As the historic gym enters its second century, it has a newfound identity—and momentum.

“How about Rose Thrill, man!” After raucous home crowds seemed to will the men’s basketball team to a pair of impressive victories in January 2023, head coach Keith Urgo started a postgame press conference with those words. The name stuck.

As the gym enters its second century, Ram fans have high hopes. The recently completed Cura Personalis fundraising campaign focused new attention on athletics, especially basketball. Donors contributed to the New Era Fund, which supports the women’s and men’s teams. And a rejuvenated student section fired up players and fans alike.

Here are three recent wins for Fordham basketball.

A Record Three-Year Run

The men’s team achieved its highest three-year win total since joining the Atlantic 10 in 1995. The highlight? Going 25-8 in 2022–2023, just one win shy of the famed 1970–1971 team’s 26-3 record.

An Atlantic-10 Surge

The Rams reached the semifinals of the A-10 Tournament at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center in 2023. “It was great,” recalled Nikhil Mehta, a fan who graduated that year. “On the way to the games, you had ‘let’s go Fordham!’ chants ringing throughout the [subway] cars.”

Revived Ram Spirit

With slogans like “It’s a great day to be a Ram!” and shout-outs to fans for their support, Urgo has helped build a spirited culture on and off the court. And the men’s team’s 2022–2023 performance led to a 113% rise in ticket sales last season.

For Sam Jones, a Fordham senior who helps run an Instagram page to publicize games and other events, the energy around athletics has been “an absolute dream.”

“It changes your college experience—just to be walking around campus and hear, ‘Oh, are you going to the basketball game?’” he said. “I love it.”

RELATED STORY: Celebrating 100 Years of Rose Hill Gym: A Thrilling Legacy

But off the court, Tsimbila’s story is anything but typical.

Here are five things to know about this star Fordham Ram.

1. He’s Representing Cameroon in Olympic Qualifiers.

After graduating, Tsimbila will suit up for his country and head to training camp for the Cameroon National Basketball team this July in Latvia. Cameroon is one of six teams competing in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament ahead of the Paris games this summer.

“I’ve always dreamed about wearing my Cameroon jersey,” he said.

2. He Speaks Five Languages.

Tsimbila grew up in Cameroon speaking French, Arabic, Lingala, and Banham—but mastering English is among his proudest accomplishments.

“I learned basic English with my friends in the locker room, but in the locker room, we don’t always use proper formal language,” said Tsimbila, who attended high school in Maryland.

When a recruiter said his English wasn’t strong enough to succeed in college, Tsimbila worried—after several attempts—that he might never pass his proficiency exams.

Then he called his mom.

“She told me, ‘Son, if you believe in something, you have to go after it and do whatever it takes,’” Tsimbila said.

By summer’s end, Tsimbila not only passed his exam—he nearly doubled his score.

3. He Wants to Be an FBI or CIA Agent.

Tsimbila is graduating from the School of Professional and Continuing Studies with an individualized major in arts and computers. After graduation, he’ll pursue a master’s degree in cybersecurity at Fordham while continuing to play for the Rams. He plans to apply to work for the FBI or CIA.

4. His Bond with Coach Keith Urgo Goes Beyond Fordham.

Tsimbila forged a special connection with Fordham Head Basketball Coach Keith Urgo—before either became a Ram.

When COVID-19 and visa complications made it impossible to return home for Tsimbila—then playing for Penn State with Urgo as assistant coach—Urgo promised his star recruit he would personally make the trip to Cameroon to reassure Tsimbila’s family that their son’s future was in good hands.

“Abdou is everything a coach could ever want in a player,” Urgo said.

When Urgo came to Fordham, one of his first moves was to recruit Tsimbila from the transfer portal. Again, it was Tsimbila’s mother who swayed his decision.

“She said, ‘That man came all the way to Cameroon to tell me that he cares about you not just as a player, but as a human being,’” Tsimbila recalled. “‘I think you should follow that man—he wants the best for you.’”

5. Fordham Is ‘the Best Decision’ He’s Ever Made.

According to Tsimbila, his decision to transfer to Fordham has paid off beyond the court.

Last summer, Fordham Basketball provided financial and logistical support for Tsimbila to travel home for the first time in six years.

“There’s no other school in America that would have done something like that for me,” he said.

During his senior season, he learned that his family was affected by devastating landslides in Cameroon.

“I received a lot of support from people at Fordham that I never would have imagined,” he said.

