Men’s Basketball Finishes as Only Team in Division I without a Conference Win

Even when things seem like they cannot get any worse, Fordham men's basketball finds a way. Coming off its worst record in school history and the fifth-worst in all of Division I, this year, the team managed to do even worse this season, ending with a 21-game losing streak and setting a new school record for worst season while also being the only team in Division I to fail to win a single conference game.

"The culture here has changed," interim Head Coach Jared Grasso said. "People want wins, now, and we need to start getting some."

The team (2-26 overall, 0-16 in conference) did get better in one aspect, however; after Jio Fontan transferred and Dereck Whittenburg was fired only five games into the season, the future looked bleak. 

Yet freshman forward Chris Gaston stepped up his game even without a true point guard to run the offense or get him the ball, averaging 18 points and 11.4 rebounds per game (ranked 67th and fifth in Division I and both tops among freshmen), establishing himself as the best freshman player to ever step into the Rose Hill Gym. 

Becoming just the third Ram to earn Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year while also putting up the most double-doubles of any Ram in 40 years and leading the A-10 in rebounding only add to his already sterling resumé. Gaston's numbers would have placed him on the All-A-10 First Team if he were not a freshman. 

As the Rams headed into their final three games with only two wins (none in conference play) out of 25 chances, things did not look good. Matchups at Duquesne and at home against Xavier were more or less guaranteed losses; only the home faceoff with St. Bonaventure (14-15, 7-9) was anywhere near winnable. 

Of course, as they had for the past 18 games, the Rams failed to capitalize on the chance, falling 73-68, in a close but disappointing loss. 

The first half was as close as any has been this season, with ten ties and six Rams getting in on the scoring action, highlighted by senior guard Herb Tanner draining a three-pointer to put the team up one going into halftime.

Ties 11, 12 and 13 quickly occurred in the second half, but then the Bonnies took the lead and never relinquished it, taking their largest lead (seven) with 12 minutes remaining and increasing it to 11 with just over three to go. 

Junior shooting guard Brenton Butler fought to bring the Rams back, hitting four free throws and a layup to SBU's six misses on eight free-throw attempts in the final three minutes, but the Rams just did not have enough time to come all the way back, falling by five.

Despite Butler's effort at the end and 20 total points in the game, he shot only 5-15, and 2-7 from behind the arc, with three turnovers to only one assist. Gaston picked up his game after a down week by his standards, scoring 18 points and pulling down 13 rebounds, although he did commit another five turnovers.

"We can't win without [Butler] scoring 20-25 points a game," Grasso said.

Gaston continued his Rookie of the Year campaign by holding sophomore forward and defending ROY Andrew Nicholson to only five points, six rebounds and no blocks easily one of the worst games of his career. The Bonnies simply turned elsewhere for production, however, as four players hit double digits in scoring, led by senior guard Jonathon Hall's 24 points along with eight rebounds.

One week later the Rams prepared to take on the Xavier Musketeers (23-7, 14-2), tied for the conference lead at the time, in their second-to-last matchup of the season. Having lost to the Musketeers barely a month back (108-60), few had any hopes for the Rams in this one.

To the surprise of many, the game was still tied nine minutes in, at 20, and Fordham even took the lead on a layup from freshman point guard Rayner Moquete two minutes later. 

Then junior forward Jamel McLean took over. One layup and two dunks later, McLean, with some help, had given the Muskies their largest lead (six) and opened the floodgates. By halftime, the score was 45-31, courtesy of redshirt freshman point guard Mark Lyons' 3-5 from three for 10 points, another 10 from sophomore point guard Terrell Holloway and 13 more from McLean, along with nine rebounds by senior center Jason Love.

The second half looked all too familiar to the Rams, as they fell back into their gameplan of the past two months – keeping things close just before halftime and pulling back into the game a bit in the second before getting demolished. Although Xavier only won by 26 rather than 48, Head Coach Chris Mack took it easy on the Rams; only two starters played 25 minutes. Thirteen players saw court time, with nine scoring points and 11 grabbing rebounds.

The Rams did enjoy some positives in the loss, with Gaston again posting a double-double, his 18th of the year, with 15 points and 13 rebounds. 

