The meeting with Big East New York City power St. John’s University, in which the Rams won up at Rose Hill Saturday evening, may have put Pecora ahead of his plan. Fordham certainly is a dominant squad and not showing any effects of a team that won five games the past two years.

The game was sold out, a rarity at Rose Hill. Fordham overcame a 20-point deficit, and showed no signs of a team that would quit. It was perhaps one of the most memorable games up at Rose Hill. And after their 84-81 triumph, that put Fordham over the .500 mark at 5-4, many in the crowd stormed the court

They were not storming the court for the “Red Storm” of St John’s.  It was the Rams of Fordham, believe it or not, who can truly say they are right now the premiere college basketball team in New York City.

“This wasn’t about me,” Pecora would say afterwards about the most significant win for a Fordham basketball team in the past five years. “This was for these kids, for the fans,” he said. Truly, after Saturday, at least for the time being the suffering was over up at Rose Hill.

There is still a competitive Atlantic 10 conference schedule to come in January, That will determine how good this Fordham team is, or if they truly are going to be a competitive basketball program once again in New York. Pecora has definitely seen the competiveness of his team and a revival of the interest since taking over the program last March.

“Saturday is going to be fun to play and fun to watch,” said Pecora after his team defeated Manhattan College earlier in the week up at Rose Hill in the annual “Battle of the Bronx.”  “These matchups revitalize New York college basketball,” he said about consecutive games against Manhattan and St. John’s.”

After that win over Manhattan, Fordham reached the .500 mark for the first time in three years. Pecora said more than once, something special is happening at Rose Hill.  There is no talk about the dismal past after an abysmal, 2-26 overall mark and 0-16 record in the Atlantic 10 Conference of last season under former coach Dereck Whittenburg.

They have already equaled their win total of the last two seasons. The players, many who have been a part of the previous losing seasons up at Rose Hill, believe there has been a change of culture. Their coach wants them to believe that.

“We don’t look at what happened here in the past,” said senior Brenton Butler had a game high 21 points for the Rams against Manhattan and was a big part of a 16-0 run against St. John’s that narrowed the gap. Butler averaging 15.3 points per game has now scored in double figures in seven of his last eight games and had 22 in the win Saturday.

The last Fordham win against the Red Storm came in December of 2000. The entire campus anticipated the matchup, a buzz about Fordham basketball that hasn’t been heard in a long time.

“It’s a great environment, it’s awesome, it’s exciting,” said Butler who had not heard this reaction about an upcoming game, the one with St John’s in his four years at Rose Hill. He is a five year player that wanted to stay and be a part of this new culture that Pecora has preached.

Pecora said his team stayed around and stole one late against St. John’s. To the contrary Fordham did not steal this one. They have convinced their faithful and suffering fans they are ahead of the plan to revitalizing basketball up at Rose Hill.

NOTES: Butler was named Most Valuable Player of the Manhattan game by writers at press row and received the Mike Cohen Award, a trophy in memory of the late New York City public relations executive and former Manhattan Sports Information Director….

Before tipoff prior to the Manhattan game, a moment of silence was observed for Freddy Schuman, “Freddy Sez” a fixture at Fordham and Manhattan games and also at New York Yankee games with his trademark frying pan and motivational sayings.  Also silence was observed for former New York Yankee and former Fordham baseball coach Gil McDougald who passed away last week.

e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring76@aol.com

The meeting with Big East New York City power St. John’s University, in which the Rams won up at Rose Hill Saturday evening, may have put Pecora ahead of his plan. Fordham certainly is a dominant squad and not showing any effects of a team that won five games the past two years.

The game was sold out, a rarity at Rose Hill. Fordham overcame a 20-point deficit, and showed no signs of a team that would quit. It was perhaps one of the most memorable games up at Rose Hill. And after their 84-81 triumph, that put Fordham over the .500 mark at 5-4, many in the crowd stormed the court

They were not storming the court for the “Red Storm” of St John’s.  It was the Rams of Fordham, believe it or not, who can truly say they are right now the premiere college basketball team in New York City.

“This wasn’t about me,” Pecora would say afterwards about the most significant win for a Fordham basketball team in the past five years. “This was for these kids, for the fans,” he said. Truly, after Saturday, at least for the time being the suffering was over up at Rose Hill.

