Fordham Basketball: Most Valuable Players in 2014-15

Fordham experienced a little bit of everything during the 2014-15 basketball season.

The Rams won on opening night against the New York Institute of Technology, suffered crushing defeats to UMass Lowell and Maryland Eastern Shore, lost their first nine Atlantic 10 games, won four of six late in the season and almost shocked VCU in the second round of the Atlantic 10 tournament.

There were key injuries: Ryan Canty missed the entire season after having back surgery, and Eric Paschall's high-ankle sprain may have prevented Fordham from spending an extra day or two in Brooklyn, the site of the A-10 tournament.

Other troublesome factors included Jon Severe's suspension and leave of absence, as well as the growing pains associated with having seven freshmen and just three upperclassmen on the roster.

Through it all, the Rams persevered. Their 10-21 record may not look good on paper, but as a result of some key contributors, they appear to be in good shape moving forward.

Statistics only tell part of the story. Fordham's most valuable players certainly put up the numbers, but they also provided leadership and, maybe most importantly, hope. As much as this is about what took place over the past five months, it's also about what could happen next season and beyond.

Here were the Rams' most valuable players in 2014-15.

You can't make a list of most valuable players without including Bryan Smith, the only senior on the Rams' roster who played significant minutes.

Smith's season really started to take off when he became a starter in Fordham's 16th game. He would finish strong, scoring double digits in seven of the Rams' final nine games.

Smith averaged 6.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game on the season, but he was much better than that down the stretch.

Most importantly, as the lone senior, he was a leader.

Smith will be lost to graduation, but like Branden Frazier a year ago, he left his mark.

Mandell Thomas has always been a talented guard who could help out a team in many ways. This season, his role expanded when he became Fordham's point guard for its game at Saint Joseph's on Jan. 14.

Thomas would finish the season averaging 13.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. His ability to transition from shooting guard to point guard is what he'll be remembered for this year. In many ways, it saved the Rams' season.

It's true that he might not be a natural point guard, but at a time when the Rams needed someone to settle things down on the offensive end—when they needed to cut down on the turnovers and become more efficient on that end of the floor—Thomas came to the rescue.

Next year at point guard, Fordham could go back to Nemanja Zarkovic or Antwoine Anderson, who will be sophomores, or the Rams could look to Matt Zignorski or Joseph Chartouny, both of whom signed with the school last November.

Thomas, however, will be a big part of the team in 2015-16 no matter where on the floor he plays.

The Rams thought they had found something when Christian Sengfelder arrived on campus last summer. However, they probably didn't know that he'd end up being this special so early in his collegiate career.

Sengfelder was named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week five times in 2014-15. He averaged 11.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. He started all 31 games, the only Fordham player to do so.

Sengfelder scored 27 points in Fordham's win over George Mason in the first round of the A-10 tournament. It was the 16th time this season that he scored in double digits.

He can shoot, post up and rebound. He's a force from three-point range and down low. He plays with energy and enthusiasm. There's nothing not to like about him.

And here's what's most important: Sengfelder is only going to get better, and he's here for three more years.

The reason why Eric Paschall arrived on Fordham's campus with the star label attached to his name is simple: He's a star.

Paschall lived up to the hype in his first season in the Bronx, averaging a team-high 15.9 points per game and scoring in double digits in 21 of the 27 games he played in. He was named A-10 Rookie of the Week twice. Like Sengfelder, he's only going to get better.

In the final week of the regular season, Paschall suffered a high-ankle sprain. He missed the Rams' final two regular-season games and returned to play only 11 minutes in the opening round of the conference tournament, scoring just one point.

Against VCU, Fordham almost pulled off what would have been one of the biggest upsets in school history. The Rams led by five with nine minutes and 10 seconds left but ended up falling to VCU, 63-57.

Now imagine if Paschall had played. If he was healthy and able to go, he could have been the difference.

There will be plenty of times over the next three years when he will be.

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