MIT Basketball's Summer Recap 2013: Higgins, Butala, Pierce, Gatewood

Tim Higgins, Freshman, 6'10", VA

Tim Higgins, along with the rest of MIT's freshman class, didn't waste any time after graduation, preparing themselves both mentally and physically for the college game. Higgins spent his summer honing his skills against top-level competition in the Nike Pro City Kenner League at Georgetown University. This heralded league consists of college, NBA, and overseas professional players. 

Tim Butala, Freshman, 6'8", CT

Tim Butala, the 6'8" swing-man from Connecticut, spent his time off the court working at O'Keefe Controls Company in Monroe, CT. Butala worked in R&D, testing new orifice and valve fluid flow as well as data extrapolation for the company. 

Dakota Pierce, Freshman, 6'3", CA

Dakota Pierce, hailing from California, played in an elite collegiate league out of Los Angeles over the summer called "Nike Say No Classic." Pierce's team captured the league championship, including a semi-finals win over a highly-touted Division I squad. Pierce also spent time off the court and in the studio, recording his first full piano album in Hollywood.

Hunter Gatewood, Freshman, 6'5", TX

Hunter Gatewood, a 6'5" sharp-shooter from Texas, spent his summer working for Deep Imaging Technologies as a Field Technician. His work consisted of imaging underground oil and gas reservoirs using electromagnetism. 

MIT Engineering Ranked #1 in Nation, Business #2

The latest U.S. News & World Report rankings list MIT's undergraduate engineering program #1 in the country and undergraduate business program (Sloan) #2. The rankings are based on a wide range of criteria, including acceptance rate, retention rate, SAT/ACT scores, class sizes, faculty performance, and financial resources, among many others.

Over 66% of MIT's classes are less than 20 students, allowing for more personal attention from professors

MIT's graduate program also took home a number of top rankings:
#1 - Engineering
#1 - Economics
#1 - Chemistry
#1 - Mathematics
#1 - Physics
#1 - Computer Science
#1 - Earth Sciences
#2 - Biological Sciences
#4 - Business
#8 - Political Science
#9 - Psychology

Read more about MIT's rankings here: http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/massachusetts-institute-of-technology-166683/overall-rankings

MIT Basketball's Summer Recap 2013: Johnson, Frankel, Tsontzos

Russell Johnson, Sophomore, 6'6", NY (Mechanical Engineering)

Russell Johnson spent the summer after his freshman year at PASSUR Aerospace in New York. Johnson worked as intern for the company, using big data management and predictive analytics to improve inefficiencies in the aviation industry. Johnson also teamed up with Dennis Levene and Ryan Frankel in the NY Urban Basketball League. 

Ryan Frankel, Sophomore, 5'11", NY (Management Science/Computer Science)

Ryan Frankel spent his summer at Metamorphic Ventures, a New York City based venture fund. Frankel worked as an intern for the company, which "invests in start-up and early stage technology businesses focused on the digital media and digital commerce sectors." In addition to working at the Larry Byrnes Basketball Camp, Frankel joined teammates Russell Johnson and Dennis Levene in the NY Urban Basketball League. 

Lampros Tsontzos, Sophomore, 6'10", Greece (Mechanical and Ocean Engineering)

Lampros Tsontzos spent his summer back in his native country of Greece. The 6'10" big man participated in the "International Basketball Coaching Seminar: Athens 2013" among selected athletes to demonstrate coaching techniques. Here he worked with Vance Walberg (assistant coach for the Denver nuggets), Giorgos Bartzokas (head coach of Olympiacos B.C, Euroleague champion 2013, Euroleague Coach of the Year) and Luca Banchi (head coach of Emporio Armani Milano, Italian League and Italian Cup Champion 2013). Tsontzos also volunteered at Impact Hellas preparing high school kids in Greece to play college basketball in the States.

MIT Basketball's Summer Recap 2013: Redfield, Acker, Pedley

Matt Redfield, Junior, 6'8", CA (Mathematics with Computer Science)

Redfield, an All-Conference selection last year and co-captain this season, spent the first month of his summer traveling throughout Europe. Upon his return, Redfield worked in the Bay Area for Streetline Inc., a smart-parking start-up. Redfield performed large data analysis, running simulations and building probabilistic models for the company. 

