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Posted: Tuesday October 22, 2002 1:51 PM Updated: Monday October 28, 2002 2:00 PM Fordham Rams
The following preview is provided by Blue Ribbon. For the most thorough preview available of the upcoming season, order the 2002-03 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, on sale now at 1-800-775-2518. Team Preview | Blue Ribbon Analysis
Bob Hill has more than 30 years of experience coaching all levels of basketball all over the world, so it didn’t take him long to figure out what went wrong when his Fordham team closed last season by losing its last 10 games. The Rams, who started their Atlantic 10 season by winning four out of six, were a bad collection of personalities who just didn’t mesh -- on or off of the court -- and it showed. The season dragged on one loss after another and Hill, whose resume includes head coaching stints with the New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs of the NBA, as well as assistant gigs at Bowling Green, Pittsburgh and Kansas at the college level, wasn’t going to stand for it anymore. So, in continuing his quest to return Fordham to national respectability, he made changes. Those who didn’t want to accept them left, those who did stayed and Hill couldn’t be happier. "It’s like a breath of fresh air," he said.
Hill didn’t name names, but he didn’t have to. In addition to losing seniors Duke Freeman-McKamey, Teremun Johnson and Steve Canal, underclassmen William "Smush" Parker (16.5 ppg), Jeff McMillan (10.2 ppg) and Adrian Walton (9.7 ppg) -- the team’s top three scorers -- also departed. "It’s difficult changing a culture," said Hill, who at Fordham is trying to implement some of the successful things he saw working at places like Kansas. Fordham returns just three scholarship players and does not have a senior on its roster, so the Rams will be very young. They’ll also be impressionable and Hill is hoping the team can follow the examples set by junior co-captains Mark Jarrell-Wright and Michael Haynes, whom he is counting on to show the way on the court, in the classroom and anywhere else the team goes. "They are just doing a great job," Hill said. "It’s fun to see that they were doing their jobs and guys are responding to them." It also helps that the captains can play a bit. Jarrell-Wright (8.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.6 spg), a 6-foot-5 guard, transferred to Fordham after one season at Providence. He saved his best for the second half of the season, averaging 12 points while starting the last seven games. He and Haynes also showed what they could do on defense in a Jan. 23 win over St. Bonaventure when they teamed to limit J.R. Bremer, the nation’s fourth-leading scorer, to 20 points (4.6 below his season average) in an 87-81 win. "They can both guard people in this league and both of them can score the ball," Hill said. Haynes (9.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.5 apg), a 6-8 guard/forward, missed the final six games of last season after having surgery for a stress fracture in his left foot. He was back on his feet in the preseason and, said Hill, "probably playing better now than he’s ever played." A healthy Haynes is key to Fordham’s hopes this season, because he has the ability to contribute in so many ways. "He’s starting to become the player that I saw him potentially being," Hill said of the former star at Calhoun County High School in St. Matthews, S.C. "He’s capable of everything. He’s 6-8, he can handle the ball like a guard, he has gotten bigger and stronger, is an excellent on-the-ball defender and can block shots." Hill also sees plenty of upside in sophomore Glenn Batemon (2.5 ppg, 1.4 rpg), a 6-11, 360-pound center who made 17 starts last season and has shown a good shooting touch in practice. "He’s got a lot of ability," Hill said. "It’s just a matter of getting him some confidence and doing it in games." Hill worked with Shaquille O’Neal as an assistant with the Orlando Magic in 1993-94 and says that Batemon, even though he’s not as tall as O’Neal, has the same size shoulders as the NBA’s most dominant player. Conditioning and confidence are the biggest concerns with Batemon, but he has worked hard in both areas and could take some steps forward this season. "At his size, there shouldn’t be anybody in college basketball that can stop him from scoring," Hill said. Walk-ons Alessandro Acquaviva, Ryan Carr and Brandyn Cooper are the only other returning players for the Rams. The 6-4 Acquaviva (0.9 ppg), a native of Italy, played in 19 games last season and has the most experience. A good long-range shooter, the junior guard scored 11 of his season-total 18 points against Holy Cross and could see more minutes this