Here’s how the local papers are reporting the news that Tom Pecora will be named Fordham’s new head men’s basketball coach at a 1:00 press conference this afternoon at the Rose Hill campus.

Daily News

New York Post

NY Times

After Pecora introduces himself, and Frank McLaughlin and Father McShane explain their choice, attention will turn to whether Jared Grasso will remain at Fordham. Grasso became the interim coach in December and, ever since, has been busy recruiting and talking about the program’s future as if he planned on being named the permanent head coach. A relentless worker who has built his reputation on an ability to recruit players, Grasso will have plenty of options whether he remains here or not.

Charles Costello

Tom Pecora will be announced as Fordham’s new head men’s basketball coach at a press conference this afternoon at Rose Hill.

The press release is here.

Under the weather so I’ll leave it up to Fordham’s Joe DiBari to provide a recap of the Rams’ loss last night to Xavier. Click here for DiBari’s game story.

Dereck Whittenburg (File photo)

BY CHARLES COSTELLO

According to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com, former Fordham head coach Dereck Whittenburg will take over once again at Wagner College, following the announcement on Monday that the Seahawks had fired Mike Deane after seven seasons.

This move makes sense for both parties. Wagner felt it had to make a move on Deane, who compiled an overall record of 94-114, including a 5-26 campaign this season, after taking over for Whittenburg in 2003. The Seahawks would reportedly then turn to Whittenburg, who has been out of work since being let go by Fordham back on December 3. For Whittenburg, it would be a return to the place where his head coaching career began, and where he experienced great success. Whittenburg was 66-50 in four seasons at Wagner. In 2002-03, he led the Seahawks to a 21-11 overall record, while winning the Northeast Conference Tournament and qualifying for the school’s first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Whittenburg’s overall career record as a head coach is 135-162.

If Whittenburg ends up at Wagner, expect Rams’ assistant coach Travis Lyons to join his staff. Lyons came to Fordham with Whittenburg and is thought of as a Whittenburg guy. No matter who ends up with the coaching job at Rose Hill, it seems logical that Lyons would reunite with Whittenburg.

Head coach Jared Grasso with Brenton Butler during Wednesday's pregame ceremony. (Photo courtesy of Joe DiBari, Fordham University's Sports Information Director)

BY CHARLES COSTELLO

It was only fitting that when Fordham students turned out in full force for Wednesday night’s game against St. Bonaventure - by far the best student turnout of the season - they had the opportunity to honor one of the Rams’ best. In a pregame ceremony, Brenton Butler was presented with a commemorative ball in celebration of his 1,000th career point that he scored at St. Bonaventure two weeks earlier. Playing in front of his parents Wednesday night, Butler went on to score a team-high 20 points in Fordham’s 73-68 loss to the Bonnies.

“He’s been terrific,” Fordham head coach Jared Grasso said after Wednesday’s game. “He’s had a great career thus far. Coming back next year he’s going to end up probably in the top 10 (Fordham) scorers of all time.

“I think next year when we bring in another point guard we’ll be able to move him off the ball and he’ll be even better. We’re asking a lot out of him and he has to play a lot of minutes.”

Grasso complimented Butler for his off-the-court presence just as much as he did for his abilities on the court.

“He is the epitome of a Fordham student-athlete,” Grasso said. “He’s a fantastic kid. He’s a great student. He’s what a Fordham student-athlete is all about. He’s probably the most popular kid on campus. He’s the kind of kid who you want in your program, who you want to build your program around.”

Butler is the 33rd player in Fordham history to score more than 1,000 career points. He’s averaging 16.1 points this season, second best on the Rams.

Brenton Butler makes a move toward the basket in Wednesday night's loss to St. Bonaventure. (Photo courtesy of Joe DiBari, Fordham University's Sports Information Director)

BY CHARLES COSTELLO

It was Fordham’s version of a “White-Out,” on the eve of what is expected to be yet another tri-state whiteout. In front of an energized student body crowd, decked in white t-shirts and Fordham jerseys, the Rams welcomed St. Bonaventure to town, in a game that many considered to be Fordham’s last chance to get a victory this season, and avoid going winless in conference play.

