Jon Severe is staying home.
The 6-foot-2 guard from Christ the King High School announced Wednesday that he would stay in New York and play at Fordham, choosing the Rams over Pitt, West Virginia, Wake Forest and Rutgers.
Severe is a huge get for Fordham coach Tom Pecora, whose team finished 7-24, 3-13 in the Atlantic 10 Conference last season.
“Next year I will be playing at Fordham University,” he announced during an emotional press conference at Christ the King.
“And so ends the longest five minutes of his life,” CTK coach Joe Arbitello joked after it took Severe several minutes to compose himself before announcing.
Severe’s announcement follows an 11th-hour meeting Tuesday night with new Rutgers coach Eddie Jordan and an appearance at the school earlier this week by Pitt coach Jamie Dixon. To read more of this story, click here
Devon “Fatty” McMillan has obtained his release from Fordham and will be at another school next semester, his brother, Dwan, told SNY.tv Tuesday.
“He’s leaving because he feels like he needs a new setting,” Dwan said. “He’s just coming off surgery and missing the first six games. He felt it was best to move on. He thanks the coaching staff for giving him the opportunity to flourish as a freshman. But it was time move on.”
Fordham coach Tom Pecora was not immediately available for comment. McMillan had initially pledged to Hofstra, but then followed Pecora to Fordham.
The 5-foot-10 McMillan was averaging 2.7 points in three games.
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NEW YORK — St. John’s freshman Chris Obekpa hasn’t quite made an impression on NBA personnel just yet.
“I don’t think he’s on many people’s radar yet,” said Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com. “He’ll need to show himself in the Big East. But what he’s doing is interesting.”
What Obekpa did Saturday night was certainly pretty interesting.
He had 11 blocks, seven points and five rebounds in St. John’s 58-47 victory over Fordham at Madison Square Garden, breaking his own single-game school-record of eight set on opening night Nov. 13. To read more of this story, click here
As reported Thursday on my Twitter, Fordham freshman forward Ryan Rhoomes has been cleared by the NCAA to play immediately.
The NCAA was looking into the academic record of the 6-foot-8 Rhoomes, who attended both Cardozo High School in Queens and NIA Prep in Newark.
“Ryan will have an impact on the boards and with his post defense,” Fordham coach Tom Pecora told SNY.tv. “He’s a high-energy guy.”
Rhoomes initially committed to TCU in April 2011 on SNY.tv, but was then one of four NIA Prep players declared academically ineligible by the NCAA that August.
He then chose Fordham in May after taking steps to resolve his academic issues by taking courses online. St. John’s, Rhode Island, Hofstra, Temple, Iona and Seton Hall were also involved.
Fordham opens up at Texas State tonight (Friday) before playing at Pittsburgh Monday in the Preseason NIT.
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Manny Suarez, a 6-foot-10, 225-pound forward from Marist (N.J.) High School, verbally committed to Fordham on Monday, as first reported by SNY.tv.
Suarez, who runs with the Albany City Rocks AAU program, also held offers from Monmouth, Drexel, Penn State, Long Beach State and others.
“The reason I chose Fordham is I like the campus and the coaching staff is tremendous,” he said. “When I spoke to them they gave me a lot of details about everything. My family and I just felt comfortable.”
Suarez averaged 16 points, 13 rebounds and 5 blocks last season and says he’s feels comfortable at either forward spot. To read more of this story, click here
Every day while practicing with the Puerto Rico Senior National Team, Fordham’s Chris Gaston gets to test himself against NBA players like Renaldo Balkman and J.J. Barea.
“They’ve taken me under their wing,” the 6-foot-7 Gaston told SNY.tv by phone from San Juan. “I hang out with Renaldo [a former Knick] every day. I always ask him questions and stuff. He’s been in the league for a couple years. He’s been like a big brother to me.”
Gaston, a rising senior at Fordham, is one of several American college players To read more of this story, click here
Ryan Rhoomes is headed to Fordham.
The 6-foot-9, 237-pound former TCU commit pledged to the Rams on Friday.
“I just chose them because everything felt right,” Rhoomes told SNY.tv. “It’s close to home and I feel they can develop my game.”
Rhoomes was recruited by assistant coach David Duke as well as head coach Tom Pecora.
“I think it might be a nice fit,” Cardozo coach Ron Naclerio said. “He visited the other day, he liked it. David played for me at Cardozo and he always works hard with Cardozo players.” To read more of this story, click here
The last time Fordham beat a Top 25 opponent, Jimmy Carter was president, gas was about 67 cents a gallon and Andy Gibb’s “(Love Is) Thicker Than Water” was the No. 1 record.
Nearly 33 years later, the Rams beat No. 22 Harvard, 60-54, Tuesday at Rose Hill Gym.
The Fordham win snapped a 54-game losing streak to ranked opponents stretching back to February 28, 1978 when the Rams knocked off then 18th-ranked Georgetown, 63-59, at Rose Hill.
The win followed a Dec. 29 victory over Georgia Tech and was Fordham’s third in a row and fourth in its last five games. Fordham is now 7-6. To read more of this story, click here
 The Atlantic 10 named Fordham junior forward Chris Gaston and Richmond junior guard Darien Brothers its Co-Players of the Week.
La Salle’s Jerrell Wright was also Rookie of the Week.
Gaston, scored a career-high 35 points, surpassing his previous career best of 32 in the Rams’ win over Texas State. The Union City, N.J. native also pulled down 15 rebounds, notching his NCAA leading ninth double-double of the year and the 45th of his career. To read more of this story, click here
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NEW YORK — Jio Fontan and Tyshawn Taylor have been talking smack on the phone and in text messages for several weeks now.
With Fontan set to make his debut Saturday for Southern Cal (6-4) against Taylor and No. 3 Kansas (9-0) at Allen Field House (noon, ESPN), the chatter is running high between the two old friends and former St. Anthony teammates.
“I told him that’s a terrible place for him to come back,” cracked Taylor, Kansas’ junior point guard from Hoboken, N.J.
Said Fontan: “I’ve been calling him telling him how we’re going to beat them and he’s been calling me telling me how they’re going to blow us out.” To read more of this story, click here
