Point-Counterpoint: Hiring Coach Tom Pecora

Fordham Men's basketball opened this season in a state of flux but began its offseason with a signature win that could transform the program for the next several years. On March 24 Fordham announced that Tom Pecora would be taking over the head coaching duties for the men's basketball team. While a team that went 2-26 is bound to improve, Pecora is a man capable of bringing a cultural change to the men's basketball program, something that is desperately needed for Fordham to be consistently competitive in the Atlantic 10. While we could have pursued other coaches, Pecora is a steal for Fordham and is worth his contract.

As an institution that places a heavy emphasis on its rigorous academic program, Fordham's many alumni, students and fans were concerned that the wrong coach would turn the school into a basketball factory, with student-athletes who struggle in class and are mired in off-the-court issues. Pecora is not that kind of coach; his teams have had an extremely high graduation rate and have largely stayed out of trouble. When Rev. Joseph M. McShane, President of the University, and representatives of the athletic department sat down with Pecora, the first topic of conversation was how basketball players performed in the classroom. Only after Fr. McShane was satisfied with Pecora's graduation rates did the conversation continue. Pecora also dedicated a substantial portion of his opening press conference to the importance and ease of selling Fordham as an academic institution to parents and students. He clearly recognizes and appreciates the core values of a Jesuit university and is not willing to sacrifice them for players or wins.

Pecora also brings a knack for marketing to Fordham, as he has a history of uniting the community and the basketball program. Go to youtube.com and type in "Tom Pecora." After getting over Pecora's highly questionable acting skills, it is easy to see that he is a personable guy who wants to get his program out there. Put him in a "Ram Fan" T-shirt, give him a maroon hat and a microphone and he positively represents the Fordham brand out in the community. He has already made appearances on SNY, ESPNRadio and WFAN.

Pecora is also extremely active in various philanthropic efforts, such as Operation Hardwood, the Providence House, Father Hartman's Christa House, the Association for the Help of Retarded Children, the Dante Foundation and CYO Charities. For all of his hard work, Pecora was also named the 2005 Hope Through Hoops Foundation Man of the Year. Also during the opening press conference, he volunteered to actively involve himself in the Fordham community. Pecora recognizes that he is not just a basketball coach but a very public representation of the University as well. Unlike many collegiate coaches, he realizes that his actions reflect the University as a whole and influence how people view Fordham. Not only did Fordham hire a basketball coach, but they also hired a terrific ambassador of its ideals and values.

The third reason why Pecora was the right hire is because of his coaching resume at Hofstra. When Pecora came to Hofstra as an assistant on Jay Wright's staff, Hofstra was ranked 297 out of 303 division one men's basketball teams. For a little perspective, Fordham was ranked 343 out of 347 at the end of this year. Pecora left the Pride with a final ranking of 130. If that's not a significant improvement, I don't know what is.

Pecora is known as a tireless recruiter who brings in top-notch talent, especially from the New York City area. The most recent example is Charles Jenkins, from Queens, who was last year's Haggerty Award Winner, as the best college player in the metro area, and the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year. Loren Stokes is another player Pecora brought in who was a CAA Player of the Year. Van Macon and the rest of Pecora's staff from Hofstra have joined him at Fordham, and this transition should help to bring that pipeline to Fordham. Macon is known as fantastic recruiter who could have taken a position at a Big East school. Having him at Rose Hill will make Pecora's job easier. The coaching staff has already had their nose to the grindstone, attending tournaments in New York and signing SG Branden Frazier.

Pecora has also guided Hofstra to four 20-win seasons in the past six years, once nearly stealing an at-large big to the NCAA tournament. Several people have been critical of Pecora's lack of an NCAA tournament record, but he has had some success in postseason tournaments at Hofstra, including a run in postseason NIT, knocking out St. Joe's in 2006. Hofstra made the postseason NIT three consecutive years and won the 2007 Aeropostale Holiday Festival, all under Pecora's tenure.

Right now though, the focus on Pecora should be his experience in turning a struggling program around, not on his NCAA tournament record. He has been the top assistant under Jay Wright, a very successful Division 1 coach, and has sustained that program's success, even after Hofstra's move from the American East conference to the tougher CAA. He has longed to coach in the A-10, and knows what it means to put in the work needed to turn a basketball program around. He is a New York guy with phenomenal city basketball connections, who will not sacrifice graduation rates for wins, but expects both. Pecora has brought over his winning coaching staff from Hofstra and plans to improve upon the level of success he reached there, justifying the increased basketball budget. He will bring us to respectability and competiveness. It may not happen next year, but it will happen sooner rather than later. Welcome to Fordham, Coach Pecora.

Sean McGonigle, FCRH '11, is an American Studies major from New Hyde Park, N.Y. He can be reached at mcgonigle@fordham.edu