Fordham Basketball: Making the Case for Tom Pecora

Fordham Rams head coach Tom Pecora reached a milestone Wednesday night. It's one he'd surely like to forget.

Five years into his tenure at Rose Hill, Pecora lost his 100th game. After taking Hofstra to the National Invitation Tournament three times, he hasn't had that much success in the Bronx.

Pecora told Bleacher Report last Saturday he still believes he can turn the Rams into a winner. And while they currently sit at 5-15 and 0-9 in Atlantic 10 play, there's reason to believe he's right.

I understand why the questions are out there. The school's athletic director, David Roach, told B/R he expects better results this year. Pecora himself has talked about the need to turn the corner in 2014-15.

Nobody is happy with what's taken place thus far, but by no means is this a sinking ship.

Hard to make a case for a guy who has a 39-100 record since taking over? Not when you consider the history of the program, the players who are here now, some encouraging flashes this season and the coach himself.

Here are five reasons why Tom Pecora is still the right man for the job.

Nick Macarchuk coached the Rams from 1987 to 1999. Prior to the 1995 season, Fordham joined the A-10, a big step up from the Patriot League, where Macarchuk guided the Rams to the NCAA tournament in 1992 and to three National Invitation Tournaments.

Macarchuk made it through four years in the A-10 before being let go after a 12-15 season in 1998-99. Bob Hill replaced him and lasted four years, compiling a record of 36-78. Dereck Whittenburg came on board for six-plus seasons but was let go in December 2009 after winning only three games in 2008-09 and just one in 2009. Fordham had pretty much hit rock bottom.

The school tried it with the Fordham guy (Macarchuk), the NBA guy (Hill) and the NCAA guy (Whittenburg). Each had his moment or two, but at least in the cases of Hill and Whittenburg, too often they left with the program in worse shape than it was in when they took over.

Pecora inherited a mess. He had a lot to clean up. Yes, five years is a lot of time, but is it really in Fordham's best interest to start over yet again? Eventually, the Rams are going to have to settle on a coach who's going to be here for the long haul.

Why not go all-in with Pecora and see what happens? If it doesn't work down the road, maybe a different conversation needs to take place.

It's safe to assume that not many high school basketball players choose Fordham because of the school's home arena. The Rose Hill Gym is 90 years old and has a seating capacity of 3,200. They probably aren't too impressed with the history of the program, either. In its 19 years in the A-10, Fordham has finished above .500 one time.

What Fordham does offer is the chance to get a great education in a great city. Pecora has been able to sell recruits on his belief that coming to Fordham is a decision that will impact them far beyond their playing days. There's something about what he says, how he presents himself and the program, that appeals to recruits and their families.

Over the past couple of years, he brought in Eric Paschall—the New England Prep Player of the Year in 2014—and Jon Severe—Mr. New York Basketball in 2013.

There's no evidence to suggest that either would leave if Pecora was shown the door, except for the fact that these are two marquee recruits who could have gone elsewhere. They chose Fordham for a reason.

At this point, Fordham can ill afford to lose them.

Pecora had a 34-85 record in his first four years at Fordham. This year was supposed to be different, and it still could be. But did you really think this would all change overnight?

That's not how things work in the real world, not at a school like Fordham and not in the A-10, a conference that sent six teams to the NCAA tournament last year.

There are seven freshmen on the Rams' roster, all learning the ropes at the same time with only three upperclassmen to help guide them. Fordham has to hope that it hasn't seen the best of Nemanja Zarkovic and Antwoine Anderson, for example—two players who both lost starting point guard jobs this season.

On the other hand, Christian Sengfelder has been named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week twice this year—the same goes for Paschall, the Rams' top recruit.

"I think Eric Paschall is going to be the best player in the A-10 in a couple of years," Pecora said in an interview with B/R last Saturday.

Paschall is averaging 17.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Sengfelder is at 10.4 points and seven rebounds a game.

"I see a young group that's growing and getting better," Pecora said.

"Young guys need to develop a little bit," he added.

In today's day and age, when immediate results are expected, that still holds true.

Early in last Saturday's practice, the "5-Ball" drill served as a microcosm of Fordham's season.

The drill involves players running full court and calling out names, with a series of passes, dribbling and finishes. The goal is to get to 150 points in four minutes. Layups and jump shots count for one point; dunks count for two.

On the Rams' second attempt, they reached 149, needing only a dunk at the buzzer to prevent them from having to go through another four minutes of the drill. Of course, they ended up one point short.

In Fordham's 15 losses, and in its nine losses in A-10 play, there have been some blowouts. But there have also been two games against Rhode Island decided by a combined four points and Wednesday's six-point loss to UMass when the Rams held a second-half lead.

Fordham is close.

The early part of the A-10 schedule has been brutal. Seven of the Rams' nine conference losses have come against the top five teams (based on current standings). The schedule will soften as Fordham moves through February, which will only add to the pressure of winning some games.

"When we first got here, we got blown out all the time," Pecora said after Wednesday's game. "Now we're there. The young talent level is good enough, and it's there. We just have to continue to coach them up."

All of a sudden, Tom Pecora forgot how to coach. Or maybe his critics will try to convince you that, despite the 155 games he won at Hofstra, he never was a very good coach to begin with.

It's easy to knock someone when he or she is down, and there are people who get a kick out of doing that when a person's stock is high. That's just how some people are.

Fordham is a unique job, one of the most challenging in the country when you consider all factors. Nobody, including Pecora, is happy with the results.

Still, nobody is trying harder to turn this thing around. Take a couple of recent changes: a different approach to the Rams' game-day routine and the implementation of the flex offense.

Give Pecora this: He's trying.

"What I've always done in my career is make adjustments during the course of the year as you go through the league the second time," Pecora said about the changes. "This was more of a drastic change offensively to create some movement and to try to get guys the ball in certain areas and also to re-engage them, to give the team more focus, new energy.

"Putting new things in keeps it fresh for everybody. That's coaching. You can't be so set in your ways that 'this is how we do it.' We're more than willing. As a staff, we talk about all things...things we can do to make things better. If something's better for this team and I think it's going to help this team win games, I'm going to do it."

Quotations in this article were obtained firsthand.

Charles Costello covers the Fordham Rams for Bleacher Report. A full archive of his articles can be found here. Follow him on Twitter: @CFCostello