’re a little different. Dom’s more of a true point guard. He can run the team, be a team leader type guy, and Jake’s more of a combo guard, good at scoring with some athleticism. He’s just a little thin right now; he needs to put on some weight.”

In terms of Scelfo and Matthews challenging for playing time: “They’re both right there because we don’t have enough backcourt depth.”

On 6-6 Dwight Tarwater: “Dwight is similar to Manny in he can play both forward spots. He’s probably a little more skilled. He can shoot the ball; he’s very strong. He’s probably the most college ready of the freshmen because of his size. He’s got to learn the college game and the intensity and I think he’ll be fine.”

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The Columbia Spectator provides a short intro to CU basketball:

Basketball
How did they do last year?
11-17 (5-9 Ivy), tied for fifth in the league.

Who should I be watching out for?
Junior guard Noruwa Agho (#1), senior forward Brian Grimes (#2), and sophomore center Mark Cisco (#55)

Who’s running the show?
Head coach Kyle Smith was hired in May after former head coach Joe Jones left for the associate head coaching position at Boston College.

What should I expect this season?
Under Jones, the Lions went from consistently last in the league to middle of the pack, but Smith could be what pushes the Light Blue into the top of the conference.

Where can I watch?
Men’s (and women’s) basketball play in Levien Gymnasium, which is conveniently located on campus in Dodge Fitness Center.

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GoColumbiaLions.com sat down with Columbia coach Kyle Smith to discuss the past four months and the season ahead.  Excerpts:

Q: When you recruit, how do you talk about New York City as a unique selling point for the Columbia program?

A: I love it. It’s what distinguishes us from the other seven [Ivy] schools. We have this vibrant, cultural center that is the epicenter of so many things. It attracts the best and brightest in so many fields. As far as basketball goes, we had Team USA practicing in town, we had a [Brazil-China exhibition] game in our gym, we have [Madison Square] Garden. If you like the excitement that New York provides, you’re going to love Columbia. It’s two for one. You get the whole package. It’s not for everybody and that’s OK with me. But for the people who really want that experience, it really is a great selling point.

Q: Having seen St. Mary’s play last year, it seemed that the team focused on ball movement and hustle plays, among other areas. How can you bring those aspects to Columbia as a head coach?

A: It’s something we’ll value – sharing the ball. We’ll talk about it, we’ll emphasize it. Last year was a culmination of nine years so it doesn’t happen overnight. It’s something we’ll value in recruiting, finding guys who are willing to do those things. The hustle aspect is something that comes from guys within the program, pushing themselves and pushing each other to get to that next level of success.

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Ivy League Basketball News (this site’s twitter account)
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Michael R James (Basketball-U)
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Brown
Stephen Albrecht
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Noruwa Agho (inactive)
Brian Barbour
Kevin Bulger (alum, inactive)
Chris Crockett
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Cornell
Louis Dale (alum)
Jeff Foote (alum)
Khaliq Gant (alum)
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Jon Jaques (alum)
Jake Matthews
Peter McMillan
Conor Mullen (alum)
Andrew Naeve (alum)
Aaron Osgood
Errick Peck
Geoff Reeves (alum)
Manny Sahota
Dominick Scelfo
Dwight Tarwater
Alex Tyler (alum)
Andre Wilkins (alum)
Asst. coach Jay Larranaga
Asst. coach Marlon Sears
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Harvard
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Drew Housman (alum)
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Penn
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Princeton
TJ Bray
Sean Gregory (alum)
Benjamin Hazel
Denton Koon (HS, 2011; inactive)
PrincetonBallsketball.com (Princeton Basketball blog twitter)

Yale
Greg Mangano (inactive)
Yale Daily News Sports
Yale Athletics

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Jeff Goodman of Fox Sports has a blog post about Jerome Allen’s goal of reviving Penn’s basketball program.  Excerpt:

Allen believes the Quakers can regain their spot atop the Ivy. Back when Allen was in uniform, Penn won three consecutive league titles and went a perfect 14-0 in conference play each of the three years.

“We try to use history to get guys to believe, but kids these days don’t remember what happened five years ago,” Allen said. “What people don’t know is that Penn is No. 10 in all-time wins in NCAA history – ahead of Indiana, Arizona and Louisville.

