Cornley Has Four Offers, Looking For More

Jamelle Cornley, a 6-foot-6, 235-pound power forward from Brookhaven High School in Columbus, Ohio, defines the term bruiser power forward. He loves contact, he loves to rebound and loves to do the dirty work. That kind of work ethic has helped him attract a number of schools, both big and small. The class of 2005 prospect is using the summer to attract many more programs.

Playing with current University of Oklahoma players Andrew Lavender and Brandon Foust as a freshman at Brookhaven, Cornely said he’s been able to pick up some pointers from his former teammates.

“They’ve just told me that you can’t rely on getting by,” Cornley said. “You have to take matters into your own hands and step up and take advantage of the situation.”

Cornley has heard the knocks about him. “He’s too small to play the power forward,” some reports say. They said that about Lavender, too. The 5-foot-7 point guard became a McDonald’s All American. Cornley watched Lavender overcome the negatives and is looking forward to showing that he belongs with the best.

“I see where schools want a guy that is 6-foot-8 or bigger inside but they can’t measure how tough a person is,” Cornley said. “That’s what I bring. I bring toughness, I bring heart and bring that will to win.”

But he’s not naïve, either. Cornley knows that he’ll need to expand his game if he wants to become a major college player.

“I’m trying to expand my game to the perimeter more this year and this summer,” he said. “I want to become more versatile and expand my game to other parts of the court. By the time the (Nike) All-American camp comes in July, I want to be complete.”

Cornley isn’t being looked over by schools. Several programs are keeping tabs on him and his progression. He is boasting scholarship offers from Bowling Green, Cleveland State, Wright State and Butler. Michigan, Vanderbilt, Providence, Georgetown are also recruiting him hard, he said.