Fordham interim coach Jared Grasso is moving quickly to replace the departed Jio Fontan.
The Rams on Thursday got a commitment from 6-1, 183-pound point guard Rayner Moquete, a native of the Dominican Republic who played at Our Savior New American on Long Island.
“This is a perfect fit academically and sporting-wise,” Moquete, 19, said Thursday after visiting the Fordham campus.
Moquete will be eligible to practice with the Rams Dec. 23 and can suit up for the Dec. 29 game at Kennesaw (Ga.) State. He won’t be able to suit up for Sunday’s game against St. John’s or Tuesday’s tilt with Villanova.
Moquete said he had interest from Princeton, Radford, DAvidson, Duquesne, Holy Cross and California-Riverside but failed to qualify because he’s an international student and was going to attend Miami Dade Junior College. He passed through the NCAA Clearinghouse earlier this year and is now eligible.
“I was supposed to go to Miami Dade but I decided to wait for the Clearinghouse decision,” he said. “I got cleared in October. I’m going to be going to Fordham now.”
Fontan received a conditional release from Fordham last week and will visit Indiana this weekend for the Kentucky game Saturday and USC next weekend. He said Tennessee, Kansas State, Oklahoma State and Miami were also involved.
Without him, there is more opportunity at the point guard spot.
“[Grasso] said he trusts me and will give me a lot of playing time because of it,” Moquete said.
“I have to show to him that I can play.”
**On a side note, Mike Francesa really should stop talking about college basketball. Today he said on WFAN that he keeps hearing Fran Fraschilla as the next Fordham coach when in fact Mike Rice of Robert Morris, a Fordham alum, is the leading candidate by all accounts — including Fraschilla himself. Francesa never mentioned Rice, Louisville assistant Steve Masiello or St. John’s assistant Fred Quartlebaum.
Of course, there’s also the chance Jared does a great job this year and earns the job himself going forward.
(Photo courtesy New York Elite Basketball)
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