Fordham Basketball

Last season wasn't a total wash for Fordham's Antwoine Anderson.

While the freshman guard was ruled ineligible and had to sit out the entire 2013-14 campaign, that didn't prevent him from using the time off to do what he could to improve his game.

Still, it wasn't easy for Anderson, who found himself on the sideline of the sport he loves.

"It was real difficult," Anderson said after Fordham's workout on Tuesday. "It was very challenging, but at the end of the day it really benefited me because I got in the weight room, and I got to watch guys like (former Fordham guard) Branden Frazier.

"That was a good [learning] experience for me."

Anderson said that helped prepare him for what will be his rookie season.

"Coach Pecora told me to be ready to have the ball in my hands," he said. "Frazier had the ball in his hands a lot. Just watching how he came off pick and rolls, shooting, his decision making—it helped me a lot."

Before arriving at Fordham, Anderson played at Bishop Kearney High School in Rochester, New York, where he averaged 16 points, four assists and four rebounds per game as a senior.

He led the Kings to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association title, to the semifinals of the Federation Tournament of Champions and to the Section V Class AA1 title.

Anderson was a team captain for his junior and senior seasons.

As a result of the extra time in the weight room, Anderson said he's up to about 175 pounds.

Of course, this is a player whose game is predicated on speed. Everything he does on the court, at both ends of the floor, he does at lightning-quick speed.

"Antwoine reminds me of players I've had in the past that were almost like football cornerbacks or safeties playing basketball," head coach Tom Pecora said. "He's pretty strong and physical, he's a good on-the-ball defender, he can really push the ball and he's a sick athlete.

"We just have to get him to understand how to play the game at different speeds," he added. "Great players do. And then to make good decisions at whatever speed he's playing at."

Previously, Pecora had said that Anderson "can get from one baseline to the other as fast as anybody I've coached." 

That type of speed and athleticism will be useful on both ends of the floor.

Anderson said he takes pride in his defense and also in his ability on the fast break and being able to get easy baskets.

"I can bring a lot of defense to the team, especially as far as full-court," he said. "I have the foot speed to keep my man in front of me.

"Defense starts with ball pressure. If there's a lot of ball pressure it's hard for the other team to get into their offense."

Anderson enters the mix at an exciting time for the program. Despite the Rams' struggles over the years, there's a palpable sense of optimism as the team prepares for the 2014-15 season.

That's largely a result of players like Anderson, who's part of the influx of talent that's made its way to Rose Hill.

"It's a completely different team," Anderson said. "Everybody brings something different to the table. It's really complementing each other's game."

"We're a lot more athletic," he added. "It should be interesting."

Quotations in this article were obtained firsthand.

Charles Costello covers the Fordham Rams for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @CFCostello

Bad news struck the Fordham Rams right before the start of the 2013-14 regular season.

Manny Suarez, a 6'10" freshman forward, was ruled academically ineligible by the NCAA. As a result, he would have to sit out the entire season.

It was a big loss for the Rams and a tough reality for Suarez, who averaged 18.4 points, 13.2 rebounds and 6.0 blocks per game during his senior year at Marist High School in Bayonne, New Jersey.

He put up virtually the same numbers as a junior (16 points, 13 rebounds and 5 blocks per game) in 14 games at Marist after transferring from Cliffside Park High School.

Then, before his college career could get going, he was ineligible.

Now, Suarez is back, working out with the team and getting ready for what will finally be his rookie season.

"It feels amazing," he said about returning to the fold. "I'm thankful to everybody for getting me in here and getting me ready."

As big of a hit as Suarez's loss may have been for Fordham, it was devastating for him. Instead of bemoaning the past, however, Suarez prefers to focus on the opportunities that lie ahead.

"That killed me," he said about being ruled ineligible, "but I'm grateful because I'm here."

Suarez was forced to sit and watch as Fordham struggled through its Atlantic 10 schedule in 2014. The Rams finished with a 2-14 record against conference opponents during the regular season.

There was nothing he could do. No way he could help. For Suarez, it was agonizing.

"That was just painful seeing my teammates going to battle—just to need that extra edge, that extra push—and I wasn't there to help them," he said. "It hurt me a lot.

