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Just about the only good part of a bad season is looking to the future. As poorly as Fordham performed last season (fifth-worst record in NCAA Division I) and there being 339 places higher than that season’s finish, the Rams can and are looking to the future, starting now.
In hindsight, it really was foolish to consider that Fordham would be any good last season; competitive is another thing – double-digit wins were more reasonable a prediction than, say, three. Factor in half a season without a capable big man and the other half with a rusty one, along with injuries to the two most experienced and dangerous weapons Fordham had, plus the fact that five of the top six contributors the previous season were gone, replaced by a senior with one career point, a senior who was ineligible that spring, a junior and sophomore with starting experience and a highly touted freshman probably not knowing what he was getting into and the end result is likely not going to be pretty.
When two of those players are out with injury most of the year and replaced by a walk-on and another freshman while a third freshman was ruled ineligible before the season, a fourth was out most of the year with “personal issues” and a fifth played rarely if ever for reasons unknown, things only get worse.
Then they get just as bad as possible when two of the more promising players and that fifth freshman transfer while the highly touted freshman attempts to leave and rumors swirl in every manner possible concerning every aspect of his possible transfer.
Yet, somehow, Fordham avoided complete offseason decimation and Head Coach Dereck Whittenburg will, for the moment, have another season to show that he truly has the ability to take Fordham to the top of the Atlantic 10.
In stark contrast to last season, however, this season could be the beginning of the rejuvenation of the program for which Fordham fans have been waiting nearly two decades. First in everyone’s minds, freshman point guard Jio Fontan decided, after a successful summer campaign with the Puerto Rican U-19 National Team, to return to Rose Hill.
“I’m happy to be back, ready to get onto the court and win at this level and give the fans something to cheer about,” Fontan said. “When I was away, I just got to thinking, I had a great time playing well over the summer and didn’t want to set myself back a year. [Last year] was real tough; I lost maybe four games in three years of starting varsity in high school, and we lost that in about two weeks here. My whole life I’ve never run away from a challenge. I wouldn’t give it up looking back though; it showed me how much I love the winning. I’m kind of happy I went through it now that it’s over. And with the guys coming in, I decided to come back for the team.”
Fontan will take the point again this season, although he and junior shooting guard Brenton Butler, who received a medical redshirt last season, could split duties at times, as Whittenburg repeatedly expressed his satisfaction with Fontan’s play on the wing late in the season.
“Brenton is poised and ready to play,” Whittenburg said. “I think people forgot about him since he missed most of last year but we haven’t. That combination gives us a chance against most backcourts in the league.”
Joining them in the starting lineup will be junior forward Jacob Green, who should get much more help from one of the Rams’ tallest recruiting classes ever; 6’7” forward Chris Gaston, a preseason All-Rookie, should start with redshirt forward Khiry Gordon (6’7”) competing with three guards – senior Herb Tanner, sophomore Alberto Estwick and freshman Lance Brown – for the final starting spot and extensive playing time. All will get a chance to impress early.
Estwick, Fontan and Gaston reunite after playing together at St. Anthony’s from 2005-2007 under the great Bob Hurley, while Fontan also played with Brown in the New Jersey Playaz AAU program.
Four other freshmen (guards Brennen Melvin, Danny Thompson and walk-on Nicholas Checovich and center Fahro Alihodzic) and returning senior walk-on guard Matt Beck will vie for backup roles. Sophomore walk-on guard Ryan Hage may also see garbage time in some games.
“Brennan is a combo guard with great size and good passing ability because he can see over the defense,” Fontan said. “Danny’s just a real strong wing player who can be real good, the walk-on is the best shooter on the team – he should get some serious minutes – and Lance plays well on the wing.”
Whether the Rams go with a big or undersized lineup is anyone’s guess; the only certainty is that Whittenburg plans to institute the up-tempo offense he loves and wanted to install last year before injuries shrank the lineup. With as many as 10 players likely to see regular time on the court, Whittenburg will have more than enough athletic bodies to play his ideal offense and perhaps the full-court press that delighted fans and worked so well on the rare occasions it was utilized last season.
“One thing we focused on this year was hitting the weight room hard during the offseason,” Whittenbrug said. “I think we are better conditioned this year and that will allow us to play a more up-tempo game like we want. The players are in shape and ready to go.”
