Welcome to Fordham, Jeff Neubauer. The cellar is this way.
The new Fordham men’s basketball coach got a taste of the rebuilding job that awaits him at Atlantic 10 media day, when his Rams were picked to finish last in the 14-team conference, not a major surprise considering their best player last year, conference Rookie of the Year Eric Paschall, transferred to Villanova, and Fordham has won a combined nine A-10 games the last three seasons.
“Where Fordham basketball is right now, we have a great challenge ahead of us,” said Neubauer, who replaces Tom Pecora, “and part of the reason I took this job is because I absolutely love challenges.”
There will be no shortage of them at Fordham, which hasn’t finished over .500 since the 2006-07 season. Neubauer is coming off a sterling 10-year run at Eastern Kentucky, reaching the NCAA Tournament twice and winning 20 games five times. He was previously an assistant coach at West Virginia under widely respected head coach John Beilein, now running the show at Michigan.
Fordham does have a nice blend of experience and depth, led by senior guard Mandell Thomas, senior forward Ryan Rhoomes of Queens and junior guard Jon Severe of Brooklyn. Sophomore forward Christian Sengfelder, who averaged 11.7 points and 7.1 rebounds as a freshman, is a building block, and the five-man freshman class, headed by 6-foot-8 forward Jesse Bunting and guards Nych Smith and Jashire Hardnett, holds promise.
“Right now we have to create momentum by winning and create momentum by getting 3,400 people into Rose Hill Gym to watch us play,” Neubauer said. “I understand where we are. We need to win and once we win and show people that Fordham can win, then I think Fordham can explode.”
The versatile 6-2 Thomas will be instrumental to any success Fordham can have. His numbers have gone up each year — he averaged 13.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.4 steals last season — and is one reason for optimism in The Bronx.
“Defensively he has a chance to be an elite defender,” Neubauer said. “I tell our team every single day, Mandell is one on the best players in the Atlantic 10, and I can’t wait to see him play his senior year.”
Dayton was picked to finish first in the conference, receiving 12 of 27 first-place votes, followed closely by Rhode Island, Davidson, George Washington and VCU. Rhode Island placed two players on the preseason first team — guard E.C. Matthews and forward Hassan Martin of Staten Island. They were joined by Davidson’s Jack Gibbs, La Salle’s Jordan Price and Saint Joseph’s DeAndre’ Bembry of New Jersey. VCU guard Melvin Johnson of The Bronx was selected to the third team and Fordham’s Thomas, Martin and Bembry made the all-defensive team.
— Additional reporting by Joseph Staszewski