"But we have this year. I'm just hoping to make a name for myself and start getting things rolling."

The summer workouts have been his first opportunity to do just that. Suarez is part of a group of new-look Rams who hope to turn around a program that has suffered through seven straight losing seasons.

"We're a young squad," he said. "I believe we have the talent."

I'll let you in on a little secret: Suarez is thinking big.

In fact, when asked about his expectations for this team, he brought up the Fordham women's basketball team, which won the Atlantic 10 championship last season, securing a berth in the NCAA tournament.

"What really excites me is that we're hungry," he said. "We're hungry to get an Atlantic 10 championship."

"I think it's our turn," he added. "When it comes to the NCAA tournament, I just wish us the best, and we'll see how far we go."

Suarez, like many of his teammates, is a great unknown. Because most people have never seen him play, there's excitement, as well as a bit of mystery, about his game.

To listen to Suarez, it's all about the team. He talks about being able to "handle the ball" and about having "a quicker step than most big men," but then he'll say his "talent is to be able to find the open man."

"I believe my role is to help my teammates get open—screening, cutting, rolling, distributing the ball," he said. "It's not always about scoring to me. If I attack and my teammate is wide open, it's about passing, just being selfless."

Fordham head coach Tom Pecora has been able to get a look at Suarez during the workouts. He says there are things he needs to work on, but the potential is there.

"Manny's got to play with greater intensity as a freshman, and he's got to continue to work hard on his body because he's thin," Pecora said.

Pecora recognizes Suarez's ability to do some things that players his size typically are not able to do.

"Extending defenses and knocking down long jumpers," Pecora said. "That's really his specialty right now."

All quotations in this article were obtained firsthand.

Charles Costello covers the Fordham Rams for Bleacher Report. Twitter: @CFCostello

The scoreboard said it all.

Maroon had a 20-19 lead over White with under a minute to play in what was more than just your average July scrimmage inside the Rose Hill Gym Tuesday.

It was the first time that the entire 2014-15 Fordham squad was out on the court together, though, Dekeba Battee-Aston, who had a late overnight arrival, was held out of what may have been the most intriguing workout of the offseason so far.

The one-point differential was exactly what the Rams had hoped for at this point.

If you've been around Fordham the past few years, surely you're familiar with certain buzzwords that have pervaded the campus and program—process, commitment and talent, to name just a few.

The one emerging word that may trump all those, and the one you're going to hear a lot about leading up to what is a very important season for the Rams, is competition.

For the first time since Tom Pecora has been at Fordham (he was hired on March 25, 2010), there's sufficient talent up and down the roster, enough to create realistic scenarios at every position where players are going to be competing for minutes.

No longer will the team rely on just one or two guys to carry them throughout the long season, when the challenges get more and more difficult as conference play heats up.

Eric Paschall may be Westchester's Mr. Basketball, and Jon Severe may be New York's Mr. Basketball, but now they're Fordham Rams—part of a cast that's vying for playing time and, ultimately, wins.

This has been Pecora's plan all along. Bring in enough talent so that players are going after it every time they take the floor. That will benefit everyone, Pecora says.

"I want every position to be a two-headed monster where there are people going after each other every day in practice. That's going to make everybody better."

"It's about competition," he added. "The more guys we bring in, the competition level will grow. That's what it's about—competing for minutes."

Perhaps no one embodies that more than point guard Nemanja Zarkovic.

Fordham clearly brought him here to be the starter. But the 20-year-old freshman, who's been a huge bright spot early on, is taking nothing for granted.

"I love it. I think it's a great thing," Zarkovic said last month when asked about the competition. "You don't want to be satisfied. If I were to come in here and be the starting point guard from Day 1, it would be easy for me to be satisfied and then just stop working.

"One thing I've always been told...if you start being satisfied, you stop learning. You don't want that. That's the worst thing that could happen."

It took Zaire Thompson, another point guard, just one day (his first workout with the team was Tuesday) to buy into that mindset.

"There's a lot of competition," he said. "Everybody wants to get as many minutes as they can so everybody's out there competing and working as hard as they can.

"That's a good mentality."

With 20 minutes put on the clock during the last segment of Fordham's workout Tuesday, players were divided up into two teams: Maroon and White.

