Fordham Basketball

Fordham's Jon Severe is in the beginning stages of what could be the most important season of his basketball career.

Severe was a star in high school, averaging 21.6 points as a senior at Christ the King in Queens, where he led the school to multiple titles and was named New York State's Mr. Basketball in 2013.

As a freshman at Fordham, he found himself in much different circumstances.

Severe is one of the most talented players Fordham has been able to land in its 19 years in the Atlantic 10. In many ways, he hasn't disappointed. In some ways, however, he still has a lot to prove.

Last week, at the A-10's media day, Severe was named third team All-Conference, on the heels of being named to the conference's All-Rookie Team following his freshman season.

"I'm pretty happy about being third team," Severe told Bleacher Report after practice last Saturday, "but this season I want to be more consistent."

"I can't win unless we win," he added.

Here's what he means.

Last year, though he averaged 17.3 points per game (second on the team), his field-goal percentage was only .331 and his shot selection came under scrutiny.

Tom Pecora, Fordham's head coach, is hoping to get a more balanced player this year.

“He had a good offseason,” Pecora said at the league's media day, the New York Post's John DeMarzo reported. “He approached things maturely in the way he had to work and the things he needed to do, and because of our greater talent and balance this year, he won’t have to look [to] score every time down the floor.”

So could the solution to Severe's shooting issues—field-goal percentage and shot selection—be that simple? Surround him with more talent and you'll get a more team-oriented player? Severe thinks so.

"I think this year, I won't have to force a lot because I have a lot of good teammates around me," he said.

"Last year my mindset was scoring, but that's not my type of game."

He described his type of game as "making the extra pass, getting in lanes, rebounding, just mixing it up."

Severe said it's more about changing his approach than undergoing any type of major overhaul. He expects that, while his points per game might go down, his assists and rebounds will go up, something he's talked with Pecora about.

"It's not really adjusting because that's how my game was in the beginning," Severe said. "[Last year] I felt like I had to shoot. Now I don't have to force it."

It shouldn't surprise you that a talented basketball player who had so much success before he got to Fordham would be focused on winning. Clearly, Fordham didn't do enough of that in Severe's first season, winning 10 games and losing 21.

Severe is confident the tide is turning.

"The No. 1 goal is to win games," he said.

"There's a vibe. Everybody wants to win. You can feel it."

With seven freshmen and only four upperclassmen expected to play, Severe, a sophomore, finds himself somewhere right in the middle: too young to be considered a veteran but old enough to expect more. At this point in his career, Severe spoke honestly about the strides he still needs to make.

"I'm still learning," he said. "I can't show by example right now because I'm still learning myself. I don't know everything. As time goes by, when I know more, I can take that leadership role."

As Severe enters his second season in the Bronx, the Rams haven't gotten much respect from A-10 coaches and media. They were picked to finish last in the conference. But don't expect Severe to pay close attention to that.

"It doesn't matter to me," he said about the preseason poll. "We could be picked first or last; it doesn't matter. It's what we do on the court. I don't listen to that.

"I like being the underdog. All we have to do is win. We play basketball. A win is a win—that's how I look at 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. Twitter: @CFCostello

Fordham's Eric Paschall is the face of the future at Rose Hill. It seems almost a certainty that before too long he'll be the face of the Rams.

If it's possible for someone who has yet to play a minute of college basketball to be hailed as a savior, then Paschall might be that guy.

After arriving in late May, the 6'6" forward spent the summer months working out with his new teammates. In late August, he helped lead the Rams to a 4-0 record in Canada. On Oct. 7, Fordham had its first official practice. We're under way in the Bronx.

After Fordham concluded its practice Saturday, Paschall told Bleacher Report he thinks things are moving in the right direction. 

"I think we're progressing well," he said. "The team chemistry is getting a lot better. We're starting to learn each other's games more, starting to know what we like to do. I think by the time the season comes we'll be real comfortable."

The regular season begins on Nov. 14 when Fordham hosts the New York Institute of Technology. Following the opener, the Rams will play Penn State and Maryland in back-to-back road games against Big Ten opponents.

Before too long, the Atlantic 10 schedule will start. It will be a tough two-month stretch for Fordham—a young team in rebuilding mode playing on a nightly basis against established programs, including six teams that made last season's NCAA tournament.

Playing against top-notch competition won't be anything new for Paschall, who saw plenty of it last season when he attended Connecticut's St. Thomas More, where he was named the New England Prep Player of the Year.

