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Former Wisconsin star Vershaw joins Cornell staff

Posted on by in Cornell, Ivy League, News/Slant

Steve Donahue has added Mark Vershaw to his coaching staff after top assistant Izzi Metz left for the Hobart head coaching job this past April. Vershaw is listed in the Cornell’s online staff directory and was quoted as a Cornell assistant in an article in Sunday’s Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. He comes to Cornell after an 18-month stint as the team manager and de facto big man coach at Washington State under his college coach, Dick Bennett. Prior to that, Vershaw broke into the coaching ranks as an assistant at Illinois Central College, before leaving mid-season in January 2005 to join Bennett at Washington State. As a college player at Wisconsin, Vershaw scored 1,066 points and was the leading scorer on the Badgers’ 2000 Final Four team.

Academics sideline Penn’s Whitehurst

Posted on by in Ivy League, News/Slant, Penn

Craig Haley of The Times of Trenton has confirmed an Internet rumor that had been circulating for the past months: junior David Whitehurst has been declared academically ineligible. In the article, Haley states that Whitehurst “was dismissed from the Ivy League university for the upcoming school year for academic reasons” and “will have an opportunity to return for the 2007-08 school year.” There was no confirmation of the story from the Penn athletic department, who told The Daily Pennsylvanian they “would never comment on a student-athlete’s academic status.”

USC transfer Robinson headed to Cornell

Posted on by in Columbia, Cornell, Ivy League, News/Slant, Recruiting

The Los Angeles Times reports rising sophomore Collin Robinson will transfer from Southern California to Cornell. NCAA transfer regulations require Robinson to sit out the upcoming season before becoming eligible in 2007. However, his mother told the paper her son is appealing for immediate elgibility on the grounds USC coach Tim Floyd declined to renew his scholarship. The 6-0, 170-pound guard appeared in nine games for the Trojans last season, averaging 1.4 points in those contests. He reportedly was heavily involved with Columbia and UC Irvine, among others, before settling on Cornell as his destination.

Miller fills out coaching staff at Penn

Posted on by in Brown, Ivy League, News/Slant, Penn

The Daily Pennsylvanian reports Glen Miller is bringing Chris Sparks and Perry Bromwell on board as assistant coaches. The pair joins Mike Martin on the staff, with Sparks as the top assistant and Bromwell assuming volunteer assistant duties. Sparks assisted Miller at Brown back in 2003-04 and coached under Miller’s friend, Howie Dickenman, this past season at Central Connecticut. He brings with him an extensive recruiting network in the Northeast after serving as the director of The Hoop Group’s Eastern Invitational Basketball Clinic from 2004 to 2005. Bromwell is a former three-time First Team All-Ivy selection and 1986-87 Ivy League Player of the Year at Penn after transferring from Manhattan following his freshman year. After being drafted in the sixth round by the New Jersey Nets, Bromwell played professionally overseas and has coaching experience in the amateur and professional ranks.

Hartford may miss first month of season after foot surgery

Posted on by in Cornell, Ivy League, News/Slant

The Ithaca Journal reports Cornell senior Jason Hartford underwent surgery to repair a broken navicular bone in his foot. The junior college transfer suffered the injury during Ivy League play last season and missed the final weekend. He stayed off the foot since the season, but it didn’t heal, so the surgical procedure was performed on June 13. Recovery is expected to take three to six months, which means Hartford could miss the first month of the season. The 6-9, 230-pound Hartford is a projected starter at power forward for the Big Red, whose season opener is scheduled for November 10 at Northwestern.