NEW YORK — Fordham’s season may have come to an early end on Thursday as the Rams fell to the Richmond Spiders, 70-55, in the second round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament at Barclays Center.
Even if Fordham does not get invited to postseason play, this season was a good start to Jeff Neubauer’s career at Fordham. For the first time in years, the future looks bright for the Rams.
Fordham went 27-66 in the three seasons prior to this year. A big reason Neubauer was brought in from Eastern Kentucky was to bring some established success to the Fordham basketball program. The head coach was 188-134 with the Colonels, leading them to five 20-win seasons and two NCAA appearences. In his first season with Fordham, the Rams finished 17-13, securing their first winning season in nine years.
“Really pleased with the effort our team’s given all season.” Neubauer said after the loss. “Tonight Richmond did a lot of good things that made our lives difficult. But I’m just really pleased with what we’ve gotten out of our team and the way they’ve competed all season.”
The Rams will have their work cut out next season as the team’s two top scorers, Ryan Rhoomes and Mandell Thomas, are both graduating seniors. Leading up to the A-10 Tournament, Rhoomes averaged a team-high 14.6 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game, and served as the team leader throughout the season. He was also named Third Team All-Atlantic 10, as he led the conference and was seventh in NCAA Division I in field goal percentage (64.9%). His presence on the court was certainly felt on Thursday as he finished the game with 18 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block.
“We have three seniors that have been terrific and eager to learn, and they really led in so many different ways…” Neubauer said after the game.
“I wish had three more years like this. I give all the credit to Coach Neubauer and Coach Crawford…” Rhoomes said.
The Rams will have some difficulty replacing Rhoomes’ energy and leadership on the floor, as the senior played all season with his heart on his sleeve.
“I play with a lot of passion when I play, as you can see,” he said. “When they see that a senior, a guy like me, is out there playing with a lot of passion… you know, I’m trying to pump the team up, pump up the crowd, it helps them a lot.”
Another cause for the Rams’ success this season is the play of freshman guard Joseph Chartouny. Chartouny averaged 11.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 6.2 assists on his way to earning Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year. The guard leads the conference and is 21st in the NCAA in assists, and his 6.2 assists per game lead all NCAA Division 1 freshmen. In what was possibly his freshman year finale, Chartouny finished with 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.
After the game, Neubauer said the team would welcome the opportunity to continue their season with postseason basketball.
“I think it would be a good step for Fordham at this point, and that’s something that we’ll play out here over the next few days,” said Neubauer. “Our team has given great effort, and they’ve really played together and gotten better. So there are certain times I think when you have a team that has a winning record that you’re not interested in continuing to play. But our group is so close and they’re so excited about basketball that I think it would be a good idea.”
Even if today’s game was the final time Fordham plays this season, it is clear that this basketball program is headed in the right direction. With Coach Neubauer at the helm, Chartouny returning for his sophomore season, and recent verbal commitments from 6-7 New York wing Chuba Ohams and 6-8 center Papa N’Diaye out of Quality Education (N.C.), there is a lot to look forward to with this young Rams team.
“I will play my game by rebounding, running the floor and knocking down shots and helping the team win,” N’Diaye said this week.
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