In Mike Magpayo’s first year as head coach of Fordham’s men’s basketball program, the Rams have had their struggles.
Sitting just 11-10 overall and 2-6 in the Atlantic 10, Magpayo has been the first to admit it at times.
“I just think a lack of shot making turns into a lack of energy on a disappointing day not to fight and make it a game,” he said after a Jan. 21 loss to Duquesne. “We’re more than capable of doing that, but today, we didn’t rise to the level of competition.”
Fordham certainly wasn’t
projected highly this preseason with the Rams picked to finish 14th in the A10 back in September, and it’s been an uphill climb even just to win 11 games.
A lot of the early issues, like losses to NJIT, Iona and Holy Cross, can be attributed to a new head coach transitioning and an entirely new roster learning his play style and scheme. However, Fordham really hasn’t been 100% healthy the entire season, plagued by a plethora of injuries since the summer.
Jack Whitbourn, Roor Akhuar, Abass Bodija, Louis Lesmond, Christian Henry, Marcus Greene and Dejour “Dae Dae” Reaves are all averaging more than 17.0 MPG but have each missed time with injury.
Still, while having to mix lineups and rotations on a consistent basis, Fordham has proven to be one of the A10’s top defensive units this season. Given, this isn’t a team that swipes a ton of steals or blocks a lot of shots, the Rams rank bottom five in conference for both those categories, but are holding opponents to a league low 65 points per game.
By the KenPom metrics, Fordham is 55th in 2-point percentage defense, 83rd in effective field goal percentage defense, 78th in raw defensive efficiency and 19th in defensive rebounding percentage. Featuring a lineup with four contributors listed at 6-foot-9 or taller, the Rams smother opponents with suffocating defense, and it makes every night in Rose Hill Gymnasium a grind.
“When we go through those brass stretches of offensive basketball whenever we’re missing shots, I’m like ‘what else can we do?’” Magpayo said. “[The defense] has become something we can lean into as coaches, [telling players to] stay calm and focus on a big defensive play or a big rebounding play.”
Now, as Fordham starts to get healthy, there’s cause for concern when visiting the Bronx, with a Wednesday night win over La Salle providing a look into the challenges that a full Rams rotation brings.
It wasn’t a high scoring affair, the final just 64-58, but it was a back-and-forth chess match in which Fordham’s defense ultimately prevailed by holding La Salle scoreless for the last 5:52 of regulation.
First-year Explorers head coach Darris Nichols summed up what makes the Rams physicality and defense such an issue post-game.
“I think the length is the biggest thing,” Nichols said. “When you have three guys at 6-foot-10 and you play the 2-3 zone, we’re rushing it more because you’ve got all this size and length on you. We’re getting rim shots, good quality shots, and we just missed them. I think when you play against the size, it forces you to rush and shoot it differently than a lot of teams we’ve seen.”
Coaches have said similar things all season long. Teams like Saint Louis, Duquense, George Mason, Davidson and Dayton were all held to 78 points or fewer by Fordham this season.
Of course, that means it’s on the offensive end where Fordham has had its biggest struggles with the Rams 12th in PPG in the A10 and just 258th in offensive efficiency nationally. It’s led to an overeliance on Reaves, who is tied for 99th in usage rate, top-60 in minutes percentage, 102nd in percentage of shots taken and 110th in percentage of possession used.
Even so, he’s scored double-digits in all 20 games he’s played in. With being forced to carry more of the offensive load, he has seen a dip in his 3-point shooting and efficiency metrics.
But in some of the Rams biggest games this season, even amidst streaky shooting, Reaves has been clutch when it mattered most. So much so that Fordham’s student broadcast, WFVU Sports, dubbed him “Dae Dae Dagger” after a game-winner against Wagner earlier this season.
“A lot [of confidence in Reaves],” Magpayo said. “Even in the ones that didn’t go our way. We like to get a little more ball movement and then get Dae Dae to his spots. He has a lot of spots on the floor, if he can get to any of them and he pulls it, there’s a really good shot it goes in.”
Steadily we’ve seen some gradual improvements from others, specifically in the frontcourt with Rikus Schulte and Akira Jacobs, the only two Rams to play in all 21 games.
Schulte has been strong from the onset, but now, he’s practically averaging a double-double with seven on the season as the A10’s second-leading rebounder. Jacobs has had his shooting troubles but is seemingly becoming more comfortable in his role, highlighted by 14 points and five rebounds in a win at St. Bonaventure or even a team-leading 13 points over La Salle.
Henry is continually growing as a ball handler, currently leading Fordham in assists with 5.3 per game, but he’s also proven an offensive weapon when scoring with consistency. Flashback to a Nov. 29 win over Albany in which he led the way with a game-high 29 points and seven assists, shooting 9-for-12 from the field and 2-for-3 from behind the arc.
Whitbourn too has pieced together some impressive performances in his nine games since returning from injury and has quickly worked his way into a key role within Fordham’s rotation. Couple in the improving freshman duo of Akhuar and Bodija with a once again healthy Lesmond, and the picture is becoming clearer.
“There have only been two games in conference where we haven’t had a lead or at least been within two points,” Magpayo said. “Sometimes double-digit leads even. Everybody’s been mixing and matching, but now, being able to play nine guys and capable of 10, it’s a really good feeling. So great to not only have some depth, but to see other parts of the box score filled up.”
Now, is Fordham going to make a late-season run to finish upper middle of the pack in the A10 and cause some late season drama in March? Realistically, no. This is a fairly inexperienced team overall that still has a lot of growing and development left on the table as Magpayo himself continues to learn the ins and outs of winning in this league.
But it seems Fordham is once again being fueled by the physicality and defensive grit that Rose Hill basketball has long been known for and that should give the rest of the A10 cause for concern.
With VCU, St. Bonaventure, Loyola Chicago, Davidson and Rhode Island all set to visit The Bronx between now and regular-season’s end, a healthy Rams team is no easy assignment.
One thing that’s for sure, nobody wants to be the fifth or sixth seed on day two of the A10 Championship and have to face Fordham off a first-round win with all the momentum. Because the Rams’ defense might just hold them to under 65 points if they can’t solve the puzzle of their length and physicality, mixed with some improving talent on the offensive end.
“We’ve got 10 more opportunities before we get to the conference tournament, and I really think these guys can do something with it,” Magpayo said. “But we’ll keep taking it a day at a time and keep working hard.”