There was some switching back and forth, but for the most part, White consisted of Zarkovic, Severe, Thompson, Paschall, Ryan Canty and Manny Suarez. Mandell Thomas, Antwoine Anderson, Bryan Smith, Ryan Rhoomes and Christian Sengfelder played for Maroon.

The most obvious takeaway from the scrimmage was the competition that took place at every position, perhaps best exemplified by Rhoomes and Canty, who battled the entire time.

That's something that should only heat up even more as the season gets closer and as players start to realize that the guy defending them is not only trying to keep them from scoring, he's trying to take away minutes as well.

"The mindset is different," Severe said at the beginning of the summer. "Everybody's playing harder and competing."

Severe, who averaged 17.3 points per game as a freshman last season, is a prime example of a young player who could benefit from all this.

As good as he was at times last season, he could be even better, and that should happen with guys pushing him in practice.

At the end of the scrimmage Tuesday, with 37 seconds left on the clock, Maroon held a 20-19 lead.

White failed to score on what would be its last possession. On the other end of the floor, Sengfelder, suiting up for the first time as a member of the Fordham Rams, put one in at the buzzer to give Maroon a 22-19 win.

On the first day of July, Pecora's grand plan was already playing out.

Quotations in this article were obtained firsthand.

Charles Costello covers the Fordham Rams for Bleacher Report. Twitter: @CFCostello.

This is turning out to be the summer of debuts at Fordham.

Eric Paschall and Nemanja Zarkovic were the first to arrive in late May.

On Tuesday, the latest batch of Fordham recruits—Christian Sengfelder, Dekeba Battee-Aston and Zaire Thompson—were on hand for the Rams' workout at the Rose Hill Gym.

After his late overnight arrival to Fordham, Battee-Aston was the only one who did not participate, but he did watch from the sideline as his teammates—new arrivals and veterans—were all on the court together for the first time.

Sengfelder, Battee-Aston and Thompson aren't just freshmen who will have to adapt to college. They're all international signings, making the adjustment that much greater. 

"It's a new experience, but the first practice went well," Thompson said afterward. "I'm just adjusting to the American style of basketball."

For Thompson, it was obvious from the start what that meant.

"They play a similar style that we did back in Germany," he said, referring to what he saw from his teammates during Tuesday's workout.

"The biggest difference is the athleticism. A lot of guys are way more athletic than people I've seen in Germany."

Sengfelder, also from Germany, agreed.

"It's way more athletic than it is in Europe," he said. "It's tougher and quicker, but I'll adjust."

All three are intriguing additions to a Fordham team that won 10 games a year ago. They join a program that has undergone a significant upgrade in talent since the season ended.

Battee-Aston is a 6'9", 255-pound forward who was born in Australia and moved to Texas at the start of high school. The Rams first saw him a couple of years ago when he was playing at Northfield Mount Hermon, a prep school in Massachusetts. He spent the past year back home in Australia with his mother.

"He can handle and pass the basketball for someone his size," Fordham head coach Tom Pecora said when asked about Battee-Aston after he signed last month. "He's a decent rebounder, a big physical presence."

Thompson is a 5'11" point guard who played for the Urspring team in Schelklingen, Germany, where he was teammates with Sengfelder.

When he signed, Pecora talked about what he looks for in a point guard.

"Knowing personnel is important for point guards—getting guys the ball in positions on the floor where they can score," he said.

"Offensive sweet spots vary from player to player. Good point guards know where those are for each player. That's where they deliver the basketball."

Thompson sees himself as that type of player.

"I'm a guy who likes to get people open shots, get people into the game," he said. "I like to create for different people. That's my first priority."

"I'll play whatever role Coach (Pecora) wants me to play," he added, "and play as hard as I can."

Sengfelder should add depth to the frontcourt. On Tuesday, the 6'7", 238-pounder knocked down shot after shot, displaying what Pecora says are typical European traits, describing his new forward as a player with a "good skill set and a really hard worker.”

"I can shoot the ball, so I think that's a bonus for me," Sengfelder said.

Judging by his performance on Tuesday, that will be a bonus for Fordham as well. 

"To play here at Fordham is a great opportunity," Sengfelder said. "I'm really blessed to be here."

