Due to the holiday schedule this week we’re going to change things up a bit and not name a Team of the Week. Most teams only played one game – if any – and the one team that played two – Fordham – managed a home split, which is exactly what we’d expect. Still, there were some outstanding individual performances. So here’s out abbreviated weekly awards.
Player of the Week: Jason Brickman, LIU Brooklyn – LIU is currently a shell of its former three-peat selves, but it doesn’t seem to matter to Brickman. He’s trying to will the Blackbirds to an NEC conference championship. Against Sam Houston State on Saturday Brickman scored a career-high 26 points and also had 13 assists (and nine turnovers). He scored the 1,000th point of his career in that game as well. Brickman remains one of the best point guards in the country and he’s trying to work with the pieces that are currently around him. He desperately needs some help.
Honorable Mentions: Marvin Dominique, St. Peter’s; Eugene Teague, Seton Hall; Branden Frazier, Fordham
Rookie of the Week: Jon Severe, Fordham – There are a few players who deserve this award, but Severe continues to put up incredible numbers during his freshman season. He scored 23 points and had six assists in a win over Loyola (IL) and then tried to propel Fordham to a victory over Harvard with 29 points and six rebounds. Severe went 11-11 from the free throw line against the Ramblers, so even if he didn’t shoot particularly well (5-16 from the field), he was still able to score enough to drive the Rams’ offense. Despite his difficult game against St. John’s Severe remains a relatively efficient scorer even though he’s using almost 29% of Fordham’s possessions while on the court.
Honorable Mentions: Luke Petrasek, Columbia; Ryden Hines, Iona; Kahlil Thomas, Rider; Trevis Wyche, St. Peter’s; Doug Chappelle, Fairfield; De’von Barnett, Sacred Heart
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Severe puts up one off balance shot after another. Most of them I’ll advised. Is there any coaching at all going on at Fordham, or is Severe officially in charge of game “management”? Looks like Pecora landed Severe by promising him he’d get to do whatever he wanted, even if it hurts the team.
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I have to disagree here. Severe is going to have games like tonight’s against Siena where he shoots poorly, but the Fordham offense is designed around getting their guards shots. Severe is a talented shooter, he’s showed it in other games this season. Unfortunately, because of their lack of depth up front and in the backcourt, the Rams are forced to play Severe and Frazier lots of minutes. I’d also note that Severe is only a freshman, even if a hyped one. They take time develop better shot selection. (For instance we had a “Bad Shot Count” for Branden Frazier as recently as last season.) I believe that Tom Pecora, rightly, is going to take the good and bad, ups and downs, of being a freshman from Severe because his ceiling is so high and Fordham desperately needs him to succeed.
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It will not help Severe’s development as a player to give him carte blanche to take any shot he wants, in any situation. Just the opposite. Siena was not just one game either. Severe has had several similar games this year. Pecora needs to coach him, which means guiding him and saying no when necessary. That isn’t taking place, either with Severe or the other Fordham guards. The Rams offense is essentially aimless, consisting of one to three passes around the perimeter, followed by a guard chucking up a shot, no matter how many defenders are draped on him. The shot selection by Fordham’s guards also leaves a lot to be desired. This is a coaching problem.
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