Andrew Acker, Junior, 6'8", PA (Mechanical Engineering)

Acker, who rounds out the trio of captains, worked this summer as a Research Assistant for the McKay Lab of the University of Pennsylvania. Acker researched bone resorption and reformation, and was the resident mechanical engineer for the entire lab. In addition to studying and taking the MCAT, Acker played in the Delco ProAm League outside of Philadelphia.

Justin Pedley, Sophomore, 6'6", WA (Mechanical Engineering)

Pedley, who started as a freshman for the Engineers last season, spent his summer in Pasco, WA working for Ral-Boy Inc. Pedley performed contracting work with duties that ranged from construction to landscaping. 

MIT Basketball's Summer Recap 2013: Bender, Strobos, Levene

This past summer the members of the MIT Basketball team were busy both on and off the court, honing their skills in gyms across the US and taking advantage of the many research and work opportunities available. In this series we highlight each student-athletes' summer experience, beginning with three Juniors:

David Bender, Junior, 6'6", TX (Chemical Engineering/Materials Science Engineering)

(Photo: Tom Gearty)

Bender, the younger brother of former stand-out Billy Bender '12, was a research intern at Baker Hughes in Texas. Bender analyzed the physical properties of NiCr (nickel-chromium) superalloy under varying tests of time and temperature to determine the allows longevity in deepwater high pressure/high temperature wells.

Reinier Strobos, Junior, 6'7", TX (Computer Science/Materials Science Engineering) 

(Photo: Tom Gearty)

Strobos spent his summer working for Yahoo as a Software Engineer Intern. Strobos worked on the platforms team at the Internet giant's headquarters, building a web service which filtered social content so that it could be served more effectively to appropriate teams. 

Dennis Levene, Junior, 6'7", CT (Management Science/Mechanical Engineering)

(Photo: Tom Gearty)

Levene, a co-captain for the upcoming season, spent his summer working as an analyst for Marketfield Asset Management in New York City. Levene conducted equity research as well as performance and risk analysis for the fund, working closely with the head of research and senior management. Levene stayed on the campus of Columbia University, and was able to train with some of Columbia's basketball team. In addition to playing with teammates Russell Johnson and Ryan Frankel in the NY Urban League, Levene also played in NIKE Pro City for Big Apple Basketball. Competition in this heralded league included international, D-league, and NBA talent.  

MIT Career Fair This Friday

MIT students and companies from around the world will have the chance to meet each other this Friday

The annual MIT Career Fair begins this Friday at 10am at the Johnson Athletic Center and Rockwell Cage. Nearly 400 companies will be on campus connecting with students offering full-time, part-time, and internship positions.

Members of the MIT Basketball team took advantage of the many job and internship opportunities over the summer; their experiences will be highlighted in upcoming posts.

A list of all companies attending the Fair can be found here: http://career-fair.mit.edu/company_all.php

More information about the Career Fair can be found here: http://career-fair.mit.edu/

MIT Endowment Grows to $10.9 Billion

Killian Court (photo: hsa.mit.edu)

MIT recently released its annual Report of the Treasurer for fiscal year 2013 (ending June 30, 2013), highlighting a growth of 7% in its endowment over last year to $10.9 billion. The endowment generated returns of 11.1% during the year, funds which are used to "support current and future generations of MIT scholars with the resources they need."

The average financial aid award for students in 2012-2013 was $40,952.

MIT's endowment has steadily grown since 2009 (photo: MIT's Report of the Treasurer)

Read more about MIT's endowment and fiscal performance here: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2013/institute-endowment-figures-0913.html

MIT Ranked #1 University in the World

MIT began the Fall Semester with exciting news from the QS World University Rankings as MIT is ranked the #1 university in the world for 2013-2014. This is the second straight year MIT has earned this honor.

(photo: QS World Rankings)

The complete list of rankings can be found here: http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2013

MITHoops.NET

After a year on the sidelines the blog is back in action for the 2013-2014 season, equipped with brand new content and a new name:

www.MITHoops.NET

Be sure to stop by often for the inside scoop on everything MIT Basketball.

Kates in the News

Mitchell Kates having a great summer in the Jersey Shore Summer League.