What all three have in common, besides their international roots and rookie status, is that they're going through this new experience together. Adjusting to Fordham, the college game and a new system won't be easy, but they won't be doing it alone.

"We can talk to each other, because we're going through the same things," Sengfelder said. "We all have to make some adjustments. It's going to help us. It's good to have some veterans that tell you what to do and who help us."

Battee-Aston, who spent the entire practice Tuesday watching intently from the sideline, looked and sounded like a player who was chomping at the bit to get out there.

He admitted that "coming from Australia, the level of basketball will be a big difference," but said he'll "play hard and play team-oriented basketball."

"I'm extremely excited," he said. "I've been looking forward to this."

"I'm looking forward to seeing how all the international players, the younger players, the new players, the guys who [have been here], work out. It's going to be interesting."

"I'm looking forward to seeing how we come together with all the talent that we have."

Largely due to the gap year, Battee-Aston is perhaps the biggest unknown out of this year's crop of recruits. He's confident he'll fit right in.

"Every player that comes to this team has an impact," he said. "Coming in as a freshman, I feel there's a lot I have to offer over the next four years, especially having been brought in with other (guys) in the same age group. Together we can make a very big difference in this program."

Quotations in this article were obtained firsthand.

Charles Costello covers the Fordham Rams for Bleacher Report. Twitter: @CFCostello.

Though Branden Frazier's Fordham career ended in March, his life as a basketball player is far from over.

On Tuesday, two days before the NBA draft, Frazier worked out for the Brooklyn Nets at the team's practice facility.

Though the Nets don't own any picks in either round of tonight's draft, The Wall Street Journal's Alex Raskin reported earlier this week that C.J. Fair (Syracuse) and James McAdoo (North Carolina) were among a group of players Brooklyn would take a look at.

Frazier also got a chance to show off his skills in front of Nets' brass, including head coach Jason Kidd.

"I think I did pretty well," Frazier, a Brooklyn native, told WFUV Sports after the workout. There's a lot of shooting stuff I could have done better with, but it's about working."

Frazier found himself in somewhat of an underdog role—fitting for a guy who played for a school like Fordham that was almost always in that same position.

"There were a lot of guys out here in the workout that were at bigger schools than Fordham," Frazier told WFUV. "I probably walked in the gym and no one knew who I was."

At Fordham, just about everyone knows Branden Frazier. In 2013-14, he was the face of the team.

Fordham head coach Tom Pecora recruited Frazier when he was the coach at Hofstra. When Pecora took the Fordham job in March of 2010, Frazier came with him.

Last season, Frazier was the only senior on the roster who played significant minutes. He led the team in scoring (18.2 points per game) and assists (4.3 assists per game) and averaged 5.1 rebounds per game.

Though Fordham won just 10 games, and only 34 in his four years at the school, Frazier will go down as one of the greatest Rams ever.

He was a four-year starter who finished second in school history with 495 assists, ninth in points with 1,642 and sixth in three-pointers made with 186. 

He'll be remembered for what he did on the court, of course, but what he brought to the program went well beyond that.

"Branden's been a spokesman for this program," Pecora said after the Rams concluded their regular season. "When guys graduate you want them to be Fordham men, and without a doubt he's grown into becoming a great Fordham man."

The last Fordham player to make it to the NBA was Smush Parker, who signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2002 and played for six different teams over a five-year career in the league.

It's unlikely Frazier will be drafted, but he could sign as an undrafted free agent. He'll certainly play professionally at some level.

Tip O'Neill, the former U.S. Speaker of the House, once famously said that "All politics is local."

Maybe all basketball memories are, too.

Because while the national conversation is focused on who will get selected with the first pick in tonight's draft, the local story is about a kid from Brooklyn who continues to live out his basketball dreams.

Quotations in this article were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Charles Costello covers the Fordham Rams for Bleacher Report. Twitter: @CFCostello.

Fordham basketball is in a much better place than it's been over the last two decades.

There have been far too many years of disappointment and shattered hopes; perhaps a little history lesson is in order.

Nick Macarchuk, who coached Fordham for 12 seasons, guided the Rams to the NCAA tournament in 1992, but that's when they were still a member of the Patriot League.