Despite those family challenges, Tsimbila had one of his strongest seasons.

“I won’t be sad when I leave Fordham because I know I can come back here anytime,” he said. “Fordham for me means home.”

Remember, on the evening of May 18, New York’s Empire State Building will be illuminated in Fordham maroon for our graduates.

“I didn’t have too much gear—it was all in the laundry,” said Mehta, who graduated from the Gabelli School of Business in May.

He texted his friends: “What if we just went shirtless and just painted our chests for this game?”

They were immediately in.

“I got the text at like 11:30 the night before the game,” his friend John O’Friel, FCRH ’23, said with a smile. “And I was like, ‘Bet.’”

The Shirtless Herd

The pair recruited other friends and the group painted their chests to spell out R-A-M-S. The Shirtless Herd was born, and the Rams upset Saint Louis, the top team in the A-10 conference at that time.

O’Friel said the group grew over time, adding members and changing up their lettering.

“People were like, ‘Oh, this is cool, let’s do this,’” O’Friel said. “And that’s how we got ‘Bronx Built’ going, and ‘Urgonomics’—we started getting longer words, because more people want to be a part of it.”

The group caught the eye of Coach Keith Urgo.

“How about Rose Thrill, man!” Urgo said in the postgame press conference, using the nickname he coined for the loud atmosphere that the Shirtless Herd and other fans brought to the Rose Hill Gym. “The last couple of games, they have no idea how intense that atmosphere really is…we gotta continue that. We need that. It makes a world of difference.”

Social Media and Word of Mouth

The Shirtless Herd was just one part of a much-talked-about student fan section that came to life in 2023 as the men’s basketball team reached heights not seen for 30 years. Students packed the gym, creating a standing-room-only, loud, competitive atmosphere that caught the attention not only of Urgo but also the media.

In addition to the Herd, there were Instagram pages created that helped publicize the games and related events, such as @thehillfordham run by Sam Jones, a rising junior in the Gabelli School of Business.

“I thought, ‘maybe if we started an Instagram page, we could get a core group of people that went to every single game,’” he said.

Jones talked about the account with people in the community, including David Greco, the owner of Mike’s Deli on Arthur Avenue, which is a sponsor of Fordham athletics. Greco put him in touch with a few athletics staff members who were also working on increasing turnout.

“It just merged beautifully—we worked together throughout this semester to put on events [like pre- and post-game meetups] and and push the times of the games and push people to get there,” he said.

The main draw, of course, was the team’s performance. The men’s team finished third in the conference—after preseason polls projected them to finish last—and reached the semifinals of the A-10 tournament

While Urgo made sure his players were ready on the court, he also emphasized the importance of building a culture off the court, with slogans like “It’s a great day to be a Ram” and shoutouts to the fans for their support. Urgo and the players said it was a big part of why the Rams won their final six home games and went 18-2 overall at home.

Jones said being a part of this fan culture was “an absolute dream.”

“It changes your college experience—just to be walking around campus and hear, ‘oh, are you going to the basketball game?’” he said. “I loved it.”

Subway Chants on the Ride to Barclays

Mehta said that the credit really goes to Urgo for fostering the environment.

“He’s built a great culture here,” Mehta said. “He has a relationship with the students, with the fans. They’ve done a great job feeding off the energy and encouraging students to come back.”

And that energy expanded beyond students. When the team played in the A-10 tournament at the Barclays Center, Fordham fans, including students, alumni, and parents, packed the arena.

“It was great—on the subway on the way to the games, you had ‘let’s go Fordham!’ chants ringing throughout the cars,” Mehta said.

Keeping It Going

While many members of the fan section graduated, they hope that the tradition will be carried on. Jones, who is a junior, said that the plan is to build on this past year’s success and use it for other sports.

Jones said one of the most special things about Fordham is “how much of a family it really is.” That’s why he encourages students, particularly first-year students, to attend the games.

“Those are the events that you’re really going to remember—going to all the basketball games and yelling your heart out and standing the entire time in the fan section,” he said. “You’re meeting all these new people and you have all these friends and you see them at the next basketball game—it just creates such a strong culture.”

Visit fordhamsports.com to find the schedules for all teams and athletics events. Students attend for free with a student ID, while others can purchase tickets in advance.

“The restoration of football changed the entire dynamic of the University,” energizing students and prompting many alumni to reengage with Fordham, said Costantino, a 1967 graduate of the Gabelli School of Business and 1970 graduate of Fordham Law School.