"I played against a lot of great competition," Paschall said. "It's prepared me a lot. I'm feeling ready for the A-10."

With Paschall, there's reason to believe that better days may be ahead. Joining him this year will be six other freshmen (two redshirts), including point guard Nemanja Zarkovic and forward Christian Sengfelder. Paschall may headline the rookie class, but he'll have support around him.

"It's been great," he said when asked about the impact the freshmen have had so far. "[They] all bring a lot to the table. We all play well together. I'm looking forward to the season."

As he moves through October en route to his first college season, Paschall outlined his goals.

"I just have to stay humble and be hungry," he said. "Keep working hard; [do] all the little stuff."

Paschall said what pleases him most is "seeing [his] game progress," telling B/R he's been working on his shooting and ball-handling.

"All that is [helping me] progress into a better player," he said.

Fordham head coach Tom Pecora has been talking up his star recruit for some time.

“We really expect a lot out of Eric, and that’s why he came [to Fordham],” Pecora said at media day, the New York Post's John DeMarzo reported. “We talked to him a lot about going somewhere where you’re going to have an impact right away. I believe he could play just about anywhere in the country, as most of the best players in this conference [can].”

Unless otherwise noted, 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. Twitter: @CFCostello

Fordham was picked to finish last in the Atlantic 10 in a preseason poll released earlier this week, part of the conference's media day festivities at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

There are plenty of reasons why A-10 coaches and media members would have their doubts about the Rams. Still, the poll results were a bit shocking, especially for anyone who's witnessed what's gone on at Fordham since last season ended in March.

This seems like a classic example of not being able to get out of the way of the reputation you've created for yourself.

"We’ve got them right where we want them,” Fordham head coach Tom Pecora said at media day according to the Daily News' Roger Rubin reported.

More than anything, the lack of respect coaches and the media have for Fordham is largely the result of the Rams' struggles over their 19 seasons in the Atlantic 10. Fordham hasn't had a winning season since 2006-07. In the seven seasons since, it's 16-96 against Atlantic 10 opponents.

Since becoming a member of the A-10 prior to the 1995 season, the Rams are 72-232 against conference opponents. Only twice have they finished .500 or better in conference play. In the past six seasons, they've won 39 games, and just 10 of those wins came against A-10 schools.

Believe it or not, this year the schedule will be even more challenging since teams will play 18 games against conference schools for the first time since the 1990-91 season. It will be a grueling two-month stretch for Fordham.

Hence the need to pick up wins in nonconference games. At media day on Tuesday, Pecora didn't hide from the fact that the Rams will have to win a majority of their nonconference games before the A-10 schedule begins in January.

“I think when you look at Jan. 1, you need to be 7-4, 8-3, 9-2 if you’re going to have a chance to go play in the postseason,” Pecora said according to the New York Post's John DeMarzo. “You’re not going to, in a league like this, go and win 12 games.”

Make no mistake about it: The nonconference schedule will be challenging as well. Back-to-back games on the road against Big Ten opponents Penn State and Maryland will be early tests. A big game at Madison Square Garden against St. John's will be followed by a battle at Barclays against Manhattan.

While history—the one Fordham is trying to get past—has taught us that it won't be easy, this is Fordham's chance to change the narrative.

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

Fordham isn't getting much respect these days. When you look at what the Rams have done of late, perhaps that's understandable.

Thirty-nine wins in six seasons isn't going to excite the masses. In fact, when you've performed as poorly as Fordham has over a good portion of its 19 seasons in the Atlantic 10, you develop a reputation as being one of those perennially rebuilding programs.

But here's where reputation should meet reality.

On Tuesday, the Atlantic 10 Conference announced its preseason poll and awards, part of the conference's media day festivities at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Fordham was picked to finish 14th, dead last in the conference. (Full disclosure: I took part in the voting for the A-10 preseason poll and awards.)

Even George Mason was picked to finish ahead of the Rams despite the fact that Fordham beat the Patriots in the play-in game of last season's A-10 tournament. Davidson wasn't even in the conference a year ago, and yet the Wildcats were picked to finish two spots ahead of the Rams.

I'm not saying that Fordham should have been picked to finish first or anywhere close to that. But can we at least get the Rams out of the cellar? Both Yahoo Sports and CBSSports.com said yes, picking the Rams to finish next-to-last.

I'm going to guess that with more talent—albeit young and unproven—on the roster, Fordham, which won just two regular-season conference games last year, is not going to finish last in the A-10 despite the fact that the league is by far the best non-major conference in the country, a safe statement after it sent six teams to the NCAA tournament a year ago.

