PRINCETON, N.J. — It's been all about the accolades
for the Cornell Class of 2010. As sophomores, they carried the Big Red to its second-ever
Ivy title -- first in 20 years -- en route to a perfect 14-0 League campaign,
program-best 22 wins and a myriad of other school records. A year ago, as juniors,
they did not disappoint, helping Cornell become the first non-Penn or Princeton
team in Ivy history to repeat as outright champions. Today, before even stepping
onto the court as seniors, they are back at it, as the Big Red have been unanimously
chosen first in the Ivy League Preseason Media Poll for the second consecutive
season. Princeton, Penn and Harvard were picked to finish second, third and
fourth, respectively.
Cornell (21-10, 11-3 Ivy) was the overwhelming favorite among 16 Ivy media members
after returning all five starters, three All-Ivy selections, and the Ivy Rookie
and Defensive Players of the Year from a team that repeated as League champs
a season ago. The Big Red lose emotional leader Adam Gore to graduation but
tenth-year head coach Steve Donahue will rely on a veteran senior class that
is led by the All-Ivy duo of Ryan Wittman and Louis Dale. Wittman, already a
two-time unanimous first team All-Ivy selection, has led Cornell in scoring
each of his three seasons in Ithaca, and enters his final year just 231 points
shy of the school's all-time scoring mark. He will be the League's leading returning
scorer at 18.5 points per game.
Dale, the 2007-08 Ivy Player of the Year, picked up his second first team All-Ivy
nod last season after becoming just the second player in Big Red history to
record 1,000 points, 300 rebounds and 300 assists. He and Wittman will be joined
by reigning Defensive Player of the Year Jeff Foote and Rookie of the Year Chris
Wroblewski. Foote, a seven-footer and second team All-Ivy selection, returns
as the Ivy leader in blocks, while Wroblewski connected on a League-high 44
percent of his three-point attempts in his rookie campaign.
Just two seasons after back-to-back last-place finishes, third-year Princeton
head man and former Ivy League Player of the Year Sydney Johnson has his alma
mater back in the thick of things. The Tigers (13-14, 8-6), picked to finish
second after a runner-up finish last year, return their top two leading scorers
in sophomore Douglas Davis (12.3 ppg) and junior Dan Mavraides (10.3 ppg). All-Ivy
honorable mention center Pawel Buczak is also back, while Coach Johnson welcomes
highly-touted freshman Ian Hummer.
Penn (10-18, 6-8) and Harvard (14-14, 6-8), who tied for sixth-place last year,
were picked third and fourth, respectively. The Quakers have struggled the past
two seasons after winning three straight championships (2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07),
but look to turn things around as they return a talented core. All-Ivy guard
and leading scorer Tyler Bernardini (13.7 ppg) is back, along with classmate
Jack Eggleston (9.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg) and sophomore floor leader Zack Rosen, the
reigning Ivy assist leader (5.0 apg).
The Crimson lost All-Ivy point guard Drew Housman and classmate Evan Harris
to graduation but return standout guard Jeremy Lin, who just about did it all
for Harvard in his breakout junior campaign. Lin, who finished third in overall
scoring (17.5) and second in Ivy scoring (17.1), led the Crimson in points,
rebounds (5.5), assists (4.3), steals (2.4) and minutes played (975). Big man
Keith Wright is back for his sophomore year, while Coach Tommy Amaker adds another
seven-player recruiting class to his young squad.
Rounding out the bottom half of the poll was 2008-09 runner-up Yale (13-15,
8-6), followed by Columbia (13-15, 7-7), Brown (9-19, 3-11) and Dartmouth (9-19,
7-7), respectively.
The Bulldogs, who finished in a tie for second-place with Princeton last year,
lost two All-Ivy performers in Ross Morin and Travis Pinick but return one in
guard Alex Zampier, a top-five League scorer a year ago. Columbia was plagued
by injuries last year but return a talented backcourt in senior point guard
Patrick Foley and sophomore Noruwa Agho, who should pair nicely with junior
big man Asenso Ampim. Brown second-year head coach Jesse Agel is happy to return
the only other first team All-Ivy member in senior forward Matt Mullery, who
finished fourth in the Ivies in both overall scoring (16.1) and rebounding (6.5),
while shooting a League-best 60.6 percent from the field. Dartmouth lost more
than 30 percent of their scoring with the graduation of Ivy League Player of
the Year Alex Barnett, but return the talented sophomore backcourt of Jabari
Trotter and two-time Ivy Rookie of the Week David Rufful.
2009-10 IVY LEAGUE MEN’S BASKETBALL PRESEASON MEDIA POLL
First-Place Votes in Parentheses
| Rank | School | Points |
| 1. | Cornell (16) | 128 |
| 2. | Princeton | 96 |
| 3. | Penn | 92 |
| 4. | Harvard | 86 |
| 5. | Yale | 59 |
| 6. | Columbia | 55 |
| 7. | Brown | 41 |
| 8. | Dartmouth | 19 |