Cornell's Wittman to Play for Celtics Summer League Team

Courtesy of Cornell Athletic Communications

ITHACA, N.Y. -- The ultimate dream of anybody who has ever laced up their basketball sneakers is to play in the National Basketball Association. For Ryan Wittman, that dream became just a little closer to reality.

Wittman, a 6-7 forward and the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year, was signed by the Boston Celtics to play for their Summer League team when the squad plays in the AirTran Airways Pro Summer League in Orlando, Fla., beginning on July 5. Among his teammates is expected to be Celtics' second round pick Luke Harangody, an All-American out of Notre Dame. The Celtics made the NBA Finals in 2010 after claiming the NBA title in 2008. That was the organization's record 17th NBA crown. Among the roster are All-Stars Ray Allen Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo.

Wittman, an Associated Press honorable mention All-American in men's basketball as a senior, became the third Cornelian to earn Ivy League Player of the Year honors, doing so unanimously, and was picked to the first team by each of the Ivy coaches for the third straight season. The school’s career scoring leader (2,028 points) became the Ivy League’s fifth 2,000-point scorer with his 24-point effort in the NCAA tournament win over Wisconsin. He holds school and Ivy records for 3-pointers in a season (109 in 2009-10) and career (377) and was named to the collegeinsider.com’s Mid-Major All-Decade team. Wittman helped the Big Red to three Ivy titles, three NCAA tournament appearances and the school's first-ever spot in the Sweet 16 during his final campaign.

The USBWA and NABC first-team all-district pick averaged 17.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists while setting an Ivy League record with his 109 3-point field goals as a senior. The eight-time Ivy League Player of the Week during his career was the MVP of the Legends Classic Regional and an all-tournament pick at the MSG Holiday Festival in 2009-10. He ended his career as a three-time NABC and two-time USBWA all-district honoree after capturing Ivy League Rookie of the Year accolades in 2006-07.

Games are played at the RDV Sportsplex but are not open to the public. The official site of the Orlando Magic, www.nba.com/magic, has provided live webcasts in previous years and select games will appear on NBA-TV.

Harvard's Jeremy Lin has been invited to the Dallas Mavericks' minicamp at the end of June, while Cornell's own Jeff Foote will next be playing overseas for European power Maccabi Tel Aviv.