Fontan headlines the returning squad, as he finished 10th in the nation among freshmen in scoring (ninth overall in A-10, first among freshmen) while grabbing 2.7 rebounds, dishing out 132 assists against 102 turnovers and earning 33 steals. His numbers should see significant increases across the board as this season he will have several more options available, both on the wing and under the basket. Criticized by some scouts as undersized and not having the court vision necessary for top-drawer college ball, Fontan proved his critics wrong last season and looks to do so again this year.
“As long as I’ve got my contacts in, I can see,” Fontan joked.
Butler’s return, however, should have the biggest impact on the team. Although second-leading scorer Mike Moore’s transferred, his .387 shooting percentage will not be missed. If Butler stays behind the three-point line (.430 percentage behind the arc freshman year) or has learned to take better shot selection (both his healthy seasons have featured lower field goal percentages than three-point percentages) he is capable of scoring more than enough points to cover for Moore’s departure.
Green can reasonably double his production this season after getting real game experience this past spring for the first time in nearly two years; he should rediscover his touch around the basket, both on offense and defense, and will probably stay on the court longer by avoiding the foolish fouls that plagued him last season, clearly affected by his lack of recent game time.
Gaston will be the freshman to make the biggest impact. Lightly recruited before and during two years in prep school, the forward – who plays well on the wing and under the basket – blew coaches away in subsequent tournaments after announcing his intention to sign with Fordham. He will fill a major void in the frontcourt.
“I can’t wait to play,” Gaston said. “I probably could have gone to a bigger school, but I stayed committed to Fordham. Those two years in prep school really helped me out academically as well as basketball-wise; those two years set me up to make an impact here. Double-double numbers – that’s what I’m shooting for. I averaged a double-double in prep school, and that wasn’t easy, it was against guys who are going to Kansas, Memphis, UConn, Baylor and Villanova.”
Actually, the graduation of three starters, transfer of another and transfer of two other players will hardly be noticeable, as the incoming talent and Butler’s return coupled with the expected improvement of the remaining squad should more than make due.
“Everyone has a lot more fun together on and off the court [this season],” Fontan said. “We’re all older, more experienced and a year better. We may seem young because of the title of freshman or sophomore, but guys [on the team] are 20, playing with full-grown men’s bodies.”
The team’s most glaring weakness this year, besides inexperience, will be at the free throw line – the Rams shot a paltry .626 from the charity stripe last season and lost their top two shooters to transfers – the only players to hit over 75 percent from the line. That leaves the returning players’ total percentage at .586, affected mainly by Fontan’s abhorrent .602 on 166 attempts – over one quarter of the entire team’s attempts last season. As often as he reaches the line due to his aggressiveness in the lane, he would be well advised to spend some time practicing the easiest shot in the game..
Fontan should vie for third or even second team and possibly defensive All-Conference honors, while Brown, Gaston and Gordon all have the ability to make the All-Rookie team, although there will probably be only one place available with several Top 100 recruits attending other A-10 schools this year.
“My numbers will speak for themselves, but I’ve got to prove I can win,” Fontan said. “Last year I had the numbers, but [St. Bonaventure forward] Andrew Nicholson had the numbers, so he won [Rookie of the Year]. For myself and for Chris, you have to make sure you win games.”
“If we win some games I’ll probably get [Rookie of the Year],” Gaston said. “I know Jio is going to help me out to get there.”
This season’s schedule is highlighted by several big-stage matchups; besides the usual rivalries with Columbia and Manhattan, the Rams will renew another with St. John’s on Sunday, Dec. 13, face 2009 Final Four participant Villanova at the Izod Center in East Rutherford,N.J. on Saturday, Dec. 19 and host conference-favorite Dayton in Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, Jan. 12 following a Big East matchup between St. John’s and Cincinnati. The A-10 slate will include home-and-home series with Xavier, Rhode Island and St. Bonaventure.
The Rams will open the season at home against Maine on Friday, Nov. 13 at 8 p.m.
Fordham was picked to finish last in the A-10 for the second consecutive year after being the only A-10 team to not reach double-digit wins last season. However, despite an overall increase in talent in the conference, the middle of the standings should be as convoluted as ever with the parity expected this season.
The Rams have just as good a chance of finishing 14th as they do 10th, and could very well take the suddenly youthful league by surprise and rocket up the standings. In fact, they will not accept anything less.
“If you’re not first, everything else doesn’t matter,” Fontan said. “Second, 14th, whatever; you’re just in that order of losing.”
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