Faith In the Freshman » basketball

New Article: “For Ferry, the carousel stops at Cornell”

Patrick Ferry — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 12:30:43 +0000

Our friends over at the Cornall Basketball blog recently posted an article from the Ithaca Journal about Andrew and his upcoming season. Enjoy reading it below…

By Brian Delaney
The Ithaca Journal
November 1, 2010

By the time they departed Cornell, Steve Donahue’s coaching staff had become particularly adept at identifying, evaluating and recruiting transfer talent to Cornell. The staff’s final transfer, 6-foot-2 junior guard Andrew Ferry, is expected to help define the success levels of Bill Courtney’s first two years as new coach.

Donahue’s staff felt that, with Ferry, they added a player similar to immensely popular former guard Adam Gore – a guard that brought not only a dependable three-point stroke, but also a tough competitiveness to both ends of the floor and, perhaps most important, a compatible attitude. Now, Ferry is acclimating himself to his fourth school in four years (including his high school, Milwaukee Lutheran) and ready to finally settle down.

Ferry said he didn’t get much attention from Division I programs out of high school, primarily because of his size. (“I was a little small,” he said. “I was like 5-10, 120 pounds or something; a little more than that, but I wasn’t getting too many looks and Valpo gave me a chance to walk on.”)

Ferry spent his freshman year as a walk-on at Valparaiso, and played sparingly in 22 games. (Valparaiso plays in the ultra-competitive mid-major Horizon League). That team went 9-22, and he said coach Homer Drew told him that with four new guard recruits expected to arrive for the 2009-10 season, he would be starting back down at the bottom of the depth chart, again as a walk-on. So Ferry, who badly wanted to play meaningful minutes at a Division I program, opted to transfer to Palm Beach State College in Florida.

“I thought if I wanted to play Division I somewhere else, I had to go to junior college to get some exposure,” he said. “I went down to Florida, to Palm Beach, and I was fortunate enough to work hard and have a pretty good year. I had some Division I looks, and with the success Cornell’s had, and their academics, it was just a perfect fit.”

Ferry said his choices came down to Cornell, La Salle, Toledo (before coach Gene Cross left) and Liberty. Nat Graham did the heavy lifting on Ferry’s recruitment, but when Donahue left for Boston College, it was AD Andy Noel that initially eased any nervousness from Ferry’s camp with a reassuring phone call. Before Noel even hired Courtney, Ferry re-affirmed his commitment to the Big Red.

“I didn’t decommit, but I talked to Andy Noel to make sure I was making the right decision,” Ferry said. “Because the coaches, I really liked the coaches and what they were doing. That was a big part of my decision. So I kind of took a big step back to re-evaluate everything, and then even before they hired coach Courtney, I realized Cornell was the school (I wanted).”

Courtney’s honesty and charm certainly helped ease Ferry’s mind.

“I felt good with him right away,” he said. “I was very comfortable with him and couldn’t wait to get started.”

Still, questions naturally lingered. Donahue’s offensive system felt like a perfect fit for Ferry’s perimeter skill set. Would Courtney’s style feel the same way? After two weeks of practice, Ferry is getting more and more comfortable that the answer is yes.

“I think coach Courtney still has (the 3-pointer) high on his priority list offensively,” Ferry said. “We have some great shooters, and I think we’re still going to utilize that.”

Ferry shot 45.5 percent from the arc at Palm Beach State. Last season, Chris Wroblewski shot 45.4 percent from 3 over 30 minutes per game (and that number will likely dip a bit due to the attention that will be paid to him this year), and Max Groebe shot 56 percent in limited time and has the the purest on the roster. Not saying those are the target numbers for those guys this year, but if each shoots around that 38-40 percent mark? Cornell will remain a tough team to defend. And that’s exactly what Donahue and his staff had in mind when they targeted Ferry.

“Right now we have some guys who are banged up, but once everybody’s healthy and competitive with each other, I think we have enough talent to compete in pretty much every game,” Ferry said.

