Cornell Will Get Sentimental Support

Cornell gets the sentimental support

By Robbi Pickeral
robbi.pickeral@newsobserver.com

Posted: Thursday, Mar. 25, 2010

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - CBS big wheels probably would faint, but it would be awesome to see Cornell upset Kentucky today in an NCAA tournament third-round East game in Syracuse, N.Y.

That outcome would be cool because Cornell is completely opposite from what the tournament has become during the past several years.

The simplest way to put it is that the Big Red is a collection of students playing basketball for the sheer sake of competing and trying to win. These guys are an actual team, most of whom are upperclassmen who never got so much as a recruiting wink from powerhouse schools.

Not only do Big Red players go to class, they go to hard classes - economics, electronic engineering, microbiology, applied sciences - on an Ivy League campus in a place that prides itself in being "centrally isolated."

"Ithaca (N.Y.) is an old town. It's very old actually, but it's still a great place to live," said junior forward Adam Wire, who played high school ball in Southern Pines.

The players don't live in a bells-and-whistles athletic dorm. They live in a 14-bedroom 1950s style boarding house that senior reserve Pete Reynolds (from Nebraska) found a couple of summers ago.

"It's an old place, but the heating works most of the time," Reynolds said.

There are no names on the backs of the Big Red's jerseys. In fact, the uniforms probably haven't changed much in years.

No one in the locker room gets asked about leaving early for the NBA and that includes team star Ryan Wittman, whose father played and coached in the pros, or the 7-foot center, Jeff Foote, who is a lot better basketball player than many first-rounders will ever become.

The court leader, Louis Dale, is a 5-11 senior from Birmingham, Ala., who would have been a unanimous first-team All-ACC player had he enrolled somewhere between Birmingham and Ithaca.

"We may not be big time, but we always think we have a chance against those teams," Wittman said.

Kentucky, of course, is about as big time as it gets in basketball. There's a distinct possibility the Wildcats' size, speed and talent will totally overwhelm Cornell, just as they did Wake Forest in the second round.

But unless you're a Kentucky fan, you have to admit it would be great to see the small-time team win this one.



Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/03/25/1334877/tar-heels-advance-to-nit-semifinals.html#ixzz0jBsF1Nx3