ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell's
Brian Earl was named the Ivy League Men's Basketball Coach of the Year and senior guard
Dean Noll was named to the all-league second team when the Ancient Eight announced its postseason awards on Tuesday. The all-league teams and major awards were voted on by the league's eight head coaches.
Earl became the first Big Red head coach to take home the conference's award since it was first given in 2014-15. After being picked seventh in the preseason media poll and having lost all five starters, Earl completely changed the team's playing style to fit the roster - pressure offense and defense. Despite not having an individual scorer among the top 15 in the Ivy, Cornell ranks second in the Ancient Eight in scoring (79.4 ppg.). The Big Red is second in highest field goal percentage (.466) and lowest opponent field goal percentage (.427). Cornell ranks first in the Ivy League in both steals (8.0) and assists (17.5) and placed second in 3-pointers made (243).
The result? The Big Red finished alone in fourth place to earn its second Ivy League Tournament appearance. Its 15-10 record guarantees the program its first winning season since the 2009-10 NCAA Sweet 16 team. It also posted its second .500 Ivy record in the past decade. Earl did it with a rotation that featured no one averaging more than 23.2 minutes per game, but 13 averaging at least eight minutes per outing.
Noll had a fantastic senior season, ranking second on the team in scoring (10.2 ppg.) and steals (1.2), first in assists (2.8 apg.) and free-throw percentage (.808) and third in minutes played (22.0 mpg.). He upped his game in Ivy League play, averaging 12.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.4 blocks while shooting 46 percent from the field and 83 percent from the free-throw line.
The Ivy League Player of the Week on Jan. 3 after averaging 15.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in games vs. Syracuse and Dartmouth, Noll scored 15 of his 20 points after halftime, including 10 consecutive points after the Big Green tied the game with 12 minutes to play in the Ivy opener. Noll scored 19 points against Penn while posting season highs in steals and blocks with four and three, respectively. He also recorded a career high 23 points along with five rebounds, two assists, and two steals in the win over Columbia.
Earl, Noll and the rest of the Big Red will meet top-seeded Princeton in Saturday's first Ivy League Tournament semifinal at 11 a.m. from Harvard's Lavietes Pavilion. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
2022 ALL-IVY LEAGUE MEN'S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
*Tosan Evbuomwan, Princeton (Jr., F – Newcastle, England)
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jaylan Gainey, Brown (Sr., F – Greensboro, N.C.)
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Kino Lilly Jr., Brown (Fr., G – Glenn Dale, Md.)
COACH OF THE YEAR
Brian Earl, Cornell
FIRST TEAM ALL-IVY
*Noah Kirkwood, Harvard (Sr., G – Ottawa, Ontario)
*Jordan Dingle, Penn (Sr., G – Valley Stream, N.Y.)
*Tosan Evbuomwan, Princeton (Jr., F – Newcastle, England)
*Azar Swain, Yale (Sr., G – Brockton, Mass.)
Jaelin Llewellyn, Princeton (Sr., G – Mississauga, Ontario)
SECOND TEAM ALL-IVY^
Tamenang Choh, Brown (Gr., F – Lowell, Mass.)
Jalen Gabbidon, Yale (Sr., G – Harrisburg, Pa.)
Ethan Wright, Princeton (Sr., G – Newton Centre, Mass.)
Brendan Barry, Dartmouth (5th., G – Fair Haven, N.J.)
Jaylan Gainey, Brown (Sr., F – Greensboro, N.C.)
Dean Noll, Cornell (Sr., G – Medford, N.J.)
HONORABLE MENTION
Aaryn Rai, Dartmouth (5th, F – Markham, Ontario)
^team expanded due to tie in voting
*unanimous selection