“Kids would think you were lying if you told them that,” Allen said.

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Sam Blum of the Bleacher Report previews NYC-area teams, including Columbia:

Columbia will enter this season looking at a whole different team. There will be no more Coach Joe Jones. After Jones left to join Ivy coaching counterpart, Steve Donahue at Boston College, Kyle Smith left St. Mary’s to come east for a job at Columbia.

As long as Columbia can stay defensive minded, Smith will have no trouble picking up where Jones left off, and he might get some wins in the process. They will return junior star Noruwa Agho, who might find himself the best player in the league now that Jeremy Lin has left Harvard and Ryan Wittman has departed from Cornell.

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Last week, Dartmouth coach Paul Cormier formally announced his coaching staff for 2010-11. Dartmouth Athletics reports,

Dartmouth men’s basketball head coach Paul Cormier today announced the hiring of his initial staff in his return to the Big Green for the 2010-11 season. Former UConn standout Ricky Moore, Joe Gallo, and Patrick Beilein have been brought on as assistant coaches, while Jordan Watson has been named the director of basketball operations.

“The first step of rebuilding our basketball program is in place with the hiring of these four tremendously talented and energetic coaches,” Coach Cormier stated. “I am confident that this staff will be terrific in player development and recruiting. And by putting together a couple of solid recruiting classes, our goal of winning an Ivy Championship will be within our grasp.”

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Columbia has announced its basketball schedule for 2010-2011.

* = Conference game

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• Men’s Basketball Coaching Staff Bolstered with Additions of Murphy, Altman – GoColumbiaLions.com | http://ow.ly/2ogB1 #

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Rush The Court reviews the Ivy League’s summer — including coaching changes, Lin’s pro signing, and Harvard’s recruiting violation — and presents its predicted ivy standings for next year, which are as follows:

1. Harvard (12-2): Yes, they lose Jeremy Lin, but they return three ultra-talented sophomores, including Freshman of the Year Kyle Casey. The 6’7 forward began last season as the 6th man but started the last ten games, averaging ten points and five rebounds per game. They also boast a sophomore backcourt that we see as a potential top-10 duo in the country in Brandyn Curry and Christian Webster. The latter scored 24 points in only 28 minutes in Harvard’s postseason loss to Appalachian St. Sprinkle in another prized recruiting class that includes a few players in the top 150 and you have all the ingredients for an Ivy Championship.
2. Princeton (11-3): They were six points away from hoisting the conference championship trophy last season, as two heartbreaking three-point losses to eventual champion Cornell did them in. Most publications project the Tigers as 2010-11 champs, as this is another team that returns a talented trio in top scorer Doug Davis, leading rebounder Dan Mavraides and late-blooming freshman Ian Hummer. We see a nip and tuck race with the depth of the Crimson being the deciding factor.
3. Penn (10-4): Don’t be surprised if Penn projects itself into the Ivy race this season. And if they do, it will be most assuredly on the back of last year’s RTC Ivy POY Zack Rosen. The 6’1 junior was at or near the top in five key stats, including leading the league in scoring. If he continues to mature as a player, he very well could receive a lot of national recognition, a la Jeremy Lin and Ryan Wittman last season. Now, if only the rest of the roster can remain healthy — a difficult task the past two years — the Quakers can take aim at what they consider their rightful place at the top of the league.
4. Cornell (9-5): How the mighty have fallen; Is the reign of the Big Red over? Maybe not, despite huge losses via graduation. They return four players who saw considerable action during last year’s championship run (Chris Wroblewski, Errick Peck, Adam Wire, and Mark Coury), and thus have enjoyed and expect success. While this year’s freshman class was recruited by Steve Donahue, who is no longer with the program, they come with promising credentials. Should our projections hold true, the future in Ithaca should be bright. Remember, it was new leader Bill Courtney who recruited most of the George Mason NCAA Final Four team in 2006.
5. Brown (5-9): The bad news: the graduation of All-Ivy Matt Mullery, who led the Bears last season in several offensive stats. The good news: the next six scorers all return, led by Peter Sullivan and All-Ivy freshman Tucker Halperin. Brown could improve by leaps and bounds; They went 4-4 over their final eight league games, which included an almost unheard of weekend road sweep of Penn and Princeton. We would not be surprised to see the Bears make a run.
6. Columbia (4-10): One would have to consider the now-concluded Joe Jones era a disappointment. At times showing promise during his seven-year tenure (one top four finish), the bottom line is that the Lions were 20 games below .500 in Ivy play during that period. Enter Kyle Smith, the former associate head coach at St. Mary’s of California. He was responsible for running the offense and coordinating all recruiting activities. And lest you forget, St. Mary’s reached the Sweet 16 in last year’s tournament. Admittedly, it is not easy to build a program and win at Columbia — one has to go back to the Jim Macmillan/Heyward Dotson days. Maybe Smith, a master recruiter, is exactly what the Lions need.
7. Yale (3-11): There is still one Jones left in the Ivy League: James at Yale. And to offset the loss of All-Ivy swingman Alex Zampier, Jones brought in a national recruiting class, with players from California, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts and New York, all of whom were 1000-point scorers in their high school careers. Additionally, the Elis return six players who averaged more than ten minutes of playing time per game, led by second-leading scorer Michael Sands. If the class of 2014 can contribute immediately, Yale could be one of the deepest teams in the league.
8. Dartmouth (2-12): Hope in Hanover? Paul Cormier, who returns for his second tour of duty at Dartmouth, must think there’s some. The basis for such optimism lies in the fact that the Big Green, who amazingly had no player average in double figures last year, returns five of their top six scorers and eight players who averaged double figures in minutes played. This group is led by 6’1 Ronnie Dixon, the best shooter on the team. If the rest of the returnees can show some improvement, perhaps Cormier can lead his team out of the cellar.