When it upgraded to the Atlantic 10 prior to the 1995 season, Fordham didn't have A-10 talent, making rebuilding an impossible task. Macarchuk was gone after the 1998-99 season.

He was replaced by Bob Hill, the former NBA coach who brought name recognition. Hill's final season in the Bronx (2002-03) was one of the program's worst ever, with the Rams finishing 2-26.

Then it looked like Dereck Whittenburg might be the answer. His team finished .500 in 2005-06, his third year at the school, then 18-12 the next season. It went downhill from there. In Whittenburg's final two years, the Rams won four games. When he was let go in December of 2009, the program had hit rock bottom.

Tom Pecora was brought in to fix what had become, for a number of reasons, a huge mess.

Pecora was hired on March 25, 2010. Four years later, he appears to have the Rams, who have won just 34 games in that time, positioned to win for the first time in a long time.

It's not that we haven't been able to say that before.

Longtime observers of the program remember the optimism when Hill, big name and all, was brought in. He was able to bring in some talent, and the team did win 26 games in his first two years.

But the general feeling was that it wasn't about building a program so much as it was about winning in the present. That's not how you have sustained success in college basketball.

Meanwhile, after Whittenburg's team won 18 games, it looked like the Rams had arrived. But a year later, following a 12-win season, five seniors who were all instrumental in turning the program around were gone. Finding replacements proved to be a difficult task.

And that brings us to 2014. For the first time in Pecora's tenure at Rose Hill, the necessary pieces appear to be in place. Translation: There's more A-10 talent on the roster.

It's a credit to the coaching staff that they were able to convince young men like Eric Paschall, the New England Prep Player of the Year last season, and Jon Severe, Mr. New York Basketball in 2013, to be part of what could be something special in the Bronx. Both could have very easily gone to programs that have won in bigger conferences.

The coaching staff also gets credit for going the international route, selling the school and their philosophy to players like Nemanja Zarkovic, the Serbian-born point guard who migrated to Canada and played for Montreal's College Jean-De-Brebeuf. Also, Christian Sengfelder (Germany), Dekeba Battee-Aston (Australia) and Zaire Thompson (Germany) will join the Rams next week.

Those young and new faces join a core group of returning players. Ryan Canty, Ryan Rhoomes, Bryan Smith and Mandell Thomas have been around for a few seasons, and you hear the same thing from and about all of them: They're tired of losing.

Antwoine Anderson and Manny Suarez, ineligible last season, are in the mix as well.

There are questions, of course, and June can produce few answers.

But the early returns are good. Paschall looks like he could be a star. Zarkovic has been here for a few weeks, and already you can see him asserting himself as a leader. Rhoomes seems rejuvenated and determined. Severe has a year of experience under his belt. I could go on.

It's easy to knock Fordham. That's what two decades of basketball frustration will do. But it's also impossible to ignore what could be.

Pecora talks a lot about talent, about turning the corner and about the runway being long. He's about as honest a guy as you'll find.

I think he's right. The runway to building a winner was a lot longer than people thought. But now Fordham seems poised to turn the corner. It appears the talent is there.

That doesn't mean it'll be easy or that it'll happen overnight. It's hard to ask for more patience, but this will take time.

In December of 1994, the university made the jump from the Patriot League to the Atlantic 10. No one could have predicted how difficult the next two decades would be.

But in its 20th anniversary season in the Atlantic 10, Fordham, on that long runway, may finally be ready for takeoff.

Charles Costello covers the Fordham Rams for Bleacher Report. Twitter: @CFCostello.

Nemanja Zarkovic is going to be a fan favorite at Fordham.

Maybe that's because of the maturity and confidence he displays on and off the court. It might be a result of his team-first mentality.

Or it could be as simple as this: It appears Fordham found the perfect person to run the point—a young man with talent who is about as level-headed as they come.

The more you see, hear and read about Zarkovic, the more you're going to like him.

Zarkovic arrived on campus at the end of May. Since then, he's been taking classes, working out with his new teammates and adjusting to life at Rose Hill.

After Tuesday's workout, Zarkovic, a native of Serbia who migrated with his parents to Canada in 1998, reflected on the opening days of his Fordham career.

