The accolades continue to pile up for Cornell seniors Jeff Foote and Ryan Wittman, who have both been invited to compete in this year’s Reese’s College All-Star Game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The event features a 3-point shooting contest and slam dunk competition in addition to the game which will take place on Friday at 4:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on the CBS College Sports network. The skills competition, much like the event that the NBA puts on during its All-Star weekend, is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. tonight and will be aired on ESPN. Notable alumni of the skills competition include NBA stars Steve Nash and Kyle Korver. Foote, the Red’s 7-0 center, earns this honor after completing a senior season in which he was named the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year and MVP of the MSG Holliday Festival. Foote also earned first-team All-Ivy honors for the first time in his career at Cornell. Wittman travels to the site of the Final Four after being named Ivy League Player of the Year. The Red forward also reached 2,000 career points and set a new league record after draining 100 3-point field goals this season. Playing against stiff competition is nothing new for these Cornell athletes, who enter the All-Star Game fresh off the school’s first Sweet 16 appearance in history. The Red earned upsets over Temple and Wisconsin in the first two rounds of this year’s NCAA tournament before falling to No. 1-seeded Kentucky in Syracuse, N.Y., last week. Foote and Wittman have both made their intentions known when it comes to future plans, stating that they fully intend to try and make it in the NBA. Wittman also earned honorable mention AP All-American honors earlier this week, becoming the third Cornell player to receive this distinction. Senior guard Louis Dale and Ken Bantum ’85 were the other Cornellians to be awarded honorable mentions. Head coach Steve Donahue was also name the winner of the Clair Bee Award, which is given to the top Division I men’s basketball coach each season. The NCAA cites an ability to inspire, motivate, coach and educate a team to fulfill its potential as the criteria for winning the prestigious award. Donahue has coached the Red to three consecutive Ivy League titles and has been at the helm for the school’s only two NCAA tournament victories. He also set a league record this season after compiling 29 victories en route to the Sweet 16.
Original Author: Evan Rich