There is still a competitive Atlantic 10 conference schedule to come in January, That will determine how good this Fordham team is, or if they truly are going to be a competitive basketball program once again in New York. Pecora has definitely seen the competiveness of his team and a revival of the interest since taking over the program last March.

“Saturday is going to be fun to play and fun to watch,” said Pecora after his team defeated Manhattan College earlier in the week up at Rose Hill in the annual “Battle of the Bronx.”  “These matchups revitalize New York college basketball,” he said about consecutive games against Manhattan and St. John’s.”

After that win over Manhattan, Fordham reached the .500 mark for the first time in three years. Pecora said more than once, something special is happening at Rose Hill.  There is no talk about the dismal past after an abysmal, 2-26 overall mark and 0-16 record in the Atlantic 10 Conference of last season under former coach Dereck Whittenburg.

They have already equaled their win total of the last two seasons. The players, many who have been a part of the previous losing seasons up at Rose Hill, believe there has been a change of culture. Their coach wants them to believe that.

“We don’t look at what happened here in the past,” said senior Brenton Butler had a game high 21 points for the Rams against Manhattan and was a big part of a 16-0 run against St. John’s that narrowed the gap. Butler averaging 15.3 points per game has now scored in double figures in seven of his last eight games and had 22 in the win Saturday.

The last Fordham win against the Red Storm came in December of 2000. The entire campus anticipated the matchup, a buzz about Fordham basketball that hasn’t been heard in a long time.

“It’s a great environment, it’s awesome, it’s exciting,” said Butler who had not heard this reaction about an upcoming game, the one with St John’s in his four years at Rose Hill. He is a five year player that wanted to stay and be a part of this new culture that Pecora has preached.

Pecora said his team stayed around and stole one late against St. John’s. To the contrary Fordham did not steal this one. They have convinced their faithful and suffering fans they are ahead of the plan to revitalizing basketball up at Rose Hill.

NOTES: Butler was named Most Valuable Player of the Manhattan game by writers at press row and received the Mike Cohen Award, a trophy in memory of the late New York City public relations executive and former Manhattan Sports Information Director….

Before tipoff prior to the Manhattan game, a moment of silence was observed for Freddy Schuman, “Freddy Sez” a fixture at Fordham and Manhattan games and also at New York Yankee games with his trademark frying pan and motivational sayings.  Also silence was observed for former New York Yankee and former Fordham baseball coach Gil McDougald who passed away last week.

e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring76@aol.com

The meeting with Big East New York City power St. John’s University, in which the Rams won up at Rose Hill Saturday evening, may have put Pecora ahead of his plan. Fordham certainly is a dominant squad and not showing any effects of a team that won five games the past two years.

The game was sold out, a rarity at Rose Hill. Fordham overcame a 20-point deficit, and showed no signs of a team that would quit. It was perhaps one of the most memorable games up at Rose Hill. And after their 84-81 triumph, that put Fordham over the .500 mark at 5-4, many in the crowd stormed the court

They were not storming the court for the “Red Storm” of St John’s.  It was the Rams of Fordham, believe it or not, who can truly say they are right now the premiere college basketball team in New York City.

“This wasn’t about me,” Pecora would say afterwards about the most significant win for a Fordham basketball team in the past five years. “This was for these kids, for the fans,” he said. Truly, after Saturday, at least for the time being the suffering was over up at Rose Hill.

There is still a competitive Atlantic 10 conference schedule to come in January, That will determine how good this Fordham team is, or if they truly are going to be a competitive basketball program once again in New York. Pecora has definitely seen the competiveness of his team and a revival of the interest since taking over the program last March.

“Saturday is going to be fun to play and fun to watch,” said Pecora after his team defeated Manhattan College earlier in the week up at Rose Hill in the annual “Battle of the Bronx.”  “These matchups revitalize New York college basketball,” he said about consecutive games against Manhattan and St. John’s.”

After that win over Manhattan, Fordham reached the .500 mark for the first time in three years. Pecora said more than once, something special is happening at Rose Hill.  There is no talk about the dismal past after an abysmal, 2-26 overall mark and 0-16 record in the Atlantic 10 Conference of last season under former coach Dereck Whittenburg.