These days, he and his wife, Barbara Costantino, are continuing to invest in this school spirit by giving to Fordham athletics. They are among the University’s most generous benefactors, as signified by the naming of the Costantino Room at the law school and the Fordham Founder’s Award presented to them in 2018.

They’ve supported everything from the law school’s Neuroscience and Law Center to its Feerick Center for Social Justice and WFUV, Fordham’s public media station, as well as various undergraduate scholarship funds.

But athletics are especially resonant for them. They’ve given to a wide variety of sports programs—softball, soccer, sailing, others—and co-led the fundraising for a new suite of football offices at the Rose Hill campus.

Basketball at the Forefront

And they’ve invested in Fordham basketball, one of the programs that is firing up Fordham the most these days—in particular, the men’s program, with its performance that is prompting comparisons with the program’s glory days under head coach Richard “Digger” Phelps in 1971.

The Costantinos traveled with the women’s and men’s teams in February as the teams were amassing their respective regular season records of 18-11 and 24-7. “We have really wonderful student-athletes at Fordham. We’re very lucky,” John Costantino said, noting their courteous behavior as well as the strong academic records they maintain, despite packed schedules.

Athletics is a pillar of the University’s $350 million fundraising campaign, Cura Personalis | For Every Fordham Student, because of its potential to engage students and alumni and raise the University’s national profile.

The men’s team seems to show this potential, John Costantino said. “The students are responding, there’s no question,” he said, citing the sellout crowds for recent games. He also lauded Tania Tetlow, president of Fordham University, for her commitment to athletics as an important part of the University experience. “I think she’s terrific—she goes to the games, she cares, she’s a believer in athletics,” he said.

For the Costantinos, supporting athletics has provided a lifelong source of camaraderie and community. “We made so many lasting friendships,” said John, a former managing partner of NGN Capital and a Fordham trustee emeritus. “It’s been, for us, a real joy to be involved.”

What are the roots of your longstanding giving to Fordham athletics?
Barbara and I both had athletics in our families. I always loved sports—I was playing since early childhood in Brooklyn. I played football and intramural basketball and played baseball until I was almost 22. My father brought me to my first baseball game, a Brooklyn Dodgers game. When I was at Fordham, the restoration of football really brought out the school spirit because of the great history of the Seven Blocks of Granite [the famous Fordham football line that included Vince Lombardi, FCRH ’37]. I think Barbara and I went to every game before I graduated from Gabelli.

Athletics are a very important part of the university experience—for players, the other students, and also for alumni. Through athletics, we’ve met so many good people, and knowing a lot of these people helped my career. When you know people and they trust you and they’ve enjoyed being with you, they will reach out and help when they can. And that extends to giving—we have friends that are very involved in the sailing program, for instance, so we support that, and they’ve supported us on football and baseball and so forth, like a quid pro quo, as we say in the law.

What do you think is the most important ingredient in a sports team’s success?
I think principally it’s leadership. A coach who’s successful can be tough sometimes, and that results in raising the quality of play. But in the end, you have to show you care about those players. It’s a very fine line. The other thing is the sense of team. It isn’t a one-man show or one-woman show, it’s a team, and teams win games. One thing you learn playing athletics is how to work with diverse people, how to deal with a lot of things, because you don’t necessarily like everybody in that room, but you try. And when it does work, it’s quite magical, I think.

What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
Barbara: Don’t forget where you come from. Keep your friends, try to be good to people, and maintain your ties.

John: I actually had two. My father told me, “Treat people like you want to be treated.”

Do you have any advice for today’s graduates as they launch their careers?
I think the key is to work hard, just as hard as you “work” while you’re playing. And do the right thing, even though it’s painful, because in the end it’ll serve you much better.

To ask about contributing to Fordham athletics, contact Kara Field, director of athletic development and assistant athletic director, at 973-223-2157 or [email protected].

The men’s team is enjoying its best year in decades under the first-year head coach, with 22 wins heading into the Feb. 25 game against the University of Rhode Island in the historic Rose Hill Gym. The Rams have won 16 of 18 games at home this year, drawing sell-out crowds to “Rose Thrill,” as the 98-year-old gym has come to be known. Meanwhile, the women’s team sits tied for third in the Atlantic 10 just days before the conference tournament is set to start. Both teams have brought excitement, thrills, and their share of media attention to Rose Hill.

Fordham basketball fever reached a peak on Wednesday evening, Feb. 22, when the men’s team faced Loyola University Chicago in the Windy City and the women took on the University of Rhode Island in the Bronx.

