"LUCKY" Cornell....wanna Re-Consider?

Ryan Wittman, Cornell vs John Wall, Kentucky.

Do you consider Cornell as being "LUCKY" to make it to the NCAA Sweet 16? Consider how this "TEAM" was put together in the first place.

Consider Jeff Foote, Cornell's 7-foot center. His college career began as a 205-pound walk-on player for St. Bonaventure. His mother, Wanda, worked as a nurse at an Elmira, N.Y., hospital. When Cornell guard Khaliq Gant was sent to that hospital for treatment after injuring his spine in a January 2006 practice, she noticed the attentiveness of the Cornell coaches and players.

Wanda, who be-friended the Cornell coaches, suggested to Jeff that he consider a transfer to Cornell.

During the next three years, Foote gained 50 pounds and became an All-Ivy League player and two-time Defensive Player of the Year. Earlier this season, he battled Kansas big man Cole Aldrich to a draw: 12 points and six rebounds for Foote; 13 points and nine rebounds for Aldrich.

Consider Ryan Wittman, the sharpest of Cornell's three-point sharpshooters and the son of former Indiana star Randy Wittman. Cornell Coach Steve Donahue has noted how lucky the Big Red got in getting Wittman. That good fortune started when the player sustained a deep thigh bruise that hindered him throughout his senior year of high school. Big Ten schools doubted his athleticism, so Wittman fell into Cornell's lap.

He became only the fifth Ivy League player to score 2,000 points in a career.

Many consider Wittman to be among the best 3 pt shooters in the country. [John Wall on the other hand, is likely to be in the NBA next year; his speed, gracefulness and competitive nature is something to behold.

Consider Louis Dale, the 5-foot-11 senior point guard. A native of Birmingham, Ala., Dale drew no interest from programs in the Southeastern or Atlantic Coast conferences. So he created a video tape of his high school highlights and a scrapbook of clippings and sent them to various schools. Only Cornell responded with an invitation to make an official recruiting visit.

Donahue prepared the usual charm offensive. But it wasn't needed. When he arrived on campus, Dale handed the coach a $400 check his mother wrote to pay for the application fee.

He became an All-Ivy League player.

Consider Jon Jaques, a native Californian best known as a blogger for The New York Times. In his first three seasons, he scored 33 points in 34 games. He did not get off the bench in this season's first three games.

Then a teammate's injury created opportunity. After a freshman failed to seize the chance, Donahue tried Jaques. On a team that leads the nation in three-point shooting accuracy, Jaques has made 47.2 percent of his shots from beyond the arc and averaged seven points.

Having won its third straight Ivy League championship, Cornell beat Temple and Wisconsin last week to post the school's first ever NCAA Tournament victories. No Ivy League team had won a NCAA Tournament game since Penn in 1979.

It's a veteran team with eight seniors. All roommates in an off-campus house the team shares.

On a teleconference Tuesday, Wittman noted how well those veteran players have bonded.

"Really strong team chemistry," he said. "That really makes basketball fun."

I remember Wittman's dad as being a great shooter. Kentucky better not give him to many open looks tomorrow night or everyone might consider Kentucky choked.

But, I don't think Temple or Wisconsin choked......it was just that Cornell got LUCKY.