ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell senior Ryan Wittman became the third student-athlete to earn Ivy League Men's Basketball Player of the Year and joined classmates Louis Dale and Jeff Foote on the first squad when the All-Ivy League teams were announced on Wednesday. Foote was named conference Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight year. Additionally, Chris Wroblewski earned honorable mention All-Ivy honors. The team is voted on by the league's eight head coaches.

Wittman joins Ken Bantum (1984-85) and Dale (2007-08) as the only Cornellians to capture the league's top award. He was a unanimous first-team pick for the third consecutive year.

With Dale and Wittman again on the first team, they become the third set of teammate for earn first-team All-Ivy honors three times, joining Penn's Jeff Neuman and Stan Pawlak (1963-66) and Jerome Allen and Matt Maloney (1992-95). They are the 25th and 26th players in Ivy League history to earn first-team honors three times in a career. Add Foote into the mix as a first teamer and it is only the seventh time in the annals of the Ancient Eight that three teammates were named to the first team and the first time since Brown had three in 2003 (Jason Forte, Earl Hunt and Alai Nuualiitia).

Wittman averaged 17.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists while setting an Ivy League record with his 100 3-point field goals. He shot 47 percent from the field, 42 percent from beyond the arc and 86 percent from the line while chipping in 34 steals and 13 blocked shots. The six-time Ivy League Player of the Week scored in double figures in each of his last 29 contests and in 30 of the team's 31 contests. The MVP of the Legends Classic Regional was also an all-tournament pick at the MSG Holiday Festival. Wittman has posted 20 or more points in 10 contests this season (Cornell 8-2 in those games).

The school's career scoring leader (1,974 points) enters the NCAA tournament 26 points shy of becoming the Ivy League's fifth 2,000-point scorer. He already holds school and Ivy records for 3-pointers in a season (100 in 2009-10) and career (368) and was named to the collegeinsider.com's Mid-Major All-Decade team. He has had some of his biggest moments in the biggest games, including scoring seven points in the final 2:14 to seal the 48-45 win at Princeton, hitting a 35-footer at the buzzer in overtime to lift Cornell into the MSG Holiday Festival against Davidson, or scoring 34 points at La Salle to overcome the loss of two starters to injury.

Foote, who earned the league's inaugural Defensive Player of the Year honor last season, was again the pick of the coaches. The conference's leading field goal percentage shooter (.623) and rebounder (8.2) also ranked second in blocked shots (1.9). The 7-0 center averaged 12.3 points and 2.3 assists on the offensive end. He anchored a defense that allowed opponents to shoot just 41 percent from the floor and outrebounded opponents by more than three boards per contest. The three-time Ivy League Player of the Week in 2009-10 was especially effective against high major opponents, recording 19 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks at St. John's, 17 points, seven rebounds and three blocks at Alabama, 12 points and 10 rebounds at Syracuse and 12 points, six rebounds and three assists at Kansas. He was named the tournament MVP at the MSG Holiday Festival.

Dale joins Wittman on the first team for the third straight year and had an exceptional year, leading the conference in assists (4.8) while also setting a career high in steals (39). He posted 11.9 points, 4.8 assists and 2.9 rebounds and shot 46 percent from the floor, 39 percent from 3-point range and 83 percent from the charity stripe. He was even better in conference play, boosting those totals to 13.3 points, 4.6 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 51 percent from the floor and 45 percent from 3-point range. He was named Ivy League Player of the Week once in 2009-10 and set the school's career assist record with 458. Dale is one of five Ivy League players to post 1,300 points, 400 rebounds, 400 assists and 100 steals in their career. His driving layup with 0.7 seconds left against Davidson at Madison Square Garden sent the contest into overtime, a game Cornell won with Wittman's buzzer-beater to advance to the championship game. He ranks among the school's top 10 all-time in scoring, assists, 3-pointers, 3-point percentage and free-throw percentage, among other categories.

The 2008-09 Ivy League Rookie of the Year, Wroblewski makes his first All-Ivy team as a sophomore after averaging 8.9 points, 3.3 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.0 steals while starting 30 of the team's 31 games. The school's career 3-point field goal percentage king shot 46 percent from beyond the arc, 44 percent from the field overall and 87 percent fron the free-throw line. An ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District pick, Wroblewski averaged 17.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in three contests against Big East teams, including a 22-point, five-rebound, five-assist effort vs. Seton Hall. After leading the conference in 3-point percentage in conference games as a freshman, Wroblewski placed second this season after making 49 percent of his shots from beyond the arc (23-of-47).

All-Ivy Men's Basketball 2009-10
First Team

Louis Dale, Cornell (Sr., G, Birmingham, Ala.)

*Jeff Foote, Cornell (Sr., C, Lockwood, N.Y.)

*Ryan Wittman, Cornell (Sr., G/F, Eden Prairie, Minn.)

*Jeremy Lin, Harvard (Sr., G, Palo Alto, Calif.)

*Zack Rosen, Penn (So., G, Colonia, N.J.)

Second Team

Matt Mullery, Brown (Sr., F, Millstone, N.J.)

Noruwa Agho, Columbia (So., G, New City, N.Y.)

Jack Eggleston, Penn (Jr., F, Noblesville, Ind.)

Douglas Davis, Princeton (So., G, Philadelphia, Pa.)

Dan Mavraides, Princeton (Jr., G, San Mateo, Calif.)

Alex Zampier, Yale (Sr., G, East Greenbush, N.Y.)

Honorable Mention

Chris Wroblewski, Cornell (So., G, Highland Park, Ill.)

Kyle Casey, Harvard (Fr., F, Medway, Mass.)

Michael Sands, Yale (Jr., F, Franklin Square, N.Y.)

Player of the Year

*Ryan Wittman, Cornell

Rookie of the Year

Kyle Casey, Harvard

Defensive Player of the Year

Jeff Foote, Cornell

 

* unanimous selection