"I feel much more comfortable after three weeks now," he said. "We've been playing better. When I first got here, we were trying to get to know each other. Now there's better ball movement. We work out a lot more in groups now.

"It's a big adjustment, but it's been fun."

Zarkovic isn't your typical college freshman. He's 20 years old, he's been living on his own for the last four years and he has ample experience competing against college and college-level players.

For those reasons, it should come as no shock that Zarkovic is confident he'll be able to make a smooth transition to the college game.

"Nothing's really surprised me," Zarkovic said when asked about his experiences early on at Fordham. "Everything I see I could have imagined. I was ready to face all this. There's nothing new really. The athleticism, the physicality...nothing new."

Because of his age, experience and what he can do on the court, Zarkovic is the favorite to be the starting point guard when the season begins. But he won't be handed the job.

Antwoine Anderson, an athletic and speedy combo guard, will be in the mix; and Zaire Thompson, who signed two weeks ago, will arrive later this summer.

Zarkovic doesn't want to hear about how it's his job to lose.

"I don't want to take that for granted," he said. "There are a lot of good guards here. I'm not comfortable enough to say that I'll be the starting point guard, but I'll do whatever it takes to be that guy.

"If Antwoine is playing better than me, if he deserves it, he'll deserve it. I'll just make sure that I work hard enough."

That has to be music to the ears of head coach Tom Pecora, who's been preaching about how important competition is going to be. He wants guys competing at every position.

In Zarkovic, he found a point guard who embraces that philosophy.

"I love it. I think it's a great thing," Zarkovic said. "You don't want to be satisfied. If I were to come in here and be the starting point guard from day one, it would be easy for me to be satisfied and then just stop working.

"One thing I've always been told... if you start being satisfied, you stop learning. You don't want that. That's the worst thing that could happen."

While there's a lot on his shoulders, Zarkovic is only one piece to the puzzle. If Fordham is going to be successful, it's going to have to be a team effort.

It's early, but Zarkovic is optimistic that the Rams can turn the corner.

"There's a lot of potential," he said. "Guys want to work hard. They're tired of losing.

"We've been working hard together. We just have to figure out a way to play smarter and play together."

One thing that's been noticeable at the summer workouts is that Zarkovic has blended in just fine with his new teammates. In fact, he's been more vocal and has taken on more of a leadership role than you would typically get from a player who just arrived on campus.

Clearly, he feels comfortable in that role.

"I can't be afraid to talk because we need leaders here," Zarkovic said. "We have a few seniors, but most of the guys who I'll work with over the next four years are very young. I'm just trying to figure out a way to get everyone to work together."

Great athletes are always trying to get better, and Zarkovic has identified parts of his game that he feels need work. He talks about getting his shot off quicker, ball handling and being ready to play against better athletes.

And then there's the team. Fordham hasn't had a winning season since 2006-07. In fact, it's been a long 19 years in the Atlantic 10. But heading into a new season with fresh faces like Zarkovic on board, there's more optimism in the Bronx than there's been in some time.

"I've been told things are much better than they were," Zarkovic said, "but I think they have to be way better. There are always ways for us to improve and get better."

Yes, you're really going to like this kid.

Quotations in this article were obtained firsthand.

Charles Costello covers the Fordham Rams for Bleacher Report. Twitter: @CFCostello.

John Morton remembers it like it was yesterday.

So does anyone else fortunate enough to have witnessed one of the greatest runs in college basketball history.

The 1988-89 Seton Hall Pirates will forever be remembered for their Final Four appearance and near-upset win over Michigan in the NCAA championship.

But for that team, and for everyone across the country who watched the Pirates make history, it was much more than just a couple of days in Seattle. It was a season like no other.

Seton Hall was founded in 1856, but it would be 132 years before Morton and the Pirates put the university on the map.

To get a full sense of what they accomplished, it's worth noting that the 1980s was a great decade for college basketball.

Michael Jordan, who would go on to lead the Chicago Bulls to six titles, won the national championship with North Carolina in 1982. Dereck Whittenburg's shot (you can call it a pass if you'd like) ended up in the hands of Lorenzo Charles, who dunked it home to give North Carolina State an upset win over Houston in 1983. The Villanova Wildcats, led by Rollie Massimino, did the unthinkable and shocked the Georgetown Hoyas in 1985. Keith Smart hit a baseline jumper that won it for Indiana in 1987.

