Fordham’s run of basketball irrelevance may have come to an end yesterday, and it happened in dramatic fashion with the signing of New York City’s top senior prospect.
Christ the King star shooting guard Jon Severe picked coach Tom Pecora’s Rams at an emotionally charged press conference at the Queens school in front of cameras, classmates and school officials.
Severe had his pick of schools from top conferences, from Pittsburgh and Wake Forest of the ACC to Rutgers, which will enter the Big Ten a year from now, and West Virginia of the Big 12.
Yet, shortly before 3 p.m., after he thanked family, friends and his coaches, and struggled to get through his brief speech, he pulled out a maroon Fordham hat and said, “Next year I will be attending Fordham University.”
“[Tuesday night] I knew I wanted to go to Fordham,” he said as he sat back in his chair. “I just went with my gut.”
Fordham is getting a prolific scorer and elite shooter in the 6-foot-2 Severe, a Brooklyn native who led Christ the King to a city and state title this past winter. He was named Mr. New York Basketball,.given to the top senior in the state, and averaged 21.6 points per game.
“There’s no doubt about his ability to come in and play a lot of minutes for us,” Pecora told The Post.
Severe isn’t concerned with the recent poor track record of the program. While Pecora has elevated the talent base, Fordham hasn’t managed any more than 10 wins in any of his three seasons. Severe isn’t alone in belief of the Bronx school’s promising future. He joins what is now a loaded recruiting class that includes forward Manny Suarez, sharpshooting wing Jake Fay, point guard Chris Whitehead and shooting guard Antwoine Anderson.
“I think we can change the whole program,” Severe said. “I know we’re going to win.”
He took official visits to George Washington, Duquesne, UMass and Rhode Island in the fall, and considered committing before the season began. Severe waited, and then his recruitment exploded during a brilliant senior season.
In addition to the schools on his final list, Creighton, Kansas State and Alabama also expressed interest.
Fordham came into the picture early in the season, and made a home for itself at the Queens school. Multiple coaches showed up at games and three members of the staff were in Albany for the state tournament. On Tuesday, Pecora and lead recruiter David Duke came by for a final pitch.
“They did everything possible to bring home a [local] recruit, who in my estimation probably will be the biggest recruit Fordham has had in 20 years,” Christ the King coach Joe Arbitello said.