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LOCATION: Bronx, NY
CONFERENCE: Atlantic-10 (East Division)
LAST SEASON: 12-15 (.444)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 5-11 (t-5th)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 1/4
NICKNAME: Rams
COLORS: Maroon & White
HOMECOURT: Rose Hill Gym (3,470)
COACH: Bob Hill (Bowling Green '71)
record at school First year
career record First year
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ASSISTANTS: Mike Brown (Vermont '73)
Frank Martin (Hofstra '87)
Jean Prioleau (Fordham '92)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 4-6-6-6-12
RPI (last 5 years) 244-260-243-223-198
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in conference first round.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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Nick Macarchuk saw the writing on the wall. Not even an Atlantic10 Coach of the Year trophy, which he won last season, was going to alter the reality. Macarchuk had to win this season right now or he was out at Fordham. His Xs and Os, lauded league-wide, didn't matter anymore. Neither did his down-to-earth, have-a-beer-with-me style. This was to be the fifth year of Fordham's Atlantic 10 experiment, and too many influential types on Rose Hill, having been sold a five-year plan, were ready to fire. Macarchuk fired first. Uncertain that he could win enough to appease even the few die-hards who regularly troop into the Bronx, the affable veteran opted for a start-up Division I program at Stony Brook. It only seems that Macarchuk likes long-term rebuilding projects; what he really likes is the security of a five-year $1.25 million contract. Especially at a place where no one expects him to win for another good while In the meantime, Fordham administrators faced a predicament. How to elevate the program and also generate more than a grain of attention in the vast New York City media market? An Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year is nice, but winning is better still. It's awfully hard to command attention when you've never won a postseason game in your conference. So Fordham went "off the board" in its coaching search. It didn't go low (eg., low-major head coach or high-major assistant) and it didn't go high (eg., then-unemployed Atlantic 10 legend John Calipari). Instead the Rams went downtown in the hope of someday going uptown.
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT B BENCH/DEPTH C
FRONTCOURT C+ INTANGIBLES B+
The Rams will certainly score more points under Bob Hill. The new coach with the NBA pedigree is going to force tempo and hope the players he inherited can keep pace. It should make for entertaining basketball, if nothing else. However, we also envision a fair share of shootouts in which Fordham gives up way more than it scores. The Rams were last in the conference in field-goal percentage defense (.467). Hill possesses neither the enforcers nor the tempo to change that figure very much. Yet we like the karma emanating from the Bronx these days. Even with Nick Macarchuk a near-lame duck, Fordham won as many conference games last season (five) as it did in the three previous years combined. And, other than Temple, the league is hardly top-heavy this season. Figure on Hill to maximize the talents of guard Bevon Robin while also identifying scorers at other spots on the floor. It could be a fun year on Rose Hill, with a couple of wild victories to go along with the requisite losses. A marginally upgraded schedule may prevent a winning season, but the Rams have just enough weaponry to bother if not consistently defeat Atlantic 10 competition. We'll go out on a limb and tab Fordham for fifth place in the A-10 East Division, ahead of chaotic Rhode Island. After all, one good Ram deserves another. |
The Bob Hill Era at Rose Hill Gym began July 14. Yeah, that Bob Hill, the one who most recently coached David Robinson and Sean Elliott. Everyone remembers his time with the San Antonio Spurs (and, before that, the Indiana Pacers). Few remember his two seasons, including part of one as head coach, with the New York Knicks. Except the Big Apple media, that is. "Bob Hill is a proven winner," Knicks' coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "He laid the foundation for San Antonio's [NBA] championship. He's a terrific, up-tempo, running coach. Every player at Fordham, if they have the talent, will be able to learn how to play at the next level." That's a mighty big "if," of course, but the idea is that Hill will be a magnet for talent that can at least dream of a pro career. It's understandable when the Rams are outrecruited by St. John's; it's a little harder to fathom an Atlantic 10 school losing out to Iona and Manhattan, or even Hofstra and Long Island. Only one player point guard Bevon Robin has been an impact performer in Fordham's four Atlantic 10 seasons. That ain't gonna' get it done when teams at the top of your own division are having Final Four and Elite Eight seasons. Hill will start with Robin, a 6-2 junior (17.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.6 apg), and say "go." It is not inconceivable that the new coach could turn Macarchuk's old point guard into an NBA draft pick. The Rams will be a running team under Hill, which should mean more shots, more assists and maybe more layups for Robin. The latter would go a long way toward elevating a .398 shooting percentage. Robin's running mate, 5-9 junior Jason Harris (11.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.8 apg), figures to get even more of a green light from Hill than he did from Macarchuk. Harris led the team with 186 three-point shots; look for that number to be well over 200 this season. Hill's other building block is 6-8 junior forward Alejandro Olivares, who won the Atlantic 10 Most-Improved-Player-Award for 1998-99. It was a huge relief when Olivares (15.0 ppg, 5.9 rpg) opted to return for Hill instead of pursuing professional opportunities in his native Argentina. Olivares has a sophisticated offensive game. He moves nicely in the lane, can score with either hand and is especially effective against less physical opposition. He can be outmuscled, particularly on the glass, but still gets his points. So there you have it. Fordham has an Atlantic 10 star, a solid frontcourt player and a shooting specialist. Oh, this isn't a three-on-three league? "Now you know why they've made so little progress," one Atlantic 10 scout said. The Rams not only lack depth on their bench, they even lack it in their starting five. Hill can't really address that until the next recruiting season. In the meantime, he'll patch and fill and hope a change in tempo can raise the output of his erstwhile non-stars. Scott Harmatuk, a 6-4 senior, has some potential as a third guard/small forward. He averaged 5.5 ppg and 1.2 rpg in eight starts, but what figures to get Hill's attention is Harmatuk's .429 three-point percentage. Who knows what Hill will do with 6-3 senior Ray Carroll, a fifth-year player who was Fordham's first Atlantic 10 signee. Carroll (4.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg) has had a largely disappointing career on court and off. The Rams really need a post man to emerge, for floor balance and interior defense. Failing that, at least for this year, they'd settle for an athletic wing player, someone who can harass on the perimeter and maybe even scare an opponent with an athletic offensive play. Truth is, the Rams have neither a true "five" or "three" man returning. The extra forwards 6-6 sophomore Steve Canal (3.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg), 6-9 sophomore Duke Freeman-McKamey (3.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg) and 6-6 sophomore Teremun Johnson (2.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg) are all slower, more physical types. Hill's running game could be slowed further still if 6-10 senior John Pugh (2.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg) sees added time. Arseni Kuchinsky, a 6-7 junior (1.2 ppg, 0.5 rpg), and 6-2 junior Ken Aponte (five appearances) complete the returnees. Hill hopes to inject some athleticism with a summer signee, 6-6 freshman slasher Chris Duckrey (Cheshire Academy, Conn/Shawnee, N.J.). Hill plucked Duckrey from the Las Vegas Big Time Classic as the player was recovering from a spring knee injury. "I think he can help immediately," Hill said. A Macarchuk recruit, 6-6 freshman Phil Dupree (Brookhaven HS/Columbus, Oh.) will also get a look at small forward. But his game needs more polish, as do the Rams overall. Fordham can only hope Bob Hill has the wax.
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