Then came the 1988-89 season at Seton Hall, when a group of young men and an up-and-coming coach cast a national light on South Orange, New Jersey.

On Wednesday night, that Seton Hall team will be inducted into the school's Athletics Hall of Fame. Two- and-a-half decades after that memorable season, the greatest team in school history will be recognized for making Seton Hall basketball, and thus the university itself, part of history.

The event will take place at the annual Seton Hall Athletics Hall of Fame Dinner inside Walsh Gymnasium. All players, coaches and managers will be honored.

"I definitely think it's good on Seton Hall's part to induct this whole team that's meant so much to the school, to the history, to New Jersey and to basketball as a whole," Morton, who led the team in scoring that year and who is now an assistant coach at Fordham, said on Tuesday. "It's definitely a great thing.

"Twenty-five years have gone by; it's like it just happened yesterday. The time flew fast, but the history and everything is still there."

It's called March Madness for a reason. But for that Pirate team, it was more than just those three weeks in March: It was about the whole season.

Morton, along with teammates like Andrew Gaze, Gerald Greene, Ramon Ramos and Daryll Walker, and led by head coach P.J. Carlesimo, won 31 games that year.

It was a close-knit group that made history. While Morton, who was a senior, averaged 17.3 points per game, it was a team effort from start to finish that ultimately led to the Pirates having their best season ever.

"I never played on another team like that in my whole career," Morton, who was inducted into the Seton Hall Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997, said. "I played on some great teams, but this team was exceptional. There was total unity—always team-first, no me-first players worrying about their stats.

"We enjoyed playing basketball and enjoyed hanging out and being around each other. The unity that we had as friends, teammates and then going into battle was tremendous."

Seton Hall had some National Invitation Tournament experiences, but its first NCAA tournament appearance didn't come until the 1987-88 season.

Morton had a goal from the first day he stepped on campus.

"As freshmen, we came in to help rebuild the program," Morton said. "We accomplished that and a whole lot more.

"Just becoming America's team during that run was a great thing to experience. It brought a lot of awareness to Seton Hall University, to us, to New Jersey basketball and to New York metropolitan basketball.

"I'm glad to have been a part of that history and knowing that we had a lot to do with building that program to the point where guys followed in our footsteps and continued the tradition.

"It was a great accomplishment."

Seton Hall won its first 13 games in 1988-89, but it was the run in the NCAA tournament that people remember.

The Pirates beat Southwest Missouri State, Evansville, Indiana and UNLV to advance to the Final Four in Seattle.

Then they beat Duke 95-78 in the semifinal game, advancing to the championship two days later, where they would take on Michigan.

In that game, which will go down as one of the greatest ever played, the Pirates found themselves down by 12 points in the second half. But Morton, who scored 25 points in the second half and finished with a game-high 35, knocked down a three-pointer to tie the game at 71-71 with 25 seconds left.

Morton was so good that night. He scored 17 of Seton Hall's final 20 points in regulation. But in overtime, Rumeal Robinson knocked down two free throws with three seconds left to give the Wolverines an 80-79 lead and ultimately the championship. 

It's a performance, scene and season that Morton will always remember.

"You can't forget it because the game is always around every Final Four, which is a great thing," he said. "I had reached that zone probably three times my senior year where I came out and shot well in the second half and played that way. It was a great feeling knowing that you were putting up shots and your teammates were getting you the ball, that things were rolling and we were catching up and getting into the game."

Carlesimo, who graduated from Fordham in 1971 and became an assistant coach there that same year, would guide the Pirates for 12 seasons, winning 212 games. Morton, now a coach, appreciates what Carlesimo did for him and for the team.

"Now that I'm in coaching you look back and see the hard work he and his staff put in, the sleepless nights in the office," Morton said. "I can see the hard work it took to get to that point, to get us to understand what we needed to do as a team. He and his staff did a great job preparing us and picking the right guys with the right character to mesh together.

"Everybody sees him as this guy screaming on the sidelines," Morton added, "but he was definitely a great role model to us because he kept us in line, showed us the right way to do things and mentored us on being professionals on the college level—from the way we dressed, to the way we carried ourselves off the court, to the way we prepared and stayed mentally prepared for games. He did a great job in that sense."

