When Adam Wire was introduced to Cornell assistant basketball coach Nat Graham after a Pinecrest game in 2007, he had no idea of the journey that meeting would set in motion.

The 6-foot-5 forward scored three points in the first half of the first round conference tournament game against Douglas Byrd and the Patriots trailed by seven points. In the second half, Wire no doubt provided Graham with some ideas on how he might fit in with the Big Red.

Pinecrest rallied to win the game 70-62 and Wire finished with 16 points, 19 rebounds, seven assists, four blocked shots and four steals.

Three Ivy League titles and three NCAA tournament appearances later, Wire was reflecting on that time a few days after Cornell was defeated 62-45 by Kentucky in the Sweet 16.

“I remember back then it was pretty cool to have a Division I coach come and watch me play,” the Big Red junior said by phone earlier this week. “Coming into Cornell, it would have been great just to see us on the board on selection Sunday. The first year we were excited to be there. I never would have dreamed we would be in the Sweet 16.”

In the game played in Syracuse at the Carrier Dome, Cornell jumped out to a 10-2 lead over Kentucky, but trailed by 16 points at halftime. But, with 5:24 left in the game, a three by Louis Dale cut the Wildcat lead to 40-34.

“When we pulled to within six, I really thought we might come back and win the game,” he said.

For the season, Wire averaged 11.7 minutes per game and started twice for a team that typically went 10 or 11 players deep into its lineup. He averaged 1.9 points per game and was second on the team in offensive rebounds and fifth overall in that category.

“I think the coaches do a great job of capitalizing on each person’s abilities in different parts of the game,” he said.

Wire’s biggest contribution in the tournament was a six rebound effort (second on the team) in 13 minutes of play in the stunning 87-79 second round victory over Wisconsin.

Things will be a lot different next year. Sophomore guard Ryan Wroblewski and Wire are the only returnees among the first 11.

“This year I was pretty unselfish because we had so much talent, but my goal is to be a starter,” he said.

Wire’s parents, Mike and Cheryl Wire, moved to Colliersville, Tenn., last year. They along with many other family members watched him play in the first round games in Jacksonville, Fla. and at the Sweet 16 at Syracuse.

Even the senior stars of the team like Dale, Ryan Wittman and Jeff Foote could not have foreseen what was in store for Cornell, led by head coach Steve Donahue, four years ago.

The Big Red went 16-12 in their freshman year, but the program had nine losing seasons in a row before that. In the last three years, the team is a combined 72-21, including a 38-4 mark in Ivy League games and 29-5 overall this year.

Including Kentucky, the Big Red played three of the four top seeds in the tournament. During the regular season, they were defeated at Syracuse and nearly upset Kansas in Lawrence.

What a ride for the former Pinecrest Patriot and an Ivy League school from Ithaca, N.Y.