After winning 25 games at Fordham last season, Keith Urgo is hopeful that increased versatility on roster will keep Rams’ momentum shifting upward. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)
NEW YORK — Last season was a banner year for Fordham, as the long-moribund Rams won 25 games, the most for the program in 31 years.
The lack of a postseason appearance did little to quell the euphoria on Rose Hill, however, with head coach Keith Urgo quickly becoming just as much a fan favorite as his team’s contagious style. The uptempo offense and hustling, relentless defense eventually attracted sellout crowds to the Bronx, something not normally seen unless a marquee opponent was in town.
Expectations now exist in perhaps their most tangible form at Fordham this season, as Urgo heads into his second year at the reins with three returning starters on which to continue laying his foundation. But by the same token, the greater presence of youth has urged the Rams’ coach to be more pragmatic in assessing the next step for the program.
“This is a new group with a lot of depth, athleticism, speed and talent. We just have to start figuring out how to play together. I’m happy with some of the things offensively from an individual standpoint, but defensively, we’ve gotta continue to get better. When you’re playing with a lot of sophomores that haven’t played a ton, three transfers and a freshman, it’s going to take some time to learn how to trust one another on the defensive end.”
Replacing the likes of Khalid Moore and Rostik Novitskyi up front is no easy feat, nor is finding a successor to Darius Quisenberry at the point guard spot. But in incoming transfer Japhet Medor, Urgo has an aggressive and explosive floor general who demonstrates a slashing ability and a natural hand to facilitate in equal parts. The UTSA expatriate led Fordham with 23 points on Sunday after being declared eligible late last week, and is still adjusting on the fly to playing alongside incumbents Will Richardson, Kyle Rose and Antrell Charlton.
“He’s just so explosive,” Urgo said of Medor and his skill set. “I think he’s one of the fastest guards in the country, certainly in the Atlantic 10. He can finish with both hands, he gives us a dynamic that we didn’t have last year. We had to set a lot of ball screens to get guys shots. He doesn’t need a ball screen, as a matter of fact, he doesn’t need anything. It’s very difficult for one guy to guard him, and Will’s getting to that as well. Together, they’re making each other so much better, so to have two guys with that quickness and explosiveness, I’m excited about the speed. As we get more and more comfortable, he’ll make some great plays off the ball.”
“I think we have one of the best backcourts not only in the Atlantic 10, but in the country as far as speed and athleticism in Will Richardson and Japhet. We literally just found out about Japhet, so he wasn’t playing with that group but for a couple of days. They’ve been going at it for most of the summer and fall and every once in a while, we’ll put them together, but until this week, they really hadn’t played in the same backcourt in practice together. They’re going to learn how to play together a lot more. They’re both very unselfish, both high-level players, but Japhet has got some ridiculous speed. He’s a fifth-year guy, too, a little bit more experienced, so I’m really pleased with his offensive production. He’s gotta continue to get better on the defensive end.”
Up front, Fordham is going with a by-committee approach to filling the void left by Moore's departure. Abdou Tsimbila seems to be entrenched at the center spot, but Urgo has a myriad of options to partner up with him down low. Angel Montas and Jahmere Tripp figure to see a fair share of minutes inside, but all indications are Elijah Gray and Josh Rivera will be the frontrunners to lead the Ram front line. The two complemented one another well in Sunday’s exhibition, with Gray contributing 10 points on an efficient 4-of-6 shooting while Rivera played 26 minutes and pulled down a team-best 14 rebounds.
“Josh Rivera’s a really talented basketball player,” Urgo gushed. “We have some physicality in Elijah and Abdou, and even Yole (Akuwovo). His energy is just so fantastic and he’s so mature. Then you’ve got a bunch of physical guys like Angel Montas when he gets into the paint. We’re really big at the potential two and three spots depending on what lineup we play.”
“We like to play Elijah a little bit at the five as well. (We’ll play) Josh and Elijah together, then Elijah and Abdou together, or Josh and Abdou. Josh can actually play some three, too. He’s really physical and he could be really productive at the three spot if you play Abdou, Elijah and him as well. We can mix a lot of different lineups, but I’m really excited on some of the things we can work on and get that much better.”
While Urgo was open about the loss of experience in his now-graduated seniors, he struck a balance when projecting positive steps for his current iteration of Fordham basketball. In fact, he believes the versatility on his present roster actually makes the Rams more dangerous heading into the season, which begins on November 6 against Wagner.
“One hundred percent,” Urgo said of the extra formidability among his players. “Offensively, we’re extremely talented, we’ve got a lot of guys that can make some plays. We just have to get so much more disciplined and we have to pay attention to detail, spacing, timing, things of that nature. We’ve gotta do a better job of getting some stops. We’ve got some serious promise, we just have to clean a lot up.”
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.