Old School Milwaukee Alum and “Faith in the Freshman”

Patrick Ferry — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 21:20:49 +0000

Most of Concordias 130-year history was spent in central city Milwaukee. One of the graduates of the old campus recent read “Faith in the Freshman.” The story sparked a few memories, and he offered some reactions in a note to me. . .

Dear Pat -

Just finished reading “Faith and the Freshman” – Sarah is reading it now. Thank you so much for providing the “signed” copy. A thoroughly delightful and inspirational read. Plus a lot of nostalgia – I spent 6 years at Concordia, Milwaukee, sixth man on the basketball teams, arrived as a freshman, high school at 4’10″ and 95 lbs., homesick also since we could not go home until Christmas, and Oh so cold — shot hundreds of shots every night when home in the driveway — By the way, my grandmother’s maiden name was Neitzel — And in the 80′s I did seminars at Bob Zehnder’s church in Denver — was impressed with his flower bed in the church courtyard. — always connections in the LCMS.

As you have a moment, a quick email on Andrew — and I too am diabetic.

God bless,

Mark and Sarah Behring

Faith in the Freshman – In Asia!

Patrick Ferry — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:52:56 +0000

I met Doug Werth a few years ago when my family and I visited Hong Kong. Doug sent this note after finishing Faith in the Freshman last week.

Pat -

I hope the weekend went well and that the start of school is energizing and rewarding!

I finished your book this weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it! I was amazed to read and learn how God has so effectively used you since we met in 2004. He is masterful!!! As soon as I got to the end, I went to my computer to “google” where Andrew is today. Wow! Cornell!! Very good for him! I am sure God will use him effectively there to His purpose. And hopefully that includes continued success on the basketball court!! He sure excelled last year at Palm Beach State. 105 3-pointers makes my arm tired just reading about them. (I so love basketball!)

My youngest is at Valparaiso. Chelsea has just begun her sophomore year there. Andrew is ahead of her and a year behind my son (senior at Belmont University in Nashville, TN). At parents weekend last year, I attended the introduction of the men’s basketball team. I thought to myself as I read your book, I didn’t remember him on the team. As I read on, I understood why.

Thanks for writing your story! I could relate in so many ways! You caused me to reflect many times on how we need to let God be in control and not us. Then on Sunday our sermon was about Moses’ mother letting God be in complete control as she put him in a basket in the Nile. And we know the rest of that story.

God is definitely speaking to me!!

Thanks for being a conduit!
Doug

Coach Bill Courtney and Cornell’s Recruits

Patrick Ferry — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:21:14 +0000

See the article by the Ithaca Journal’s Brian Delaney here.

Trip to Ithaca

Patrick Ferry — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 20:26:49 +0000

Back to school! Concordia doesn’t resume classes until next Monday. The rest of the family gets going today. Stephen’s first day of his senior year at Milwaukee Lutheran coincides with his sister Hannah’s first day as an English and Spanish teacher at the same school. I wonder if he’ll remember to call her Mrs. Meineke? The college kids also start classes today.

Rachel is a sophomore at Concordia Texas in Austin. She is thrilled to be back in the Lone Star state surrounded by her friends from Concordia. Andrew is a junior at Cornell in Ithaca, New York. Unlike Rachel, he really knows no one at school. But, he’s just as eager to get going.

We made the trek across Canada with a brief stop at Niagara Falls to deliver Andrew — no car for him this year! The trip to Ithaca went smooth if not straight. The closest distance between two points in that part of New York is not a straight line. There are no straight ways to get to or around once you arrive in Ithaca.

We didn’t even go straight to see Coach Courtney when we arrived. I don’t think Andrew was too excited for him to see the splint on his wrist. That was better than the cast and sling he had on when he got off the plane from China.

The trip to China was wonderful. Andrew described the opportunities for spiritual growth, cultural experience, and basketball competition. Everything went well — until the next-t0-last game when he hurt his right wrist.

