Duke vs. Cornell?

Duke-Cornell

Haven't heard the rumor, but it wouldn't be that surprising. Duke usually has one Ivy on the schedule -- Columbia last year, Penn the year before, Princeton the two years before that.

Why not Cornell this season?
 
Why? I would think K might want to help out Tommy by giving him a high-visibility game. Lots of coaches do that for their former players and assistants.
 
Why? I would think K might want to help out Tommy by giving him a high-visibility game. Lots of coaches do that for their former players and assistants.

Highly doubtful. In fact, Duke and Michigan allowed their series to lapse while Tommy was coach there. Before the final game of that contract, which had been scheduled before Tommy's hire at UM, K commented publicly how difficult he found it to coach against a former protege. A new series with a school coached by a member of the Duke "family tree" is all but guaranteed never to happen.
 
Why? I would think K might want to help out Tommy by giving him a high-visibility game. Lots of coaches do that for their former players and assistants.

In a TV interview I saw after Tommy was hired at Harvard, he was asked if he would be playing Duke. His answer was very emphatically "NO!"
 
Does anyone know if the rumor that Duke will face Cornell next year is true?

Not from a current player or coach, but from the next most reliable source, Cornell is supposed to play Duke next year. Not sure if this is a 2-for-1 deal like Cornell had with Georgia Tech 3 years ago.

Paulus is from Syracuse, 45 minutes away from Ithaca. There is a possibility Coach K may want to play up there for Greg's friends/family in upstate NY. I guess K could schedule the Orangemen in the Dome. But a game at Cornell is fairly close to where he grew up and a virtual guarantee win for the Blue Devils.
 
Nelson

Using the same rationale, would Duke play the rematch at San Jose St next year to give Demarcus Nelson a home for the hoidays game?
 
K's Cornell Connections

1. Probably played against Cornell while at Army.

2. At Army, Bobby's first assistant was a former Cornell guard/Captain, Dave Bliss.

3. Bliss and K coached together under Bobby at Indiana.

4. K won multiple national titles and is at the pinnacle of his profession. Bliss almost went to jail.

5. But for the misstep, Bliss is a terrific guy, a k kid of guy.

6. It was a huge misstep.

7. In the 60's before the downfall, Cornell beat Ohio State and Kentucky in successive years, not to mention Bradley at Princeton, and McMillin and Shorty at Columbia. I hear that they are on the rise again. Go Big Red!
 
I hear that they are on the rise again. Go Big Red!

Cornell had bad luck last year - their best player, Gore, was injured first game of the season for the remainder of the year (they won that game, by the way, at Northwestern... Northwestern does suck but that's an impressive win by Cornell's standards). They did end up with the Ivy Freshman of the Year though for the second straight year in Wittman (Gore was last year's FOY), and were in the mix for the Ivy League Title even without Gore. With Wittman and Gore playing together next year, Cornell should compete seriously for the Ivy's NCAA tournament bid, especially when Penn's losses are taken into consideration.

So... playing Cornell is a great idea. Could end up being a better win than most would think.
 
Duke v. Cornell

Cornell had bad luck last year - their best player, Gore, was injured first game of the season for the remainder of the year (they won that game, by the way, at Northwestern... Northwestern does suck but that's an impressive win by Cornell's standards). They did end up with the Ivy Freshman of the Year though for the second straight year in Wittman (Gore was last year's FOY), and were in the mix for the Ivy League Title even without Gore. With Wittman and Gore playing together next year, Cornell should compete seriously for the Ivy's NCAA tournament bid, especially when Penn's losses are taken into consideration.

So... playing Cornell is a great idea. Could end up being a better win than most would think.

You are on the right track here. But a few more facts that will hopefully make the game against this Ivy team a bit more attractive to Duke fans (not that this game is especially important by Duke's standards).

First, Cornell is picked by ESPN.com to win the Ivy next year.

Second, Cornell was a decent Ivy team this past season despite its loss of two starters to preseason injuries. Gore was one of the injured, he was the Ivy 2005-2006 Newcomer of the Year. The other was the team's starting center, Jason Hartford. Both come back next year. Gore was also 2nd Team All Ivy in 2005-2006 as a frosh. In addition to Gore, Cornell returns Ryan Wittman (son of Minnesota Timberwolves coach Randy Wittman). Ryan was the 2006-2007 Ivy Newcomer of the Year and a 2nd Team All Ivy selection. Finally, Cornell returns a 3rd All Ivy player in point guard Louis Dale. So, the team is looking like a preseason favorite-- at least on paper. Of note, Cornell also adds two transfers this season, Collin Robinson from USC and seven footer, Jeff Foote from St. Bonaventure.
 
In a TV interview I saw after Tommy was hired at Harvard, he was asked if he would be playing Duke. His answer was very emphatically "NO!"

"Naturally, Harvard's doors are now closed to you, but I'll pass your file along to... Brown."
"Nooooo! Not Brown... Brown.... Brown..."
 
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