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The Harvard Crimson’s Back Page blog writes,

In hoops news, the Cornell men’s basketball team’s “tentatively projected 2010-2011 non-conference schedule” was released by the Cornell Basketball Blog. The Big Red is expected to square off against such elite opponents as Seton Hall, Syracuse, and Minnesota. The Harvard men’s basketball team is expected to take on at least four opponents from the power six conferences. The Crimson will host Colorado and visit Connecticut, Michigan, and Boston College. Also on the schedule for Harvard are the Atlantic 10’s Fordham and George Washington and the Colonial Athletic Association’s George Mason.

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TheSouthern.com has a brief article on new Columbia assistant coach Koby Altman, who left a graduate assistant coach at Southern Illinois University to join Kyle Smith and assistants Mike Murphy and Carlin Hartman.

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The Stanford Daily profiles Harvard’s Jeremy Lin.

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• Contrary to Wikipedia, Jeremy Lin Will Not Represent Chinese Taipei | The Harvard Crimson http://ow.ly/2h6GB #
• Pros and Harvard Ballers Share Court | The Harvard Crimson http://ow.ly/2h6Tj #
• Andy Katz's Daily Word: Former Saint Mary's assistant coach Kyle Smith sees the potential at Columbia, Ivy League – ESPN http://ow.ly/2heQN #

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GoColumbiaLions.com has announced the members of its Columbia Men’s Basketball’s Class of 2014.

Five newcomers are set to join the men’s basketball squad for the 2010-11 season, head coach Kyle Smith announced recently.

Danny Feldmann, Steve Frankoski, Van Green, Meiko Lyles and Dyami Starks will join the Columbia squad later this year after each had a distinguished high school career.

(Read more)

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John Tannenwald at the Soft Pretzel Logic blog discusses why Harvard’s admission of recruiting violations matters.

This is big news to people who follow the Ivy League, as you may remember that Harvard was originally cleared of any wrongdoing by the league during its initial investigation in 2008.

The investigation was launched after the New York Times reported on some recruiting tactics that may have violated NCAA and Ivy League recruiting rules. Those tactics included potential attempts to skirt the Ivy League’s Academic Index rules on recruits’ academic profiles, and visits to prospective Harvard recruits by current Crimson assistant coach Kenny Blakeney before he was hired by the program.

The former issue was rendered irrelevant when the recruits in question did not enroll at the school. Most notable among those players is Frank Ben-Eze, who ended up at Davidson.

But the Blakeney issue was never fully resolved in the eyes of many observers, myself included. Although the Ivy League’s original conclusion in 2008 stated that no violations had occured, the Times story made a pretty clear inference that Blakeney had tried to influence potential Harvard recruits before he became an employee of the basketball program.

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