In their final home game of the season, the women were down 65-63 with eight seconds to go when graduate transfer Jada Dapaa knocked down an off-balance layup to tie the game and send it to overtime.

With the clock ticking down in overtime, the Rams were trailing once again, this time 73-71 with just under five seconds to play. That’s when senior guard and Cumberland, Maine, native Anna DeWolfe dribbled up the court and launched a three—“from Maine!” according to ESPN anchor Scott Van Pelt—to give her team the win. DeWolfe was mobbed on the court by her teammates and coaches, celebrating the upset victory against second-place Rhode Island.

Van Pelt was so impressed, he kicked off SportsCenter with the highlights from Rose Hill. “We begin with the best thing I saw today, which comes to us from the Boogie Down Bronx,” he said.

https://twitter.com/FordhamRams/status/1628617260192395264?s=20

ABC’s Robin Roberts also couldn’t resist DeWolfe’s buzzer beater, showing it on Good Morning America.

Thanks for the love @RobinRoberts @GMA!!!#TougherTogether pic.twitter.com/J6f4RdghdO

— Fordham WBB (@FordhamWBB) February 23, 2023

About 800 miles from “Rose Thrill,” the men’s team pulled off its own exciting victory in Chicago. Led by graduate student guard Darius Quisenberry, who put up 26 points, the Rams beat Loyola Chicago 71-69. It was a close game throughout, with the Rams trailing by one point at halftime, but the team pulled ahead with just over six minutes left and never looked back.

Wake up with the highlights from win no. 2⃣2⃣ pic.twitter.com/j8gBuDljZK

— Fordham Basketball (@FordhamMBB) February 23, 2023

Alumni across the country have been tuning in to support the team. The Maroon Club hosted a pregame meetup before taking in the men’s game in Chicago, and the Alumni Chapter of Los Angeles gathered to watch the game at State Social House in West Hollywood. And students have given the Rams a notable boost at home.

“The campus community is flying high watching the team, which means you had better arrive early at the gym to get to your spot,” Roger Clark reported in a piece for NY1 following the team’s comeback victory against the University of Massachusetts on Feb. 8.

Following the game, Urgo and the players praised the Fordham faithful. “We have the opportunity to really do something special here with the fan base, and it’s a result of getting the right guys in the program that fit not just the basketball program but the entire community,” Urgo said in a press conference following the game.

Tyler Cole, a first-year student from Brooklyn, is among those who have been impressed. “It’s honestly very fun and exciting, and I feel like the team shows warmth; they are like a family to us,” Cole told NY1.

What’s Next

Both teams are in action on Saturday, Feb. 25. It’s the final game of the year for the women’s team as they travel to North Carolina to take on Davidson at 1 p.m. The men will host the University of Rhode Island starting at 2:30 p.m. The men’s game will include a special tribute to the 1970–1971 Rams team that captivated New York City basketball fans on its way to a 26-3 record and the East regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. In addition, Fordham will honor former star Charlie Yelverton, FCRH ’71, whose No. 34 will be retired.

After Saturday, the men have two more games ahead of the Atlantic 10 tournament—at George Mason University on Wednesday, March 1, and back at Rose Hill for a 2 p.m. tipoff against Duquesne on Saturday, March 4.

Alumni support for the teams also continues, with gatherings planned across the country. The Alumni Chapter of Charlotte is gathering for the women’s game against Davidson. And on March 1, the Alumni Chapter of Washington, D.C., will bring together alumni, family, friends, and fans to cheer on the Rams against George Mason at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia.

The women’s A-10 tournament is set to begin on Wednesday, March 1, at the Chase Fieldhouse in Wilmington, Delaware. And the men’s A-10 tournament starts the following Tuesday, March 7, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, and runs through the championship game, set for Sunday, March 12. The opening-round matchups will be finalized at the end of the regular season, but right now, both Fordham teams are in third place in the conference.

Fordham athletics is encouraging alumni, family, and friends in the New York area to cheer on the team at the Barclays Center. All-session tickets for the tournament are on sale now and fans can keep an eye out on the Atlantic 10 website for updates as the tournament gets closer.

“The first thing that came in my head was, ‘My career is over,’” Ohams said, recalling laying on the court while the trainers examined him. “I remember that vividly.”

But a few days after he had surgery, Ohams said he felt more determined than ever.

