The DIII News has released their annual preseason rankings, and MIT has made the list for the first time, checking in at #18. After finishing the year 22-5 last season, and only losing two players to graduation, MIT is poised to make another strong statement this season.
Also, MIT has released their 2010-2011 season schedule. MIT will again face Harvard during the winter break, and hope to improve on last year's performance.
The MIT basketball programs are gearing up to hit the hardwood again, as the first day of practice is just over two weeks away. As a way of getting their fans involved, and increasing campus-wide enthusiasm about the programs, the men's and women's basketball teams will be hosting "Beaver Madness." The event will include free food, drinks, and t-shirt giveaways. Also featured will be an intra-squad men's scrimmage and an intra-squad women's scrimmage. Also scheduled to perform are the acapella group "Logarhythms" and the dance group "Ridonkulous."
Everyone is welcome, so grab your buddy, your girlfriend, or your calculator and head on down to Rockwell Cage on Friday, October 15th at 9 PM!!!
After an impressive opening campaign, MIT center Noel Hollingsworth has been named a 2nd team pre-season Division III All-American by the Sporting News. Hollingsworth is coming off a season in which he led the NEWMAC in scoring (20.4 ppg), rebounding (9.0 rpg), and was second in FG% (56.0%, second only to teammate Will Tashman at 56.8%). Hollingsworth earned many post-season honors last season, including NEWMAC player of the year, 1st team All-NEWMAC, 1st team All-Northeast region (D3hoops), 1st team All-Northeast district (NABC), 1st team All-New England (ECAC), 2nd team All-American (NABC), honarable mention All-American (DIII News), and NEWMAC Academic All-Conference.
In addition to Hollingsworth's individual award, MIT was listed as a "possible breakthrough" team for 2010-2011.
In his recent trip back to Boston, former MIT assistant basketball coach Gunnar Hagstrom took time out of his busy schedule to talk about what he has been up to since leaving the MIT basketball program prior to last season. In this clip, Gunnar talks about his experiences living abroad and his plans for next year. While abroad, Gunnar has also picked up some Greek and Turkish, and he drops some lines in this interview (see translation guide below).
Turkish translation guide:
tamam = okay
günaydın = good morning
teşekkürler = thanks
çok sağol = thank you very much
During his MIT basketball career, former MIT point guard Danny Kanamori put on some great shows. As a freshman in 2001-02, Kanamori recorded the only triple-double in MIT history (12 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds against Springfield on 1/12/2002) and eventually finished his career second on the career assists list and fourth on the all-time steals and three-point percentage lists.
In addition to his basketball prowess, Kanamori has also had some acting highlights (off the court). He took a year break from MIT in 2004 to play a role in the movie "Coach Carter" as one of the players on the Richmond Oilers team, coached by Samuel L. Jackson. Kanamori parlayed that role into some other movie spots, such as the part of the "Drunk Jock" in "Bickford Schmeckler's Cool Ideas" (2006) and one of the leads in the 2007 release "Alien Games" (you can watch the full movie here). Kanamori's most recent work can be found in the advertising industry, along with another Boston basketball great: Rajon Rondo. In this spot for Red Bull, Kanamori plays some pickup games with Rondo and a few other players. If you are having trouble spotting Kanamori in the clip, just try looking for the player late on defense and flying at his man in a last chance effort to make a defensive play on the ball, and that will most likely be Danny.
It has been over a year since MIT made its surprise run to the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2009. The leader of that team, and MIT's all-time leading scorer, Jimmy Bartolotta has rode the success and media exposure from his senior season to a life he never envisioned entering MIT. The whirlwind began when MIT shocked the DIII world by winning their first ever NEWMAC tourney. After enjoying some success in the NCAA tournament, Bartolotta was awarded every major personal honor possible for a DIII basketball player, including D3hoops.com Player of the Year, NABC Player of the Year, ESPN/COSIDA Academic All-American of the Year, and the prestigious Jostens Award. Following the season, Bartolotta was invited to the site of the DI Final Four to compete in the NABC/Hershey's Senior All-Star Game. While there, Bartolotta was the media darling, receiving congratulations from Wisonsin head coach Bo Ryan, and being featured in articles in the New York Times, Boston Globe (written by Bob Ryan), the Denver Post, and ESPN, among others. With the media flurry, Bartolotta was approached by many international agents, finally signing with Mario Scotti of the Two Points agency. Following that, Bartolotta signed with Air Avellino of Italy's Serie A, joining former NBA and NCAA stars such as Dee Brown (Illinois), DeMarcus Nelson (Duke), and Chevon Troutman (Pittsburgh), as well as internationl stars such as Cenk Akyol (Turkey).
