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Posts: 203
Reg: 04-24-05
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10-08-05 03:22 PM - Post#10206
THREE KEY ISSUES FOR 2005-2006
(1) TEAM HEALTH-Last year Cornell finished 8-6 in the Ivy League. However, at various points during Ivy play, Cornell was without its full starting five of Taylor, Rourke, Collins, Toppert, and Dow due to injuries. For example, Cornell did not have Ryan Rourke (sprain) in its 70-61 loss at Columbia on January 15, 2005. The next week Rourke returned to the line-up, contributed 13 points and 5 rebounds and Cornell destroyed Columbia 77-47. Also, just prior to Cornell’s loss to Dartmouth on February 18, 2005 (the teams’ second meeting), Graham Dow suffered a “hip-flexor injury.” Although Dow played in that second game against the Green, Donahue stated that Dow played at "less than 50% health" with a nagging injury. After that loss to Dartmouth, Dow would not play in the remaining five Ivy contests due to the season ending injury. These remaining five games included blowout losses to Yale and Penn. With Dow in the line-up, Cornell had defeated Dartmouth as well as Yale in their first meeting with the help of Dow’s 9 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds. Also with Dow in the line-up, Cornell led Penn (in their first meeting) at half-time in the Palestra. If the Big Red stays healthy this year, an improvement on 8-6 is a strong possibility.
(2) REPLACING ERIC TAYLOR-Even with the loss of Taylor, I believe Cornell can improve this year in the post. That is, if Andrew Naeve and Jason Hartford live up to expectations, their combined efforts in the paint should exceed Eric Taylor’s contributions last year. With Naeve on the floor, Cornell is a better defensive team. He blocks shots, takes up space in the lane, and is a great rebounder. His offensive game is also coming along steadily each year. With Hartford on the floor, Cornell has a more reliable free-throw shooter and I suspect Hartford will be an outstanding finisher around the basket. Furthermore, with Hartford out there, Cornell could have five players on the floor shooting better than 35%-45% from beyond the arc (i.e. Hartford, Rourke, Collins, Gant, Dow). The luxury of having
Hartford and Naeve is that Donahue can play them together (and become a very big basketball team) or use them one at a time, thereby completely changing the offensive look.
(3) REPLACING CODY TOPPERT-Love his game or hate it, Cody Toppert was a key player for Cornell last year. Without a doubt, Cody was a streaky shooter, but he had an incredible killer instinct. Some guys never find that instinct even if they are blessed with all of the offensive skills and athleticism. Cody had the instinct and wanted to be the guy to take the big shot. Someone at Cornell will need to step up this year and become that pressure shooter. This year, Cornell has several returning players that are more consistent and purer shooters than Toppert (e.g. Gant, Dow, Collins). Cornell could actually be better (without Toppert) when Gant is on the floor. With Gant as the starting shooting guard, Cornell has a secondary ball-handler, a better passer and a bullseye three-point specialist. And I think Gant and Toppert are an even trade-off on the defensive end. The critical point here is that improving Gant’s confidence and killer instinct are all that is needed for him to morph into a stellar Ivy League two-guard.
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