The original diagnosis was a fracture. That, however, was not the conclusion of the doctor here in Milwaukee. Whatever the case, Andrew has a couple of weeks of healing and rehabilitation before he can return to the court. There are no straight lines to get you where you want to go!

Check here for a recent interview with Coach Courtney by the Ithaca Journal.

Cornell Announced New Incoming Class

Patrick Ferry — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 17:55:04 +0000

The Cornell University Athletic Department announced the incoming class for next year’s basketball team. Check out the story here.

Meanwhile Andrew is with his Athletes in Action team in China. It is hard to follow his progress considering we are traveling in Germany and Switzerland. We will have some stories to tell when we get home!

Brand New! “Faith in the Freshman” Feature with News Journalist Mark Concannon

Patrick Ferry — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:00:32 +0000

Recently news journalist Mark Concannon visited Concordia’s campus and interviewed Andrew and me for a feature that he was producing on the book. As you watch, please ignore my poor defensive skills. It wasn’t that long ago that I could take Andrew one-on-one, was it? Actually, it has been a few years, but those days are behind me. I was disappointed that they didn’t use any of the deep bombs that I hit on the video. Maybe there were none. I don’t remember.

In any case, enjoy the feature. Until somebody buys the movie rights to the book and puts “Faith in the Freshman” on film, or until the documentary is produced for an ESPN special, this will cover it pretty well!

Andrew Invited to Join “Athletes in Action” in China

lynne.schroeder — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 18:59:19 +0000

Before he heads to Ithaca and Cornell later in August, Andrew has accepted the invitation to join an Athletes in Action team traveling to China.

The team will compete against some of China’s top professional squads as well as the Chinese 21 & under National Team.

Of course, the purpose of Athletes in Action is not only basketball. The opportunity to grow in faith in Christ and to share the message of Christian hope is integral to the experience. Along with the competition, the Athletes in Action team will conduct basketball clinics and participate in community service work.

Interested in learning more about or supporting the Athletes in Action and Andrew’s tour? Contact me at patrick.ferry@cuw.edu, and I’ll send you information!

A Letter from an 18-Year-Old who Relates to “Faith in the Freshman”

Patrick Ferry — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 20:27:24 +0000

I was grateful for the following letter from Eric, an 18-year-old who deals with Type 1 diabetes every day. Many of Concordia’s freshmen will read the book this fall. Few of them will relate to the story like Eric does!

Dear Dr. Ferry, I am currently reading your book Faith in the Freshmen. I’m an 18 year old kid who has diabetes, just like your son Andrew. In the small town of Sussex, WI, all I have thought about since i was young was the game of basketball. Basketball has rewarded me in so many ways, including keeping me fit, which helps keeping my blood sugars in tact. Your story is moving and motivational to me. Being a freshmen in high school I made the JV team. Then my sophomore year I was placed on varsity because, like your son, I can shoot the lights out. Due to some unfortunate circumstances I had to quit right before my junior year. Not playing for my last two years of high school really upset me and I still practice daily and have a passion for the game. I was wondering if you could give me some advice of how to get my name out to college coaches. I miss the competitive nature of the game, Division I, Division II, Division III, JUCO, it doesn’t matter…the love I have for the game is amazing, and playing college basketball, no matter what level, has been a dream of mine. If you don’t have the time to lend me some advice that is completely fine. Once again thank you for the amazing story that has truly changed my life. Also thank you for reading this e-mail. Sincerely, Eric Moderski

FOX 6 interview of Jake Barnett and Andrew Ferry

Patrick Ferry — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:58:33 +0000

Andrew and his friend, Jake Barnett, have been workout partners for a long time. I talk about Jake a little bit in Faith in the Freshman. In this video, Andrew is at the right place at the right time. FOX 6 was doing a feature on Jake’s trip to Bulgaria this summer with Athletes in Action. They also interviewed Andrew and both guys talk about their plans for next year.