season. Sophomores Carr (0.5 ppg), a 6-5 guard, and Cooper (0.0 ppg), a 6-0 guard, appeared in four and three games, respectively, last season. Which brings us to the newcomers, whom we will all know more about in a year than we do now. Drew Williamson, a 6-4 guard from Thornleigh, Australia, may be a freshman, but he does have some experience. Williamson, who has shooting guard skills and a point guard mentality, played for Australia’s Under 20 National Team that won a silver medal in 2001. "He’s what you see when you watch international teams play," Hill said. "He understands the game and is unselfish. He’s got good physical and mental toughness, good range, is an excellent passer and has good foot speed and lateral quickness." Williamson, who averaged 18 points and six rebounds for the national team, also helped his team to the gold medal at the Australian Open Schoolboy Championships. His experience, mentality and skills should help him become an immediate contributor. "While he’s here, he’s going to be heard from," Hill said. Jermaine Anderson and John Blackgrove, who are also freshmen, should see time in the backcourt as well. The 6-2 Anderson was considered one of the top point guards in Canada after leading Eastern Commerce of Toronto to five tournament titles last season. A strong, quiet leader, he averaged 20 points, six rebounds and eight assists and was chosen MVP at three tournaments. "He’s solid, good with the ball and not a bad shooter," Hill said. Blackgrove, a 6-2 shooting guard, spent last fall at Winchendon Prep in Massachusetts before transfering to Fordham for second semester. He is a pure shooter and student of the game who was selected New Jersey’s 2000-01 Gatorade Player of the Year after completing his career with 2,237 points at Pascack Valley High School. He averaged 28.6 points per game as a senior and has become a regular fixture in Hill’s office, where he can watch shooting tapes before going to work out. "He can absolutely shoot the basketball," Hill said. "He’s going to be good. I don’t know when, but he just loves it too much not to be good." Ashanti Burke, a 6-7 swingman from Toronto, is also eligible after sitting out last season as a transfer. Burke originally attended Southeastern College in Iowa, but suffered a knee injury and transferred to Fordham. He has the skills to be a factor on both ends of the court. "He’s athletic and can shoot the ball," Hill said. "He’s going to figure heavily into our plans." The Rams also brought in two freshman forwards, Mushon Ya’akosi and Mani Messy, but only Ya’alosi will be eligible at the start of the season. Look for Ya’akosi, a 6-8 native of Israel, to get involved early and do the dirty work around the basket. "He’s a little bit like a poor man’s Dennis Rodman," Hill said. "He plays hard, he can run, he can score around the basket -- which Dennis didn’t do -- and he makes free throws." Messy, a 6-7 forward, came to the United States from Cameroon via Canada and hopes to be eligible at the end of first semester. He attended St. Benedict’s in Newark last year, but had his season ended by a foot injury. The Bob Gibbons All-Star Report ranked him as the sixth best power forward at the 2001 ABCD Camp, but he may be a bit rusty when he debuts for the Rams. Antonique Wilson, a 6-3 walk-on guard, is another newcomer who could wind up playing some as well. Rose Hill Gym, the Rams’ homecourt and the nation’s oldest Division I gym, isn’t the only thing associated with the Fordham basketball program that received a facelift this season. While more than $2 million was spent adding new windows, lights, seats, scoreboards and a sound system to historic Rose Hill, coach Hill made almost as many changes with his roster. While there is no doubt that change was necessary at Fordham, it will be difficult to compensate for losing so much (73.7 percent of its point production) so fast. Still, basketball is a team game and if these Rams get along better than last year’s (how could they not?), this team could win a few more games despite not having the natural talent. Hill knows that you need to tear down in order to rebuild and is willing to endure the challenges that go with it. He has put a great deal of responsibility on his captains to mold the team in the proper image, and seems re-energized by the Rams’ new attitude. "Our mission this year will be to continue to develop and continue to build a foundation so that Fordham can be competitive in the Atlantic 10," Hill said. With so many new pieces to fit in, it’s difficult to see that happening this season. The Rams may be improved, but are still be at least a year or two away from being able to finish in the top half of the division.
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