They have already equaled their win total of the last two seasons. The players, many who have been a part of the previous losing seasons up at Rose Hill, believe there has been a change of culture. Their coach wants them to believe that.

“We don’t look at what happened here in the past,” said senior Brenton Butler had a game high 21 points for the Rams against Manhattan and was a big part of a 16-0 run against St. John’s that narrowed the gap. Butler averaging 15.3 points per game has now scored in double figures in seven of his last eight games and had 22 in the win Saturday.

The last Fordham win against the Red Storm came in December of 2000. The entire campus anticipated the matchup, a buzz about Fordham basketball that hasn’t been heard in a long time.

“It’s a great environment, it’s awesome, it’s exciting,” said Butler who had not heard this reaction about an upcoming game, the one with St John’s in his four years at Rose Hill. He is a five year player that wanted to stay and be a part of this new culture that Pecora has preached.

Pecora said his team stayed around and stole one late against St. John’s. To the contrary Fordham did not steal this one. They have convinced their faithful and suffering fans they are ahead of the plan to revitalizing basketball up at Rose Hill.

NOTES: Butler was named Most Valuable Player of the Manhattan game by writers at press row and received the Mike Cohen Award, a trophy in memory of the late New York City public relations executive and former Manhattan Sports Information Director….

Before tipoff prior to the Manhattan game, a moment of silence was observed for Freddy Schuman, “Freddy Sez” a fixture at Fordham and Manhattan games and also at New York Yankee games with his trademark frying pan and motivational sayings.  Also silence was observed for former New York Yankee and former Fordham baseball coach Gil McDougald who passed away last week.

e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring76@aol.com

And though this is a much different Fordham team, eight new players joining five veterans, the win came at the right time because most don’t expect Fordham to be any more competitive than their 3-25 finish of last season.  “The streak is over,” commented Whittenburg now in his seventh year at Fordham. “It’s a new season,” he said.

There is some optimism that this could be the beginning of the resurgence up at Rose Hill. Whittenburg alluded to the lack of chemistry with some of the seniors last season. Clashing with the coach behind the scenes, or as he says, “outside influences that got into the kids heads,”

In other words it was the ugliest season in Whittenburg’s tenure at Fordham with the exception of the first year in 2003-2004 when the Rams finished 6-22. The Rams finished last in the Atlantic 10 Conference and for the first time failed to qualify for the A-10 post season tournament with a 1-15 conference mark.

You saw things in their third game that offered some optimism, though Sacred Heart offers no comparison to some of the nationally ranked teams in the A-10. Things that the coach liked coming from 6-7 freshman Chris Gaston who scored 22 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked five shots.

“I saw him as a freshman and how he can be in there with the bigger guys,” said Whittenburg who recruited Gaston out of New Hampton Prep School in New Hampton, New Hampshire where he averaged over 17.0ppg and 12 rebounds. In the season opener against Maine last week, Gaston got his first collegiate double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Gaston made 8-of-16 shots for the Rams. He showed confidence on the floor, but Whittenburgh cautioned he is still a freshman. “I want to keep him focused,” he said about Gaston. “I had a talk with him. If you don’t play defense and just concentrate on scoring then I’m taking you out of the game.”

Gaston listened to that talk in the second half. Perhaps what happened last season was that lack of communication. Whittenburgh sees the difference with Gaston and some of the other newcomers.  “We executed better,” said the coach, words that were hardly said all last year.

“I am just going to do everything that I can to show them my ability,” said Gaston.  He knows that his ability could lead the Fordham program back to respectability. “It’s been developing all week as to what I can do,” he said. “This is a team effort and all we have to do is execute and take control.”

Part of that execution against Sacred Heart (2-1) was Fordham going on a 21-2 run over a span of 7:25 in the second half. That gave them a 72-51 lead. Gaston had eight points during the run and senior guard Brenton Butler, 15 points, also had eight during that span.

So it was a team effort and reason for optimism before traveling to Hartford, and taking on the Jaspers at Manhattan College for the annual Battle of the Bronx all in the next ten days.

“We’re gonna see the true test of our team,” said Whittenburg.

E-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com