Ivy news roundup – Sept. 1, 2017

Oni impresses at Nike Skills Academy

Yale’s Miye Oni was one of 21 college players selected to compete at the prestigious Nike Skills Academy in late August.  Among the attendees were Grayson Allen, Trevon Duval and Marques Bolden from Duke, Nick Ward and Jaren Jackson from Michigan State, Tony Carr from Penn State, and Amir Coffey of Minnesota.  The sophomore guard, who was named a second team All-Ivy in 2016-17, certainly impressed those in attendance.  ESPN’s Jeff Goodman tweeted, “One college player who has stood out to NBA guys at the Nike Camp has been sophomore Miye Oni.  Guys love his ability to score.”

Ivy women excel in international hoops

Princeton sophomore Bella Alarie and Harvard sophomore Jeannie Boehm helped USA Basketball secure a silver medal at the recent FIBA U-19 World Cup.  Alarie, who was a late addition to the team’s tryout roster, earned a starting spot and finished the tournament averaging 7.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 21.2 minutes a game.  Boehm averaged 3.2 rebounds and 8.8 minutes per game.  Team USA dominated the group stage and the quarterfinals.  In the semifinals against Japan, USA was up 22 at the end of the third quarter and appeared to hit a wall, allowing its opponents to get the lead down to seven by the end of the contest.  In the finals, the Americans were up six at halftime, but could not contain Russia’s two frontcourt starts, World Cup MVP Maria Vadeeva and Raisa Musina.  With the 86-82 defeat, the U.S. missed its chance to secure its seventh straight title.

Dartmouth junior forward Isalys Quinones played in her second international tournament of the summer and helped Puerto Rico to a third place finish in the FIBA AmeriCup.  With its 75-68 victory over Brazil in the bronze medal game, Puerto Rico qualified for its first ever appearance in the FIBA World Cup, which will be held next summer in Spain.  Quinones played 6.5 minutes a game, averaging 1.0 point.  In the Centrobasket Tournament, she averaged 4.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 15.9 minutes a game to help Puerto Rico earn a spot in the AmeriCup Tournament.

Princeton senior shooting guard Tia Weledji helped Cameroon to a quarter final spot and eighth place finish at the FIBA Afrobasket Tournament in Mali this August.  This past season, Weledji played in all 30 games, starting 11, averaging 5.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 17.4 minutes a game.  In the recent tournament, she played and started in all 8 games, averaging 8.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 28.1 minutes a game.  Her highlight was a group stage contest against Algeria, where she scored 22 points and hauled in seven rebounds for a 64-49 victory.

In addition, Tigers coach Courtney Banghart was an assistant coach for USA Basketball’s U-23 women’s basketball team as it won the inaugural Four Nations Tournament in Tokyo.  The U.S. had an 18-point victory over Australia, while defeating Canada by 46 and Japan by 32.

Brown women pursue basketball internships

IHO in April noted Brown’s junior co-captain Erika Steeves’ fellowship in China where she examined the market for amateur and professional basketball in China.  Two of her teammates also spent time focusing on off-the-court basketball related activities.

In late June and early July, junior guard Shayna Mehta, the 2015-16 Rookie of the Year and a second team All-Ivy selection in 2016-17, spent 18 days in Chennai, India, volunteering with Crossover Basketball & Scholars Academy. Crossover is an international non-profit organization that attempts to increase the education rate of marginalized communities in India using basketball as an agent of change. Mehta participated in the group’s Hoops Creating Hope program, which uses basketball skills to create a link between leadership, gender equity, character, teamwork and communication with academic success and future goals for young children.

Senior Megan Reilly, a two-time co-captain, spent the summer working with the NBA G League’s Business Operations team. Formerly known as the NBA Development League, or D-League, the NBA’s official minor league has entered into an agreement with Gatorade and been rebranded as the G League.  Reilly spent her internship helping to market the rebrand, developing licensee contracts for merchandising deals, and executing player appearance events.

Dartmouth graduate transfer lands a spot for 2017-18

As noted in IHO’s May 21 Ivy news roundup, former Dartmouth center Cole Harrison missed the 2016-17 season due to injury, graduated in May and sought a Division I spot as a graduate transfer.  It was reported in late July that Harrison had joined the College of William & Mary for the 2017-18 season.  The Tribe had a 17-14 record lastyear, including a 10-8 fourth-place record in the Colonial Athletic Association.

Meet the Class of 2017

Throughout the summer, articles about the new recruits have been released.  Of the 16 men’s and women’s teams, only the Princeton men have not had anything written about its new group of student-athletes.  Below are links to the other 15 teams:

Brown: Men and Women

Columbia: Men and Women

Cornell: Men and Women 

Dartmouth: Men  (note: Walker Miller decommitted and moved to UNC) and Women 

Harvard: Men and Women

Penn: Men and Women

Princeton: Women

Yale: Men and Women 

Ivy League 2018 commits continue

Brown, Dartmouth, Princeton and Yale have added to the list of summer recruits planning on a fall 2018 arrival.

Thomas Shaughnessy, a 6’0″ two star combo guard from Needham High School in Massachusetts,  chose the Bears over Binghamton, Loyola (MD), American, Navy, Army, Quinnipiac, Boston University, Manhattan and Bryant.  According to Tommy Cassell at the Wicked Local Needham, Shaughnessy averaged nearly 24 points a game in leading his school to a Division 1 South Sectional title.  He will join David Mitchell, another two star guard from Massachusetts.

Dartmouth added Wes Slajchert, a three star (ESPN) 6’4″ shooting guard from Oak Park High School.  According Verbal Commits and ESPN, he chose the Big Green over Columbia, Colgate, American, Lehigh, Cal State Northridge and California Baptist.  247Sports lists him as the No. 63 shooting guard in the nation.  Slajchert will join fellow three-star Californian guard Taurus Samuels in Hanover.

Princeton added to its 2018 class by securing Ethan Wright, a 6′ 2″ two-star guard from Newton North High School (MA) and Drew Friberg, a 6′ 6″ two-star small forward from State College High School (PA). According to Verbal Commits and 247Sports, Wright chose the Tigers over fellow Ivies Yale and Brown, as well as Vermont, St. Louis, Delaware, Colgate, BU and Wofford. Friberg selected Princeton over a large number of schools, including Brown, Columbia, Yale, Penn, and Penn State. The Tigers already secured a commitment from four-star guard Jaelin Llewellyn earlier this summer.

Michael Feinberg of the Sierra Canyon School in Chatsworth, California, has committed to Yale.  The two-star 6’4″ shooting guard chose the Bulldogs over Dartmouth, Bucknell and Boston University. Feinberg played for the nationally ranked Sierra Canyon Trailblazers, a team that included Marvin Bagley III, the Duke recruit who is seen as the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, and Terrance McBride, a first-year point guard at Cornell.  Feinberg is also the younger brother of Harvard’s Robert Feinberg, who recently was a part of the gold medal winning US team at the Maccabi Games.  Earlier this summer, Eze Dike-Nwagbara, a two-star point guard, committed to Yale.