VCU was the unanimous pick to win the A-10, with the Rams picking up all 28 first-place votes. George Washington was selected to finish second, followed by Dayton, Massachusetts and Richmond rounding out the top five. Rhode Island, La Salle, Saint Joseph's, Saint Louis, St. Bonaventure and Duquesne were picked in spots six through 11.

Fordham's Jon Severe, a sophomore, was named Preseason Third Team All-Conference after averaging 17.3 points per game as a freshman. Dayton's Jordan Sibert, George Washington's Patricio Garino, Richmond's Kendall Anthony, Saint Joseph's DeAndre' Bembry and VCU's Treveon Graham and Briante Weber were named First Team All-Conference. (Due to a tie in voting, six players were selected.)

While Severe is already a household name, it won't be long before Eric Paschall, Nemanja Zarkovic and Christian Sengfelder join him. Maybe then, Fordham will start getting some respect.

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

Fordham will get an off-court glimpse of its competition next Tuesday when the Atlantic 10 Conference holds its media day at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

The head coaches of all 14 teams will be present. Seven coaches will be available to the media in the morning, with seven more taking part in the afternoon session.

Fordham head coach Tom Pecora will be in the afternoon group. Entering his fifth season at Rose Hill, Pecora told Bleacher Report that the conference continues to get better.

"This is not the Atlantic 10 that Fordham joined 20 years ago," he said. "It's much different. ... This league made history last year putting six teams in the NCAA tournament. It's as good a league as Fordham has ever played in. With that said, I think it's going to be a real high level of college basketball [this year]. I'm excited about coaching in it."

A look at Fordham's A-10 schedule reveals what will surely be another grueling campaign. Fordham will play 18 games against league opponents and will open with VCU, Rhode Island and Dayton, three of the projected top teams in the conference.

"On paper, when you look at teams and names and where people think teams are going to finish, it's tougher earlier than late," Pecora said about Fordham's schedule. "But if you're playing your best basketball and you're on a real great stretch early and you can go get some of those games, then it's a good way for it to be set up.

"You're going to go out, you're going to compete and you're going to hopefully be able to take care of business and win some games in-conference."

This might be the year that Fordham has a chance. Two decades of trying to build a winner in a conference that's only gotten better has produced its fair share of trying times. But there's hope, as Pecora and his staff have been able to lure what looks to be A-10 talent to the Bronx.

Fordham won't be the only team to enter the season with freshmen who are expected to have an impact. Throughout the conference, programs continue to recruit at a high level. Now it's a matter of how quickly and how well players adjust to the college game.

"It's easy to create hype," Pecora said. "It's tough to live up to it. You have to see how these young guys play when the lights come on."

Pecora did get an early look at his Rams when they traveled to Canada in August. Fordham went 4-0 on the trip, one that Pecora called "very positive for us." He told Bleacher Report that the team has a much different look and feel to it, particularly on offense.

"I saw the ball move more," he said. "I thought that was a good thing.

"There are more options, and in turn the ball moves more freely. By being able to play Christian [Sengfelder] and Eric [Paschall] at that fourth perimeter spot, and their skill set, it allows the offense to be a little more seamless, a little more efficient and more balanced.

"You're not always looking to one or two guys to score. I think there were times last year where it was really Branden [Frazier] or Jon [Severe]. If they didn't get a good look at it we were going to struggle to score. Now I think there's greater balance. It's not about locking up one or two guys. It's about worrying about a number of guys on the floor scoring."

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. Twitter: @CFCostello

Even if you had never heard of Joseph Chartouny before he verbally committed to Fordham last week, is it really all that surprising that he decided to play his college basketball in the Bronx?

After all, one of the biggest stories of the Rams' busy offseason has been the welcoming of talent from outside the United States to Rose Hill.

Chartouny, from Montreal's College Jean-de-Brebeuf, is the most recent international player to commit, but this story started a while back. Nemanja Zarkovic, Chartouny's high school teammate, Christian Sengfelder (Germany), Zaire Thompson (Germany) and Dekeba Battee-Aston (Australia), all from outside the country, arrived on campus this summer. 

It's not that Fordham hasn't been a destination for local talent. Of the 15 players listed on the team's roster, seven are from New York, including highly touted recruits Eric Paschall and Jon Severe.

In an interview with Bleacher Report this summer, Fordham head coach Tom Pecora indicated that this is one of the ways the Rams have to go about their business.