For most of the game, the Rams hung in there. Eleven lead changes in the first half, and a Herb Tanner 3-pointer at the buzzer, resulted in one-point lead for Fordham at the break. Despite the Bonnies inability to make free throws down the stretch, the Rams struggled on offense when it mattered the most, and they eventually fell to St. Bonaventure, 73-68, in front of 2,499 at the Rose Hill Gym.

“Our kids played hard,” Fordham head coach Jared Grasso said. “A couple turnovers down the stretch, a couple loose balls we don’t get to, a couple youth plays, dumb fouls, missed block outs. They pounded us on the offensive boards in the second half. They’re a more veteran team than us and we didn’t make the plays down the strech to win.”

Still, the effort was there. In addition to the usual steady play of Chris Gaston and Brenton Butler, Fordham received first-half contributions from Herb Tanner (six points in 16 minutes), Brennen Melvin (five points in 13 minutes), and Fahro Alihodzic (four points in 13 minutes) that resulted in the halftime lead. The Rams needed their bench more than ever Wednesday night as the team was playing without the injured Lance Brown.

“I just wish we had a little bit more depth, especially with Lance being hurt, but our bench definitely gave us some good minutes early on,” Grasso said. ”Our kids kept fighting. We had some opportunities, we had some shots. We took a couple quick shots. A lot of that has to do with immaturity. It’s tough with our youth.

While pointing to the team’s youth, Grasso also praised his players’ effort.

“Maybe St. Bonaventure has better players than us, but they don’t play harder than us, they don’t compete harder than us.”

Mark Schmidt, the Bonnies head coach, expected this type of effort from Fordham.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” he said. “Fordham hasn’t quit. Give them credit. They continue to fight and that’s what we expected.”

Fordham will finish its season with two tough ones: next Thursday at home against Xavier, then two days later the Rams close their season at Duquesne.

The Providence Journal, one of my favorite out-of-town newspapers, ran this capsule on the Fordham Rams in Saturday’s paper.

FORDHAM (2-22, 0-13 in the Atlantic 10): The Bronx Rams are struggling through a brutal season that has included having their coach fired and their best player, point guard Jio Fontan, quit. … The team has lost its last two by 28, at Richmond, and by 25 at home to George Washington. The best recent game was a 77-72 loss to Charlotte, a game Fordham led much of the way. … Fordham battled URI closely for 25 minutes in first meeting between the teams, before URI’s pressure defense forced turnovers that keyed a 32-4 Rhody surge. … Three of the 13 conference losses have been by fewer than 10 points. … Gaston is the leading candidate for A-10 freshman of the year. He is fourth in the conference in scoring and second in rebounding. … Butler has made 53 3-pointers, fifth-most in the conference. A natural off guard, he is helping young team handle the ball. He is averaging 34.9 minutes per game. … The team is last in the A-10 in scoring, at 62.2, and in defense, at 77.2.

What stood out to me was the last line about Fordham ranking last in the conference in scoring and team defense. That certainly showed in Saturday’s 101-75 loss at Rhode Island.

Click here for fordhamsports.com’s game recap.

CC

Fordham University press release (from fordhamsports.com):

Fordham University Board of Trustees Approves Significant Increases In Basketball Budget
Substantial upgrades will elevate budget for Fordham basketball program //

Feb. 17, 2010

Bronx, N.Y. – Fordham University announced today that its Board of Trustees unanimously approved significant increases in the budgets for the men’s basketball program at a meeting held on February 11th.

These substantial upgrades will elevate the budget for the Fordham basketball program from the lower third to the top third among schools competing in the Atlantic 10 Conference, and were approved in an effort to compete in the upper tier of the A-10 annually.

“The time is now, and the will is there,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham. “With this renewed commitment, we believe the Fordham basketball program will be a force in the A-10. We are determined to succeed.”

While increasing the University’s commitment to basketball, Fordham will continue its steadfast commitment to compliance, integrity and academic excellence.

A search committee is spearheading a national search for the men’s basketball coach, with the goal of identifying the most qualified candidates for the position. A final decision will be made no later than April, 2010. Interim head coach Jared Grasso remains a strong candidate for the full time head coaching position. “The players have responded well to Jared, are playing hard every game, and have made significant progress since Jared was appointed as head coach,” said Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Frank McLaughlin.”

Click here for the game recap from fordhamsports.com.