Morton spent three seasons in the NBA playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat. He then moved on to the CBA before playing in Spain, Italy and the Philippines.

When Morton's daughter, Schyler, was six, she suggested to her dad that he become a coach. That's exactly what he did. He started in 2005-06 as an administrative assistant at Seton Hall, then spent five seasons as an assistant at Saint Peter's College before joining the Fordham staff in 2010.

"The thing we're dealing with now in this era of basketball, as San Antonio just proved to a lot of people, is that it has to be team-first," Morton said, referring to the Spurs, who just won the NBA championship. "That's the one thing we're trying to stress to these guys—doing team-oriented stuff to get these guys used to being around each other and trusting each other.

"The team's got to be first. If you are a solo act, that won't get it done on this level. Everything has to be team-first. You have to have guys with good character that want to play basketball the right way."

Morton talks about giving back and about how coaches have to be in it for the right reasons. He says it's about teaching, about helping his players become men.

It's something he learned at Seton Hall. Tonight, he'll be able to share those experiences with his former teammates and coaches.

"No matter how far you move or how long you don't see one guy, we're still a family," Morton said. "It's a joy to get a chance to spend a moment here and there with those guys, because they're family that you always have the memories with."

Memories that will last forever.

Quotations in this article were obtained firsthand.

Charles Costello covers the Fordham Rams for Bleacher Report. Twitter: @CFCostello.

Fordham continued its active offseason last Thursday when the school announced the signings of Dekeba Battee-Aston and Zaire Thompson to national letters of intent for the 2014-15 season.

Battee-Aston is a 6'9", 255-pound forward who was born in Australia and moved to Texas at the start of high school. 

He is expected to arrive on campus by July 1, in time to start classes and begin working out with the team.

Fordham head coach Tom Pecora, who had been looking to add depth to the frontcourt, said he thinks the Rams found someone who can contribute in multiple ways.

"He can handle and pass the basketball for someone his size," Pecora said on Sunday. "He's a decent rebounder, a big physical presence."

Battee-Aston has been on quite the journey the past few years.

Fordham first got a look at him a couple of years ago when he was playing at Northfield Mount Hermon, a prep school in Massachusetts.

Pecora said he was impressed with him back then, and now "he's gotten even bigger and stronger."

Battee-Aston spent the last year back home in Australia with his mother.

While acknowledging that the gap year could have an effect on the player, Pecora talked about what Battee-Aston could potentially bring to the team.

"He'll be some added depth on the baseline," Pecora said. "He's got veterans ahead of him. It's going to be a challenge.

"It's about competition. The more guys we bring in, the competition level will grow. That's what it's about—competing for minutes."

One of the more intriguing battles could come at point guard, where Nemanja Zarkovic is the projected starter.

Antwoine Anderson, who was ineligible last season, could see some time at the point as well, though Pecora describes him as more of a "combo" guard.

And then there's Thompson, a 5'11" point guard who played for the Urspring team in Schelklingen, Germany.

He averaged 10.4 points and 4.5 assists per game this past season, guiding Urspring to the championship game after leading it to the 2011 JBBL title and the 2012 Arby's Classic championship.

His teammate, Christian Sengfelder, signed with Fordham last month.

Pecora said he envisions a scenario where guys are out there every day trying to earn their spots.

"I think Zaire can really push Nemanja," Pecora said. "I want every position to be a two-headed monster where there are people going after each other every day in practice. That's going to make everybody better."

At the beginning of the offseason, Fordham was in desperate need of a point guard. Zarkovic was its guy, and now Thompson could provide some insurance.

Both signings made clear the type of player the Rams were looking for at the position.

"You have guys that you can get the ball to and they can score the basketball," Pecora said. "Knowing personnel is important for point guards—getting guys the ball in positions on the floor where they can score.

"Offensive sweet spots vary from player to player. Good point guards know where those are for each player. That's where they deliver the basketball. That's what separates good from great."

Quotations in this article were obtained firsthand.

Charles Costello covers the Fordham Rams for Bleacher Report. Twitter: @CFCostello.