IvyBballFan
Masters Student
Posts: 479
Age: 77
Loc: Central Florida
Reg: 11-19-09
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03-22-11 03:07 PM - Post#102218
In response to EddieAlberto
After not following the team for awhile...
1. I didn't see much separation in the talent between the players - only experience.
2. The team's record improved when new blood was transfused into the body.
3. Many had predicted that the team still had enough to make a run at an Ivy title.
4. I believe that only one Big Red freshman saw meaningful minutes last season.
Welcome to the board. Many of us try to follow all the teams because they are what makes the whole league interesting. Cornell is particularly remarkable because they had the best run in the history of the league for a non-P team over the past few seasons. Some have noted wryly that it coincided with coaching disasters at the P’s. Aaaccchhh! Sour grapes! One cannot yet rule out the possibility that Cornell has figured something out for the long term. They, along with Harvard and Yale, bear watching.
1. Talent Separation. I mostly agree. I think there is parity except for one player. Chris Wroblewski was Ivy ROY two years ago, all-Ivy Honorable Mention last year, and All-Ivy First Team this year. He’s a thoroughbred, a cut above the others all the way along. He was the Big Red team leader this year and will be again next year.
2. Why did the 2010-11 record suddenly improve two-thirds of the way through the season? New blood on the court? OK… Cornell played the toughest non-conference schedule of any league team, explaining some of that 4-10 start. There were only three Ivy W’s over NCAA tournament teams this year; Cornell got one of them (Wofford).
It sure did look as if Coach let up on his insistence that the guys be defense-first oriented, after the game in Hanover. Fouls dropped off, scoring and shot percentages rose noticeably, rebounding held steady. Both Cornell’s and its opponents’ PPG rose, but Cornell’s improved more. I tend to think the experience of a 4-15 start while losing 14 of 16 games finally kicked in. If you are a Cornell alum, that stretch was certainly reminiscent of Bball when you were there. There was also something incredibly difficult about having a decimated crew with a new coach open with five of six league games on the road, too.
When I look at the Big Red’s season, I think one can make a case that the “real†2010-11 Cornell team was 6-3, losing only to the league’s top teams.
3. Few knowledgeable fans thought the Big Red would make a run. That was clearly a big dose of hype and a modest dose of hope. You can’t lose five of your eight rotation players, including three All-Ivy First Teamers, and your coach, play the toughest schedule in the league, open with five of six on the Ivy road, and make a run. It just can’t happen.
4. Frosh with meaningful minutes; only Matthews’ 187 minutes came even close. No Cornell frosh really made a meaningful on-court contribution this year.
You are so right about how to rationally approach freshman playing D-1 ball. When you think about Cornell’s 4-in-6 run of Ivy ROY’s (Collins, Gore, Dale, Wroblewski), it makes you realize that Cornell had more than their share of Year 1 stars over the past eight years. It is going to be awhile before another league freshman averages the 15.1PPG that Ryan Wittman put up.
5. Let's look to next year, based on what type of proven talent is returning around the league. Cornell is as predictable as last year's bunch... just better. I have to think that Cornell is going to be somewhere in the scrum with Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Penn and Columbia will need to come up with some surprises to join in.
There is a school of thought that stands in awe of Harvard’s six returning double digit scorers. Among the others, only Penn and Cornell even return three double-digit scorers. But things deserve a closer look. IMO, the Crimson has something to prove on the court next season.
It is true that Princeton was our champion/NCAA rep this year. Another view of what happened down the stretch was that Harvard failed to close the deal in both their games in New Haven this year. They had 6+ point leads with nine minutes left and allowed both Yale and Princeton to wrestle games away from them in the last minute. Against the Tigers, they shot a paltry 3-6 from the FT line down the stretch. When given opportunities in the post-season, the Crimson have laid big eggs twice in a row.
Harvard is going to have to make a believer out of many of us by doing it on the court, not just at the recruiting trough, through the end of the 2011-12 season. I hope they do. I really hope they do. The league can use that kind of variety in champions. Their league schedule will be harder (maybe they will even choose to toughen up their pre-season schedule). They likely open with five of seven on the road in league play next year and will probably have to make the Philly area road swing on the final weekend of the league season. That's harder. They will have the proverbial target on their backs at every stop in the 14-game schedule.
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