"We're Fordham," he said. "We're a unique place, and we have to find a unique way to put together a winning basketball program. I think we're doing that."

Canada has been kind to the Rams of late: Zarkovic is a freshman, Chartouny will be on campus next summer, and in late August the Rams took a foreign trip to Canada, where they went 4-0.

They may be on to something here, tapping into a market known more for its hockey than for hoops. Zarkovic told B/R that he feels Canadian basketball is on the rise.

"There's a lot of good basketball that's played in Canada," he said. "I know the reputation of Canadian basketball is getting much better. They've beaten some pretty good teams recently. NCAA teams [have gone] there and [lost]."

No one would know better than Zarkovic. Last summer, a full year before his Fordham career began, Zarkovic averaged 20.5 points in four games against college programs. He learned that he could compete at the highest level. Fordham learned that he could do so as well.

“We evaluated him on tape against Division II opponents that went up and played there (Canada) last summer," Pecora told B/R before Zarkovic joined the Rams, "and he played great in a lot of those games against good, veteran upperclassmen. And then when I went and saw him work out, I felt very comfortable with him.”

After Chartouny verbally committed, Mike Chmielewski, the head coach at Jean-de-Brebeuf, said that while it's nice to send players to Division I schools, he wants those guys to make real contributions to the programs they join.

"It's nice to place guys D-I, but we want to place guys D-I that actually have an impact on the game," he said. "We expect them to actually have an impact, [to] help turn around a program like Fordham that's been making strides but has a big challenge of competing in the Atlantic 10.

"We want them to actually succeed and have a playing career, not gather bench splinters."

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. Twitter: @CFCostello

Once again, Fordham is heading north of the border.

However, unlike in August when the Rams went to Canada for what turned out to be a 4-0 foreign trip, this time around they won't be doing any traveling.

Instead, Joseph Chartouny, a 6'3" point guard from Montreal's College Jean-de-Brebeuf, is coming to them. Last Friday, Chartouny announced via Twitter that he had verbally committed to the Rams. 

I am proud and grateful to annonce that I have officially committed to the Fordham Rams for next season.

— Joseph Chartouny (@Josephchartouny) September 26, 2014 

Chartouny is the third player to verbally commit to Fordham. Matt Zignorski made his announcement in July, and Jesse Bunting followed with his earlier this month.

At College Jean-de-Brebeuf, Chartouny was teammates with Nemanja Zarkovic, who signed with Fordham in April and arrived at Rose Hill this summer. Both are point guards.

"I was going to back him with whatever he was going to decide," Mike Chmielewski, Chartouny's high school coach, told Bleacher Report. "I was aware he was leaning strongly toward Fordham, especially after the visit. It came as no surprise. He feels good about it."

Chmielewski said he thinks Fordham will be a nice fit for Chartouny.

"He connected with the coaching staff and players quickly," Chmielewski said. "The school is great. Being able to study business there and with what the Atlantic 10 has to offer, that whole combination of things... it's no surprise that he decided to go there."

When he described Chartouny's skills, it was very reminiscent of what Chmielewski said back in April about Zarkovic.

"He is probably the most talented connector I've coached," Chmielewski said about Chartouny. "By connecting I mean a guy that has an ability of connecting the team together, getting guys to play at a higher level, setting people up.

"He's like an extremely talented glue guy. Usually glue guys are reserved for role players. He actually has a lot of talent. He's a talented scorer, but he prefers setting people up."

Zarkovic has been impressive in every way since he arrived on campus at the beginning of the summer. The intangibles are there, and so is the leadership. On the court, those close to the program point to better ball movement as a major change from a year ago. Zarkovic is responsible for a lot of that.

It's no surprise, then, that Fordham went back to Montreal to see what else they could find.

Chmielewski is still talking about Zarkovic, now focusing on the impact he had on Chartouny.

"Nemanja's tendencies rubbed off on Joseph a bit—[his] leadership and toughness," Chmielewski said. "That's the Nemanja effect."

Zarkovic has a one-year head start on Chartouny, but soon they'll be teammates again, competing in the same backcourt, and perhaps they'll find themselves on the court together at the same time, just like it used to be. Only now, they'll be part of the basketball renaissance at Rose Hill.

Chmielewski said he thinks the two could form an intriguing mix in the backcourt.

"Yes, and it will be a lot of fun watching them do it," he said.