Butler scored another 13, although on only 5-19 shooting, sophomore guard Alberto Estwick notched 11 points and freshman guard Lance Brown, who did not play in the previous game, scored six and grabbed three boards in only six minutes of floor time.

"They're just a lot better than us; it's kind of pick your poison," Grasso said. "It's hard at this point in the season, our freshmen are pretty beat up."

A 26th loss, at Duquesne (16-14, 7-9), ended the Rams' season, although not on as dismal a note as one may expect. Not only did the team top 100 points (Duquesne managed 111), albeit in an incredibly fast-paced game, but several players ended a forgettable season with unforgettable performances.

The game was again close throughout, with the Dukes ahead by only one at the half, and the Rams managed to keep it closer than they had in nearly every game this season, tying things up at 80 with nine minutes left to play. Fatigue then set in and the Dukes put the Rams away without much trouble, led by sophomore guard Melquan Bolding's 32 points, helped by sophomore point guard Eric Evans's 23 points with 10 assists and junior Bill Clark's 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Gaston and Butler led the way, scoring 21 and 29 points, respectively, while Gaston capped his outstanding season with a season-high 18 rebounds for his 19th double-double and Butler dished out seven assists. 

Estwick put up another strong performance, scoring 20 points, including going 6-9 from three, and grabbing six boards. 

Even junior forward Jacob Green blocked four shots for the second game in a row and grabbed four rebounds in limited action. The most exciting part of the game for Rams fans was Brown's career-high 18-point, nine-rebound performance, highlighted by an alley-oop from Butler to end the first half. If he can finally play to his full potential, Brown, Estwick and Gaston can combine to form a formidable 2-3-4 over the next two seasons.

Add in Moquete's growing comfort with the game and verbal commitment small forward Jayon James and all the Rams need to contend is a true big man. However, Fordham is looking at only two players over 6'7", 220 lbs. for next year (and reportedly has an offer out to a 6'7" three-star recruit, among others) and the Class of 2011 has only two available Metro-area prospects over 6'8", so finding that center may be a problem. 

"The only way to improve your program is recruiting and player development, and I haven't really had a chance to do either as a head coach," Grasso said.

The Rams' biggest concern over the offseason, however, will be finding a head coach. Whether Grasso stays is anybody's guess, but the vast majority seem willing to put their money on a big-name coach taking over. 

While Grasso is considered a "finalist" by Executive Director of Athletics Frank McLaughlin, the fact that an in-depth, national coaching search has been underway for months indicates that the job is not his to lose. 

Rumored possibilities for the job include Hofstra Head Coach Tom Pecora, Louisville assistant coaches Ralph Willard and Steve Masiello (both grew up, played and have coached in the Metro area) and Robert Morris Head Coach Mike Rice, who served as an assistant at Fordham, his alma mater, during the Rams' last NCAA Tournament appearance. The athletics department plans to fill the position by April.

Whoever that coach is next year, he will enjoy having Gaston, who finished the season with by far the best all-around averages of any freshman in school history. Gaston averaged 18 points (scoring 504 total to break Bevon Robin's freshman record), 11.4 rebounds, 1.8 blocks, 1.5 assists and one steal per game this season, although he did commit a whopping 126 turnovers (fourth most in the nation). 

Although he had little help, even from Butler – who averaged 16.5 points on 33 percent shooting (30 on three-pointers) – Gaston proved himself an elite player and one of the best freshmen in Division I. About the only things Gaston can work on in the offseason are bulking up, outside jumpers and free throws, as he hit only 67 percent from the line. Butler led the team at 81 percent.

"[Gaston] is a double-double every time he walks onto the floor – sometimes almost by accident," Grasso said. "In the offseason, he's going to put on some weight and we need to get some players around him."

The team can now do nothing but wait for Grasso or a new head coach to fill the job permanently. Meanwhile, the rest of the young and rapidly improving A-10 (except injury-devastated La Salle) will compete in the A-10 Championship next weekend, with the conference hoping as many as six teams will be awarded berths to the NCAA Tournament this year (three are about guaranteed and one or two others can make excellent cases). 

Although Fordham will once again be out of the picture, it will certainly be worth it to watch other teams represent the A-10 in postseason play in perhaps the conference's best season ever. Fordham can only hope that it will be a part of that soon.