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Cornell's Dale, Jaques Sign Professional Basketball Contracts
Courtesy of Cornell Athletic Communications
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Recent Cornell graduates
Louis Dale and Jon Jaques have
parlayed their basketball success for the Big Red into professional
contracts, signing to play overseas this past week. Dale signed
with German team BG Göttingen, while Jaques will head to
Israel to play for Ironi Ashkelon. Classmates Ryan
Wittman (summer contract with NBA's Boston Celtics and New
York Knicks) and Jeff Foote (Maccabi Tel Aviv in
Israel) signed professional contracts this past month to continue
their basketball careers.
Dale will play in the Basketball Bundesliga, the highest
professional level in Germany, and will team up with former
Bucknell center Chris McNaughton. BG Göttingen won the FIBA
EuroChallenge in 2010, the top professional basketball competition
run by FIBA Europe.
A three-time, first-team All-Ivy League pick, Dale was exceptional
throughout his career and capped his senior season by capturing
NABC All-District honors. Dale led the conference in assists (4.7)
while also setting a career high in steals (42). He posted 12.8
points, 4.7 assists and 2.9 rebounds and shot 47 percent from the
floor, 39 percent from 3-point range and 85 percent from the
charity stripe. He was even better in conference play, boosting
those totals to 13.3 points, 4.6 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 51
percent from the floor and 45 percent from 3-point range. He was
named Ivy League Player of the Week once in 2009-10 and set the
school's career assist record with 470. Dale became one of five Ivy
League players to post 1,300 points, 400 rebounds, 400 assists and
100 steals in their career. His driving layup with 0.7 seconds left
against Davidson at Madison Square Garden sent the contest into
overtime, a game Cornell won with Wittman's buzzer-beater to
advance to the championship game. He ranks among the school's top
10 all-time in scoring, assists, 3-pointers, 3-point percentage and
free-throw percentage, among other categories. Dale was outstanding
in three NCAA tournament games in helping Cornell to the Sweet 16,
averaging 21.3 points and 4.0 assists while shooting 51 percent
from the floor.
After a breakout senior year, Jaques will join Foote in the
Israeli Premier League. While Foote's Tel Aviv team won the league
with a 21-1 record, Ironi Ashkelon went 11-11 and was sixth in the
12-team league.
Jaques was a revelation in 2009-10 after seeing limited time in
his first three seasons. After scoring just 11 points in 13 games
as a junior, Jaques exploded for at least 11 points six times,
including 20 points in wins over both St. John’s and Brown.
The all-tournament pick in the Legends Classic started 23 contests
and averaged 8.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.0 assists
while shooting 50 percent from the floor, 48 percent from 3-point
range and 78 percent from the free-throw line in Ivy play. He led
the Ivy League in 3-point shooting overall (.452). He served as a
team tri-captain for the 2009-10 campaign.
