Fordham Basketball: Top 5 Stories of 2014

Fordham's New Year's resolution is the same every Jan. 1: win more games. Unfortunately for the Rams, that didn't happen in 2014.

With two games remaining in the calendar year, the Rams are 6-21 in 2014. That includes a 3-18 record from Jan. 8 to the end of the 2013-14 season, and a 3-6 mark so far this season.

The results are nothing new at Rose Hill. For so much of Fordham's 20 seasons in the Atlantic 10, the program has struggled to find its footing. Heading into this year, the Rams have finished above .500 only one time since they joined the A-10 prior to the 1995 season.

But 2014, in many ways, had a different feel to it. Yes, the Rams continued to lose games. But they also had some memorable wins, some important moments off the court and some overall experiences they might be able to build on.

For Fordham, the top stories of the year all had one thing in common: present in each one was at least a glimmer of hope that 2015 could be the year that the Rams finally turn the corner.

Here are the top stories of 2014 for the Fordham Rams.

In late August, Fordham took a foreign trip to Canada where it won games against Concordia, Laval, McGill and Brookwood Elite.

It was the summer, they were playing north of the border and the competition was nothing like the Rams see on a night-to-night basis during the regular season, but with seven freshmen, you take any win at any time.

The NCAA allows college basketball teams to go on one foreign trip every four years. This was a perfect time for the Rams given their youth and inexperience. 

Not the greatest story of the year; these were exhibition games in August, after all. But Fordham will take any wins it can get.

Also worthy of honorable mentions: Branden Frazier closes college career ninth on Fordham's all-time scoring list with 1,642 points and second in school history in assists with 495...Assistant coach David Duke, a key recruiter, left to become the head coach at Adelphi...Mike DePaoli hired as an assistant.

The Rams fell on some hard times late last season. After a conference win at home against Rhode Island on Feb. 1, Fordham dropped its next eight games to close out the regular season.

But the box scores don't tell the whole story—certainly not the story of the last week before the Atlantic 10 tournament when the Rams nearly pulled off upsets at home against La Salle and George Washington.

Fordham lost to the Explorers by two and, one week later, to the Colonials by three. It could have easily won both games. But at any rate, despite the losing streak and the fact that they weren't playing for anything, the Rams didn't quit.

You don't get an award for finishing second, and because the Rams didn't win these games you can't make this the top story. But because they didn't pack up and go home, and instead played some of their best basketball of the season in the final week of the regular season with nothing on the line, it deserves a mention.

Finally, opening night arrived.

After a long offseason, Fordham took to the floor for the first time—at least for the first time that it really mattered. The Rams didn't disappoint.

Behind a 31-point effort from freshman Eric Paschall, Fordham beat the New York Institute of Technology, 94-77. This single win was bigger than the four in Canada combined. This one counted.

Let's be honest: Fordham had to win this game. NYIT is a Division II team and Penn State and Maryland were next up on the schedule. They would lose their next four, but on opening night, a crowd of 1,368 saw the Rams' season begin on a good note.

Adding to the importance of this game was Paschall's remarkable debut. He lived up to all the hype surrounding his arrival.

The way Fordham played in the final week of the regular season proved that there was no quit in the Rams. The win over George Mason in the play-in game of the A-10 tournament was further proof of that.

On a Wednesday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, the Rams snapped their eight-game losing streak with a 70-67 win over the Patriots. The next day, Fordham's season ended with a 13-point loss to Dayton.

Still, that win, just the fifth ever win for Fordham in the A-10 tournament and its first since 2007, provided further evidence that the Rams, though playing with a dearth of talent, were also playing with a lot of pride.

There weren't many highlights for Fordham in the 2013-14 season. There weren't many wins, either. But one of them came in front of 3,842 on one of the biggest stages in New York City.

And it was a postseason win, which is why this one ranks higher than any other.

It’s been an eventful year for Jon Severe.

A prized recruit out of Christ the King High School in Queens, New York, Severe was second on the Rams in scoring as a freshman, averaging 17.3 points per game in the 2013-14 season.

This year, the thought was that he and Paschall could form a dynamic combo. Not only has that not yet happened, but now, Severe’s future is in doubt.

Severe was suspended six days before the Rams’ opener due to a violation of team rules. When he returned, he played just 39 minutes in three games and scored only five points. Then, on Nov. 29, he took a leave of absence. He has not yet returned to the team.

Severe was supposed to be a key cog in Fordham’s rebuilding efforts. His point production last year—though he had a low field-goal percentage (.331) and had his shot selection questioned—showed the potential he had. However, the events that led up to his suspension, and later his leave of absence, show that we're talking about a lot more than simply putting a ball through a hoop.

There's no timetable for Severe’s return. If it is going to happen, it will take place sometime in the new year, ensuring that anything Severe accomplished as a freshman will be overshadowed by what took place off the court in 2014.

Fordham's offseason began a lot earlier than people might think.

In April, a month after their season ended with a loss to Dayton in the A-10 tournament, the Rams were back inside the Rose Hill Gym, and downstairs from their home court in the school's Lombardi Center, taking part in offseason workouts.

Slowly, the future started to roll in. In May, Paschall and Nemanja Zarkovic made their way onto campus for the first time, joining redshirt freshmen Antwoine Anderson and Manny Suarez. A month later, Christian Sengfelder, Dekeba Battee-Aston and Zaire Thompson arrived.

The seven freshmen were here, joining juniors Ryan Rhoomes and Mandell Thomas, as well as seniors Ryan Canty and Bryan Smith. The 2014-15 Rams were beginning to take shape.

It was a chance to bond, to improve, to get ready for the late-August trip to Canada and to prepare for the new season.

It was the most productive offseason you could imagine. Most of all, it was a breath of fresh air. After four years and 85 losses, there was hope. Head coach Tom Pecora and the Fordham Rams felt they were on their way.

In 2014, no story could be bigger than that.

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