| Cornley, the 2006 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, was named honorable mention All-Big Ten in 2007. |
Watch a determined Jamelle Cornley will his 6-5, 240-pound frame to the rim against much taller opponents and finish a snarling post move.
See the 2006 Big Ten Freshman of the Year improve his numbers in his sophomore season to 14.2 pgg and 7.0 rpg and stand as one of just four Big Ten players to rank among the top 10 in the conference in scoring and rebounding.
Admire his relentless work ethic and unblinking accountability in the post-game media room as he looks reporters in the eye and explains a Nittany Lion loss ?C head held high. Feel the intensity in his eyes and purpose in his voice and know that he is the well-honed product of parents that would stand for nothing less.
??I??m not going to let one thing or one person stop me from achieving my goals,?? says Cornley who carries his bulging shoulders in a manner that denies any question of his commitment to that statement. ??Whether or not we actually win that game, that person or that team, that coach or whatever is going to remember that they played against me. I??m going to let my presence be known. It??s a drive that I think I??ll never lose that my parents instilled in me from day one.??
Several Big Ten and power conference teams missed something when they looked at Cornley while putting together their 2005 recruiting classes. Yeah, he helped lead Columbus??s Brookhaven High to a state title and was twice named Player-of-the-Year, earning the distinction of Ohio??s Mr. Basketball in 2005. But, as a post-player, they said he was a ??tweener,?? not big enough to play on the inside and yet not a perimeter player.
??Yeah, I??m 6-5, but there is no ruler or yard stick that can measure my heart. When I go out there, I just try to give everything I have.??
He has done just that at Penn State becoming a vocal team leader and the Nittany Lions?? emotional catalyst along the way. The power forward, who has played in every game of his Penn State career with 45 starts, has produced 36 double-figure scoring games, including a career-best seven-straight this year, five double-doubles and seven 20-point games. He comes to the floor every night with the intensity and energy of a man with something to prove.
??There were a lot of schools in the Big Ten that used that ??tweener?? word towards me and they didn??t know how I would face adversity as far as being undersized,?? Cornley says. ??They really didn??t take a chance on me. When I go out and play sometimes, I have a lot of stuff to prove. I don??t have grudges toward these people, but I do want to prove to them that at 6-5 you can do almost the same things that a 6-8, 6-9 player can and in some cases better.??
Tonight (Feb. 14), Cornley will get another chance to prove it again to his hometown team, Ohio State.
??Going into the game I try my hardest not to look at it like that?? he says. ??I try to approach every game the same way ?C meaning I need to take care of business regardless of the name on the jersey ?C but, being from there and being from that environment?? In the back of my mind it??s always ??this is the team that passed me up and this is the team that never really gave me a shot.????
Cornley has excelled in previous meetings with the Buckeyes. He has posted double-digits point in all three games vs. Ohio State, including 20 points and six rebounds while shooting 62 percent from the floor in Columbus last year and an 18-point, 8-rebound game while shooting 64 percent from the floor in last year??s Big Ten Tournament.
??I??m friends with everybody on that team,?? Cornley says referencing Ivan Harris, Jamar Butler and Matt Terwilliger as players he has played with since junior high and Mike Conley, Jr. as a player he played on the same team with at the Nike Jamboree in St. Louis.
But, his strongest relationship with a Buckeye player is with former Brookhaven teammate Ron Lewis, who was a senior in Cornley??s freshman season in which the pair helped lead the team to the 2002 state title.
??He paved the way for me by allowing me to start on our state championship team my freshman year.?? Cornley says. ??At the beginning of the year he went to our coach, Bruce Howard, and pulled him to the side and said ??I really feel Jamelle is a legit post-player and I wouldn??t mind coming off the bench.?? Ron ended up being, I think, first-team all-state and had all kinds of honors coming off the bench.
??I know it will only be a few times where I do get to play against him. It??s fun to go out there and share that moment with him.??
Despite the familiarity and friendship with the Buckeyes you can be sure the physical Cornley will not shy away from contact in the paint.
??I love it,?? Cornley says of the physical play in the Big Ten. ??That let??s me know that your there and I want you to know that I??m there. When I feel you, I want you to feel me at the same time. I??m going to dish some out and I??m going to take some as well. It??s all about how you get up and how you respond.?? Nor will he back away from the challenge of playing one of the top-five ranked teams in the nation.
??Challenge is something I??ve been dealing with since day one,?? Cornley says. ??My dad was always the one that challenged me. My dad was the one that told me I wasn??t going to quit. He just wouldn??t let me quit on anything ?C if I was frustrated with anything, if I was on the court and couldn??t make a shot. I??ve never quit any type of team or ever quit playing in any type of game simply because he pushed me and pushed me and pushed me.?? Cornley??s father, Hank, played at Illinois State from 1980-84 and was a fourth round draft choice of the NBA??s New Jersey Nets.
??From a very early age when he would go play pick-up games and I watched him,?? Cornley says. ??I was always up under the bucket. I always wanted to learn different things and when I had questions he was the one that would teach me. I asked a lot of questions and watched some of his old college tapes.??
The elder Cornley instilled mental toughness, commitment and a high tolerance for pain in his son who by his account hasn??t missed a game due to injury since he was 12 or 13.
??He talked about how college was so much different from high school,?? Cornley says. ??That actual physical part is not the hardest part, it??s the mental part. That is what I??ve focused on. The physical part is not what really kills people. It??s the mental part. If you can survive the mental part the physical part will take care of itself.
??I learned early that pain is only weakness leaving your body, so if I can deal with pain, I can deal with anything.?? And, when the game is all said and done, win or lose you can guarantee Cornley will look you in the eye and tell you what happened. That??s where his mother, Dorci Smith, comes in.
??She could care less if I ever picked up a basketball again,?? Cornley says. ??She wants me to be a very mature young man that is humble but hungry at the same time. That??s the thing she has helped me with. When it comes to facing adversity ?C when your losing ?C being able to step up to the plate and take ownership and be able to say what happened, what went wrong and show a great amount of character. Those are the things that she thrives on.??
??I always say my mother is my angel and my dad is my hero.??
The combination has produced quite a man.