Ivy hoops roundup – Feb. 13, 2021

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Bruno says hello

Brown men’s basketball last week announced the program’s five early decision admits that are part of the Class of 2025 and will join the Bears for the 2021-22 season:

  • Aaron Cooley, 6-5 G/F from Roxbury, Mass., All-NEPSAC Class A in 2019 and All-NEPSAC Class B in 2020
  • Lyndel Erold, 6-3 G from Boston, ISL Honorable Mention
  • Sam Klores, 6-1 G from New York,  New York State Class B Player of the Year in 2020-21
  • Kino Lilly, Jr., 6-0 G from Glenn Dale, Md., Dematha Summer League MVP in 2018
  • Nana Owusu-Anane, 6-8 F from Burlington, Ont., won a gold medal with Team Ontario

Bruno plans a trip

With early decision admits in tow, the Brown men were announced last week as a participant in the 2021 U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam men’s tournament field in its return to St. Thomas, joining Bradley, Colorado, Colorado State, Creighton, Duquesne, Northeastern and Southern Illinois for the tourney slated to take place at the University of the Virgin Islands Sports and Fitness Center from November 19-22. If the tournament does, in fact, happen, it’ll mark Brown’s debut in the tourney.

All games will broadcast live on ESPN3 or ESPN+. The tournament gives teams a guaranteed three games in an eight-team bracket format. The men’s bracket and schedule and women’s tournament field will be announced later. Fan packages will be available for purchase for supporters lucky enough to be able to make the trip. Not that anyone’s feeling cooped up right now.

Rock chalk Slovak

Harvard men’s hoops 2020 grad Robert Baker is headed for Slovakia to play pro ball for BK Iskra Svit, Harvard announced on Twitter. A dangerous outside shooter and formidable shot-blocker, the 6-11 Baker became a regular face in the Crimson’s starting lineup in 2019-20, contributing a career-high seven points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots a game.

Oni no phony 

 

As the tweet from freelance Utah Jazz analyst and Jazz Film Room curator Ben Dowsett suggests, former Yale standout and 2018-19 Ivy Player of the Year Miye Oni is making a name for himself with the Jazz, already playing in 19 games so far this season after appearing in just 10 as a rookie. Oni has shown promise as a “3 and D” player, inspiring the Jazz blog SLC Dunk to liken him to a surprise $20 in their pocket as a rare second-round draft selection making even a modest impact. Oni is averaging 1.8 rebounds and 1.2 points in 7.5 minutes per game for the Jazz, which boast the NBA’s best record at 21-5 more than a third of the way into the 72-game season.

Mourning Chaney

This is the first roundup since legendary Temple men’s coach John Chaney’s death on Jan. 29 at 89. As one of the most impactful personalities in Big 5 history, Chaney’s legacy intersected with Penn and the Palestra a great deal, and honoring his memory were a host of fellow current and former Big 5 figures, including Chaney’s coaching successor Fran Dunphy, who left Penn in 2006 to take his reins leading the Owls. They’re well worth recording here:

 

Penn men’s coach Steve Donahue:

 

Penn men’s assistant coach Nat Graham:

 

Brown men’s head coach and former Penn men’s assistant coach Mike Martin:

2014 Penn men’s hoops grad Miles Jackson-Cartwright:

Pennsylvania Gazette writer and editor Dave Zeitlin:

Temple went 21-3 against Penn under Chaney, losing only in Nov. 1998, Dec. 2001 and Dec. 2002, the latter being the Hooter the Owl game.

This video published by the Philadelphia Inquirer Wednesday conveys what the hard-nosed, big-hearted Chaney meant to Philadelphia and the players who learned about far more than basketball from him.

America’s coach

Speaking of great coaches, Yale men’s coach James Jones is serving as an assistant for the USA Basketball AmeriCup Qualifying team scheduled to start training Saturday through Thursday in San Juan, Puerto Rico before taking part in the third and final competition window of the 2020-21 FIBA AmeriCup Qualifying games.  The 4-0 Americans will wrap up their qualifying play facing Bahamas (1-3) Friday and Mexico (2-2) next Saturday in San Juan. Jones was also an assistant for the February 2020 and November 2020 USA AmeriCup Qualifying teams that went 4-0.

Hayes makes an exit

Brown athletic director Jack Hayes resigned from the university last week chiefly to become a senior advisor to Bruin Sports Capital, a sports, entertainment and media company, starting March 1.

Colin A. Sullivan, deputy athletic director, will serve as interim athletic director while Brown conducts a national search for Hayes’s successor.

Hayes had led Brown Athletics since 2012, hiring Martin as Brown’s head coach that year and hiring two different women’s head coaches – Sarah Behn to replace 26-year head coach Jean Marie Burr in 2014 and Monique LeBlanc last year after Behn stepped down.

Hayes recalled Cedric Kuakumensah, the first student-athlete Hayes met at Brown, setting the Ivy League record for career blocked shots in 2015 as a standout moment.