"They'll be competing every single possession, trying to win every single possession," he added. "We've never had a team that's moved the ball as well as we did the last two years when these guys played together. They're very versatile, and they don't take possessions off."

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. Twitter: @CFCostello

Fordham University has reached an agreement with SportsNet New York, a regional sports network that is home to the New York Mets and Jets, to broadcast seven of the school's men's basketball games in 2014-15, it was announced on Monday.

Fordham Partners with SNY for Basketball Television Package http://t.co/Kk9gdA9aXE

— Fordham Athletics (@FordhamRams) September 22, 2014

In addition to the seven men's games, SNY will broadcast two women's games.

"We are excited to once again partner with SNY to showcase our basketball programs," Fordham director of athletics David Roach told FordhamSports.com. "We are pleased to be associated with a network that has such outstanding programming, and we look forward [to] continuing this partnership with SNY in the future."

This is a win-win for both the school and network. In New York City, there are three major regional sports outlets on television—SNY, the YES Network and the Madison Square Garden Network—making this a huge deal for the Rams, who will get major exposure in a crowded city market.

College basketball programming is important for SNY, too. The network is in need of filling out a lineup occupied for half the year by the Mets. All basketball games take place during the MLB offseason.

"SNY's partnership with Fordham Athletics continues to expand," Gary Morgenstern, SNY's senior vice president of programming, said according to the Fordham release. "As the home of the Atlantic 10 Conference in New York, SNY is thrilled to offer not only Ram fans, but basketball fans throughout the tri-state area, a slate of exciting games from this up-and-coming program once again in 2014-15."

Fordham head coach Tom Pecora recognizes the advantages of appearing on one of New York's top sports networks. 

"[When] we have games on SNY, I get calls from alumni in California who are watching it," Pecora told Bleacher Report on Thursday. "It can get picked up anywhere. The quality of the broadcast is off-the-chart. The talent they put on the games is very good."

"It's a commitment from the university to make sure that we can get some of these games televised on top of the package that the league gives us," he added. "[The] 24-hour news cycle includes sports. There are a lot more opportunities to be on television. Kids see that in recruiting, so it's very important in that sense, too."

This season will be Fordham's 20th in the Atlantic 10. Wins have been hard to come by, but this year could be different. So, yes, it's probably a good time for the Rams to appear more and more on television sets locally and nationally. But it's also something that Pecora sees as being good for the university as a whole.

"Our job, like any athletic department, is to get the university name out there in a positive light," he said. "It really becomes a great two-hour Fordham infomercial in a lot of ways. You put a good product out on the floor and they get to see shots of campus and student-body shots. There are a lot of families out there watching games that have children who aren't athletes that are saying 'that could be a great place for my son or daughter to go to school.'"

This is the second straight year of the Fordham-SNY partnership, and it represents only part of the Rams' television presence.

In addition to the seven games that will be shown on SNY, Fordham will appear 10 more times on either the CBS Sports Network, the NBC Sports Network, Fox Sports 1, the Atlantic 10 Network, the Big Ten Network and digitally on Campus Insiders.

Unless otherwise noted, quotes 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. Twitter: @CFCostello

Twelve-year-old Sean Pecora started at the foul line, took a couple of dribbles and, in stride, let go of the ball.

There were no defenders, no one was keeping score, and the only person watching was Tom Pecora, Sean's father and the head coach of the Fordham Rams.

As Sean went in for the layup, his father turned for a quick second or two to watch a kid with a future ahead of him. When he did, his eyes momentarily left a program with a future that starts now.

Sean's ball went in. Fordham's ball is still up in the air.

Since he was hired in March 2010, Pecora has tried to transform the Rams from perennial losers into winners, something Fordham had been trying to do for its first 15 years in the Atlantic 10.

With the arrival of fall providing a signal that we're that much closer to the start of the college basketball campaign, we're left to ponder if after 19 seasons—most ending in frustration and doubt—could this finally be the year that the program turns the corner for good?

So much of this upcoming season is going to be about the future, even though the future is now for Fordham basketball. It's not just going to be about the future of the Rams. It will also be about the future of Pecora, whose fifth year at the school has all the makings of being the most important one yet.

The first four haven't been great, producing only 34 wins against 85 losses. As we moved into this past offseason, questions about Pecora's job status popped up from time to time.

Pecora was asked. Fordham athletic director David Roach was asked. I'm sure others were asked as well. Everyone seems to have an opinion, and most think Pecora has to win this year.

But what exactly that means is unclear, creating a murky picture that could lead to months of innuendo, rumor and pure speculation.