“Something just clicked in me—[I kept thinking] ‘Just try to have the biggest comeback I can have in my career,’” he said. “My thing was to just put two feet in and just grind it.” If he couldn’t make it happen, he said, then at least he would have tried everything he could.

But he needn’t have worried. In 2021-2022, his first full season back on the court after the injury, Ohams had his best season as a Ram. He finished first in the Atlantic 10 conference and fifth in the entire NCAA in rebounding, and posted a double-double in 21 games, a new Fordham record. (A double-double is when a player records 10 or more in two statistical categories, such as 10 points and 10 rebounds.)

Keith Urgo, the new head coach of Fordham men’s basketball who served as an associate head coach last year under Kyle Neptune, said that Ohams was a special talent on both offense and defense.

“With his size, length, and athleticism, it’s very rare that you’re going to see that type of skill level. He was an extremely versatile player for us, and a mismatch nightmare,” he said, noting that a mismatch means he’s hard to match up against on both offense and defense. “Defensively is where he really got a lot better—one of the reasons why we were 40th in the country’s defense is because he’s able, with his athleticism and length, to switch and guard anyone on the floor.”

Ohams is finishing his master’s degree in media management as he prepares to graduate from Fordham for the second time, after earning his bachelor’s degree in communications in 2021. (Ohams redshirted his sophomore year due to injury, meaning he didn’t play that year, so he had an extra year of athletic eligibility.)

Along the way, Ohams said he learned the importance of patience.

“At the end of the day I learned that whatever I put my mind to and work on—the results will come,” he said, even if they’re not immediate. “ It will eventually come.”

Urgo said that not only is Ohams a special player, but he’s also an “unbelievable human being” and was a “larger than life” figure on campus.

“One of our pillars of excellence is gratitude and the other is humility, and he displayed both of those, and as a result, you can see how people reacted to him—from professors, to administrators, to students, they really fell in love with Chuba Ohams,” he said.

Ohams credits his teammates and coaches, including former Fordham men’s basketball coach Kyle Neptune, with encouraging him to keep pushing himself.

“Kyle Neptune was a great coach for me. What made him stand out from some of the coaches that I’ve had—it wasn’t just about basketball with him,” Ohams said. “He wanted me to be the best man that I can possibly be. So he made sure he asked me about my academics, he asked me about the little stuff that I didn’t think mattered.”

Urgo said that he was grateful Ohams was willing to buy into a whole new coaching system.

“I can’t say enough about him because it’s very difficult when a new staff, a new philosophy comes into play, and a sixth-year senior is willing to commit himself,” he said. “Truly impressed, and incredibly grateful to him for his commitment to us as a program.”

For Ohams, who’s been at Fordham since 2016, the end is bittersweet. He chose Fordham, in part, because he’s from the Bronx and playing at the Rose Hill Gym allowed his family to attend his games. Before Fordham, he said, he traveled a lot for games.

“This was the first time for my mom and dad to ever see me play basketball. So I mean, just seeing them in the crowd—I loved every bit of it.”

Urgo said that he’s going to miss both Ohams’ talent on the court and his personality, humor, and support off the court. He noted that as Fordham was looking for its next head coach, Ohams vocally supported him for the job.

“I’m obviously going to miss his bubbly personality, his humor, and his leadership,” Urgo said, adding that he’s also going to miss the chance to develop their relationship further.

Looking ahead, Ohams said that he has a goal of playing basketball professionally, ideally in the NBA. He’s been focusing on preparing for the NBA draft. That preparation included participating in Reese’s Division I College All-Star Game, held in New Orleans during the NCAA Tournament in April, which featured top senior student-athletes from across the country. He scored eight points and had three rebounds.

Ohams said he’s excited to see what the future holds, wherever it takes him.

“I’m born and raised in the Bronx, so it was literally home for me,” he said. “I love this place. I have so many memories. But I’m ready for the next chapter.”

But as coaches dug into his transcript, they learned that he did not have the grades to meet NCAA eligibility.

Rhoomes’ grade struggles led him to New Jersey’s NIA Prep, where he worked to sufficiently raise his GPA. But the school became wrapped up in an NCAA scandal that cast Rhoomes and five other student-athletes to the status of non-qualifiers. He was forced to spend another year at home, this time out of school.

That could have been the sail that accelerated a tailwind of unfortunate events. Rhoomes took a job—his first—at a Calvin Klein store, wondering with his mother about his future.

