Just before Cornell freshman Ryan Wittman graduated from high-school basketball to NCAA competition, his father, Randy, offered some words of advice.
"He told me how it's going to be more intense, how guys are going to be stronger and how you have to play differently," Wittman said.
Parents routinely offer guidance to departing college students, but at least where basketball is concerned, Randy Wittman's insight comes from personal experience.
The elder Wittman was a member of Indiana's 1981 NCAA Championship team, and was named Big 10 Player of the Year in 1983. A former NBA guard, he is currently an assistant coach with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Even as Wittman made sure to remember the words of his father, he soon discovered that many lessons - especially in college hoops - can't be taught.
"It helped," he said of his father's advice, "but there are some things you just have to learn by yourself through experience."
During his tenure with Cornell thus far, the freshman has gained plenty of that. In his first collegiate appearance in November, the Eden Prairie, Minn. native contributed 18 points in the Big Red's 64-61 season-opening win over Northwestern. It was Cornell's first win over a Big Ten team in 39 years. Since then, the forward has remained a powerful offensive threat; he leads the Big Red with an average of 15.9 points per game.
"He's not just a shooter but he really understands the game," Cornell coach Steve Donahue said. "He knows how to play and how to find his teammates."
Averaging nearly 35 minutes a game, the freshman's contributions have helped curb the damage of losing sophomore guard Adam Gore. Gore suffered a knee injury in Cornell's opening win at Northwestern, and the 2005-06 Rookie of the Year's strained right knee soon turned into a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
The injury left Gore benched for the season and the court wide open for new leaders and new talent.
"Obviously when a player like that goes down, it's going to hurt your team," Wittman said, "but other people like me and Graham [Dow] and Louis [Dale] have had to step up and take some more shots."
With his father's guidance and the blood of a basketball family in his veins, Wittman has emerged as a team leader. His shooting contributions as well as unusual poise and maturity have already attracted attention, as the freshman has racked up three Ivy Rookie of the Week nods - even before the start of conference play.
"It's definitely an honor to get something like that," Wittman said. "But obviously we are not really here to get awards, we are here to win games and win the Ivy League."
When they travel to Ithaca on Friday, the Quakers will not soon forget Wittman's accolades, as well as the three Rookie of the Week titles awarded to fellow Big Red freshman Louis Dale.
And although Wittman has just begun his career with Cornell basketball, he's used to lots of attention from the opposition. Friday's league opener will be no different.
"We've had games where he's been stopped and he's made himself valuable in other ways," Donahue said. "He adjusts adequately."
