Big Red bask in spotlight as they prepare for Kentucky
By Anne Ju
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Just when it seemed the spotlight couldn't get brighter, the Cornell men's basketball team arrived at the Carrier Dome March 24.
The day before their NCAA East Regional semifinal game against No. 1 seed Kentucky Wildcats, the Big Red took in a tidal swell of media attention. It's something they've gotten used to as they've climbed in basketball prestige, but over which they still sometimes shake their heads.
"It's been real nice, kind of surreal," said sophomore guard Chris Wroblewski as he addressed a gaggle of reporters outside the locker room, bright lights glaring. Since the team returned from Jacksonville March 21 after beating Temple in the first round and dispatching Wisconsin in the second, they've seen their celebrity stock go up, around Ithaca and the nation. Wroblewski described watching his coach, Steve Donahue, or his teammates being interviewed on "SportsNation" and "SportsCenter" -- TV shows he watched as a kid.
"This is something I'll carry with me for the rest of my life," Wroblewski said.
Before the team's open locker room time, throngs of media members clogged the hallway, jockeying for position or a good quote. Not everyone could fit, so players spilled into the hallway to give interviews.
The 12th-seeded Big Red, appearing in their first-ever Sweet 16, have enjoyed the adulation that comes when a lower-seeded, non-power conference team unseats a traditionally more powerful foe. In Ithaca, cars slow down and honk or passengers stare when they glimpse the outlandishly tall basketball players. Donahue has reported being stopped repeatedly by strangers. Turn on the television or open a newspaper, and Cornell is everywhere.
"I haven't really had time to reflect, I think," said senior guard Louis Dale. "We're just kind of focusing. We want to keep advancing and make the most of this."
Their matchup with Kentucky has been called David vs. Goliath, or in some cases, basketball royalty versus brains. Kentucky is 100-44 all-time in the NCAA tournament, and this will be the school's 21st appearance in the Sweet 16. Their coach, John Calipari, is a household name for the basketball initiated. Cornell, in Ivy League tradition, does not have scholarship athletes, but a nonetheless talented team that Donahue has said he'll probably never see the likes of again.
Nothing has seemed to rattle the Big Red, though. Smiles were plentiful during open practice, whether they were hustling through shooting drills or taking half-court buzzer-beater shots -- to the delight of the smattering of fans who had come to watch.
Basketball fans as young as 7 cheered the teams on during practices. Joan Blaich and Lilian Mohr, first-grade teachers at Blodgett K-8 School in Syracuse, brought their classes to the dome to watch the teams practice. The NCAA tournament was many lessons wrapped up in one: sports, sportsmanship, civics and the importance of academics.
The students said they're cheering for Cornell, and Blaich explained she had told them Cornell was the only team from New York state that would be playing in their city. That was enough to elicit loyalty.
Tipoff is scheduled for 9:57 p.m. Thursday on CBS.
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