“I was watching guys I played with in high school—Maurice Harkless and Russ Smith—all going into the league,” Rhoomes said. “It was kind of stressful. I actually cried a few times.”

Then, Fordham assistant coach David Duke recruited him for the Rams’ 2012 roster.

Even though he had passed online courses to erase the prep school problems, his first appearance in a Ram uniform was almost stopped by an eligibility question. At the last hour before he was scheduled to face Texas State, Fordham’s compliance department helped settle the question, and one of the department reps drove him to the airport to meet his teammates.

Despite some initial struggles, under new head coach Jeff Neubauer in April 2015, Rhoomes found his focus.

“A lot people put me in the position to fail,” Rhoomes said. “Coach Neubauer came here and put me in the position to win. Being at Fordham has made me a better man.”

The Rams won 17 games this past season—the most since 2007—and played in a postseason tournament for the first time since 1992. Rhoomes more than doubled his scoring output, averaging14.6 points per game, and his field goal percentage (.647) broke Damon Lopez’s Fordham record (.616) set in 1991.

“These are the things that happen when you play right, you play smart, you play within yourself,” Rhoomes said. “I wasn’t trying to break records, I was just trying to help my team win.”

Rhoomes is thankful that Fordham took a chance on him. Besides picking up his game, he’s learned to succeed in the classroom as well. “I wish I had the same mentality in high school [as I have now],” said Rhoomes, who graduates May 21 with a GPA of 3.0 in his major. “I wouldn’t have been in the situation I was in.”

He also sees an opportunity to earn a living playing basketball. He has received calls from NBA teams for workouts and KMG Sports Management is on board to help showcase his abilities. Yet he remains humble.

“A lot of people don’t get a second chance, let alone a third chance,” Rhoomes said, “so being in a position to win is something I’m happy about. I’m really proud.”

–Ryan Restivo

The Atlantic 10 Conference announced on Jan. 23 its annual Basketball Legends. The 2014 class includes two former Rams among its 26 former men’s and women’s basketball student-athletes and coaches who made an immeasurable impact on each A-10 institution and their respective basketball programs.

Recognized are the late Ed Conlin, GSB ’55, from the Fordham men’s basketball program, and Jeanine “JJ” Radice, FCRH ’89, GSE ’90, from the women’s basketball program.

In addition to the two former Rams, current Fordham women’s basketball assistant coach Dale Hodges has been named a Basketball Legend for her career playing at St. Joseph’s University, where she was a two-time Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, in 1989 and 1990.

The Women’s Basketball Legends will be recognized with a brunch at the Richmond Marriot in Richmond, Va., on March 7 prior to the A-10 Championship quarterfinals.  The Men’s Basketball Legends will be honored on March 15 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. prior to the 2014 Men’s Basketball Championship semifinals. 

By Joe DiBari

Catch up on all the sports news:

Season and individual ticket information is
available by calling the Fordham Ticket Office
at (718) 817-4300. A complete men’s and
women’s schedule can be found online at:

http://www.fordhamsports.com/

The Fordham men’s basketball team made its first appearance at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center a memorable one, pulling off a thrilling win against Princeton on Dec. 15.

Playing the first of three games in the arena’s inaugural Brooklyn Hoops Winter Festival, the team emerged with a 63-60 win after junior guard and Brooklyn native Brendan Frazier hit a three-pointer to cut Fordham’s deficit to one, 60-59, with 28 seconds left.

Teammate Ryan Canty scored what proved to be the game-winner with 8.8 seconds left, making the team’s trek to the Borough of Kings an unqualified success.

— Photos by Ryan Brenizer and Vincent Dusovic

Right: The winning shot by Ryan Canty

Ewing, an 11-time NBA All-Star, was on hand to accept the award. Also attending the event was Bach himself, who received a standing ovation.

A Fordham legend, John W. Bach, FCRH ‘48, enjoyed a career as a coaching icon on the collegiate, professional, and international levels. He is still holds the most winning record in Fordham University basketball history, having led the Rams to five NIT appearances and a pair of NCAA berths in 18 seasons, from 1950 to 1968, before leaving for Penn State.
In accepting the award, Ewing praised Bach’s coaching knowledge, hoping that lessons he learned from Bach when they coached together with the Washington Wizards would someday help him in his coaching endeavors.

“Even though I’m a Hoya, I believe in Johnny Bach so much that I was so honored when he called me to tell me I would get his award,” said Ewing. “I remember just sitting with him and listening to his philosophy. I hope to be able to utilize that when I become a head coach.”