For his part, Roach told Bleacher Report, "I never put numbers on it, but we want to see significant improvement. I can’t put a number on it, but I can feel it."

That's where it could get interesting. Fordham will be expected to win a good portion of its nonconference games. Heading into A-10 play with an 8-3 record is a realistic goal. But once January comes and the conference schedule begins, the level of competition and degree of difficulty will increase dramatically. Yes, Fordham has added significant talent, but it'll be tested on a nightly basis by a conference that sent six teams to the NCAA tournament last year.

Pecora isn't one to back down from a challenge. He proved that just by taking the Fordham job in the first place. He's tried to instill in his players that same mentality.

"I always tell kids, 'You can't play scared.' You can't coach scared either," Pecora told Bleacher Report. "I know how to do this. We're going to stick to our guns, be patient with it, be positive and keep moving forward."

"I don't feel like my job's on the line," he added. "You can't coach scared. No one pushes coaches harder than themselves."

Building a basketball program is tough. Building one at a place where it's never been done before at this level is even tougher. No one wants to win more than Pecora. It's what he did at Hofstra when he won 155 games in nine seasons. It's what drove him to accept the Fordham job—believing he could accomplish what no one else before him was able to do.

"I obviously didn't come here to not win basketball games," Pecora said. "We had great success prior to coming here, but so have other coaches and it hasn't worked here. We think the approach we've taken, although it might have taken longer, I think we've built a pretty solid foundation in the process of doing it. 

"I do believe we can have a year this year, if the ball bounces the right way, especially in conference, where we can turn the corner," he added. "Does it mean 16-15 is a good year and 15-16 isn't? That's yet to be seen."

Pecora has been coaching for 30 years. This is his greatest challenge. After four years at Rose Hill, he understands the realities of his situation—at Fordham, in the A-10 and within the landscape of college basketball.

"It's a business about wins and losses," Pecora said. "I get it.

"We're going to be the best Fordham we can be. For us to be compared to other schools, whether they're A-10 schools or other schools in college basketball, I don't get caught up in that nonsense. We're Fordham. We're a unique place, and we have to find a unique way to put together a winning basketball program. I think we're doing that."

If you ask Pecora whether he thinks he's on the hot seat, he'll tell you that he's been on the hot seat his entire life. If you ask him what he thinks when he hears people speculate about what he needs to do this year to keep his job, he'll say what you'd expect someone who's been around the game this long would say.

"I think it means we have to get better than last year," Pecora said. "I agree with it. I don't think there's a hard number out there because it's such a fragile equation. You're a rolled ankle away from things changing drastically. Go lose a point guard that's playing 35 minutes a game in the middle of A-10 play and see how things play out."

This season cannot be all about Pecora. In many ways, it's the first step in a brand-new process that began with an infusion of talent the likes of which the program was in desperate need of. Fordham needed a star— it got just that with Eric Paschall. The Rams needed a point guard—they found Nemanja Zarkovic. They needed help in the frontcourt—they got that, and more, with Christian Sengfelder.

Give it time. If it doesn't work now, it never will.

"If you're going to do this the right way, there are no shortcuts," Pecora said. "I can't coach this team in a way where this is the only year that matters. Because then next year they won't develop the way they should to take us to the next step.

"I know we're doing it the right way here," he added. "I know we're representing Fordham on and off the court in the right way. The last step in the process is winning some games. But people who think you come in, turn it around and win 20 games—they don't have a clue as to what it takes to do it the right way."

You know what question they ought to be asking around Fordham these days? Not the one that's been asked several times since the Rams' season ended in March, the one about whether or not Pecora is on the hot seat.

The question they should be asking is what is Fordham going to do to keep Pecora around beyond this year? Because if the Rams get it going in 2014-15, get eight wins in nonconference games, pick up a few more in Atlantic 10 play and make some noise at the Barclays Center in March, then it's not going to matter whether Fordham wants him back or not. It's going to be about other schools airlifting him right out of the Rose Hill Gym.

Barring a meltdown, which no one anticipates happening, there shouldn't be any questions about Pecora's job. It might be hard to imagine coming off a 10-win season, but the ball may very soon be in his court.

In fact, if the call is made to let Pecora go, then you could argue that maybe the next call should be to A-10 Commissioner Bernadette McGlade, opening a dialogue about where the school is going after 20 years in the conference.

This season shouldn't be about Pecora's future. It has more to do with Fordham's.

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. Twitter: @CFCostello