In this two-part interview, Bartolotta discusses his time in Italy, as well as his observations and expectations of the current MIT squad.
All of the international teams embarked on a day tour of several famous locations in Taiwan. First, we ventured deep into the mountains to the Gold Ecological Park, an old gold mining town. There were numerous spectacular views, including one of a 35 foot solid copper statue of Lord Guan, a warlord in Asian history. We also were surprised to find the remnants of a miniature golf course from hundreds of years ago.Image courtesy of Dawn Anderson
Next, we visited Juifen old street, a famous alley located in the mountain town of Ruifang. The street was filled with vendors selling various goods and foods. In particular, there was a distinct smell of 'sticky tofu' (that is actually what it is called) that really stung the nostrils. Third, we visited the memorial of Chiang Kai Shek, founder of Taiwan. We witnessed the changing of the guards ceremony. For dinner, we went to a very fancy seafood buffet. Image courtesy of Dawn Anderson
Pat enjoyed some snail, while Noel stuck with the usual chicken fingers and fries. Jamie and Ben consumed a combined 6 pounds of desserts. Lastly, we took the world's fastest elevator to the top of the world's second highest building, Taipei 101. Even with a light fog at night, you could see for miles.Image courtesy of Dawn Anderson
Tomorrow afternoon we will be departing for the USA.
Some of our best memories can be recalled from this catchy tune. It was played everywhere we went.
We headed over to Kainan University early in the morning for an autograph session. We were extremely surprised to see a crowd of Kainan girls stretching for hundreds of meters. We spent the next hour signing posters and taking pictures with all of our new fans.
To warm up for the game, we played ping pong for an hour in the table tennis classroom. Jimmy Burke defeated Jamie Karraker in the finals of the tournament to take the crown.
Image courtesy of Dawn Anderson
In the championship game, we played Taipei Physical Education College in front of another packed house. After hot shooting from the floor early on, TPEC led after the first couple minutes, but Noel's inside presence helped to silence the crowd. Great shooting from Billy Johnson and stifling defense from Patrick Sissman helped propel us to a commanding lead in the second half. The seniors finished their career on top, as we all got to cut down the nets after the game. After a trophy presentation, we got to take a couple hundred last minute photos with the fans.
We said goodbye to our gracious hosts at Kainan University and headed back to the hotel to prepare for the night market.
The night market in Taipei was filled with street vendors selling everything from sunglasses to squid, which Billy Bender ate happily. The less adventurous crowd went to KFC for some fine dining. Several of the players bought t-shirts and other small gifts.
The DIII News has released their annual preseason rankings, and MIT has made the list for the first time, checking in at #18. After finishing the year 22-5 last season, and only losing two players to graduation, MIT is poised to make another strong statement this season.
The MIT basketball programs are gearing up to hit the hardwood again, as the first day of practice is just over two weeks away. As a way of getting their fans involved, and increasing campus-wide enthusiasm about the programs, the men's and women's basketball teams will be hosting "Beaver Madness." The event will include free food, drinks, and t-shirt giveaways. Also featured will be an intra-squad men's scrimmage and an intra-squad women's scrimmage. Also scheduled to perform are the acapella group "Logarhythms" and the dance group "Ridonkulous."
During his MIT basketball career, former MIT point guard Danny Kanamori put on some great shows. As a freshman in 2001-02, Kanamori recorded the only triple-double in MIT history (12 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds against Springfield on 1/12/2002) and eventually finished his career second on the career assists list and fourth on the all-time steals and three-point percentage lists. 
Below is an article from APP.com, that is about New Jersey-native Mitchell Kates and his stellar play in this summer's Jersey Shore Basketball League.
Image courtesy of Dawn Anderson
Image courtesy of Dawn Anderson
Image courtesy of Dawn Anderson
Image courtesy of Dawn Anderson
Image courtesy of Dawn Anderson
Image courtesy of Dawn Anderson