The best thing the Rams have going for them moving on up is an experienced coach who is used to big time basketball and knows how to teach this wonderful game.  Fordham is not just moving on up a little bit as the A-10 is the 9th highest ranked conference in the country and the one they just left, the Patriot, is ranked 21st.  Fordham has just recently been in the MAAC which is a bit higher at 18 but the fact of the matter is the Rams weren’t dominating those conferences (heck they were barely 500) and these programs are a bit more talented (and bigger) than the Army and Fairfields they are used to.  Coach John Bach will not have high expectations as he helps transition his alma mater into the big time but he does have upperclassmen to hang his hat on as the jump into this abyss.  Bach was once a heck a guard for the Rams and understands this game well but he also understands ala John Wooden that if you had to choose between talent and everything else, you choose talent.  Too bad this team does not have that much talent because it is has a heck of a coach. 

Leading the way is arguably the best basketball player in the country that you have not heard about.  Senior Ed Conlin is the real deal and though not much known outside the five boroughs he is about a complete of a player as there is on the East Coast not named Gola!  Ed and Tom and have had some wars in the past (and will at least a couple more times this year) and Conlin has more than held his own.  This six five forward came to Queens from across the bridge in Brooklyn and immediately made his presence felt.  Conlin immediately became a big time pounder on the boards and a solid defender but was not really a scorer.  He has increased his scoring every season and now has become the go to guy on Rose Hill.  Conlin will probably play the four again this year but Bach believes his best position might be the three as he is such a solid all-around player and is not quite big enough especially at the next level which he will almost assuredly be moving up after his senior season.  The other reason he will man the four is of course the Rams do not have much size down low and this will probably be the biggest hurdle they face in their new surroundings.  It is not exactly the monsters of the Big East but the A-10 does have some dominant big men and Bach knows he has to get bigger to compete here and has recruited according.  Hopefully with Conlin now playing in the A-10 he will get the national recognition he deserves and more importantly he will lead this team into contention in this tougher league but he will need a lot of help! 

Help comes in the way of a couple of junior studs who both play the same wing position that Conlin is best suited for.  Ken Charles is a 6’3 two guard who is best on the defensive end but also might be the best scorer on the team.  Not a great shooter he gets his points going to the hoop and a nice mid-range game.  Some think Bach will try to move Charles to the point this year as that is a blaring weakness on this team (as well as height) but Charles is a two guard at least offensively though he is a solid passer off the drive. Either way this athlete who knows how to play will be guarding the other team’s best perimeter player as he will be up against this year!   Charles will be required to guard the likes of Guy Rodgers and Sihugo Green and Jimmy Paxson which is quite an upgrade from where he is coming from but he is more than up to it.  His sidekick in crime is Charles Yelverton who is only 6’2 but plays like he is much bigger.  Yelverton can do it all on the court but with the team’s lack of height is asked to guard much bigger guys and also to mix it up down low.  A tremendous leaper Yelverton is not quite the board guy Conlin is but he is not far behind but of course it is difficult for a 6’2 guy to bang with monsters.  After all this will no longer be the Patriot where some center go 6’5 as Temple alone has about five seven footers rotating into their lineup.  Yelverton will be fine though and he gives this team a heck of trio who can score and really understand how to play the game.  After this big three it gets s bit tricky! 

Senior wing Jim Cunningham will either start or be the 6th man as Bach needs his offense.  At 6’3 and not very athletic, Cunningham does not look the deadly assassin he is on the offensive end.  This Buffalo native was second in scoring last year at over 15 a game and can flat shoot the round thing into the hole.  He has not yet acclimated to the three point line but he can destroy you from 18 feet and in.  Now if he could just play a little defense he might get some real recognition (and some more minutes). 

Junior big man Darryl Brown will handle the center position but at 6’7 he is going to be challenged to hang with his opponents.  Brown has been solid since he got here as he can score and board and does guard the rim but this will be entirely new and stiffer competition.  Brown can hang but Bach understands this team needs to get bigger and has bought in some kids with size to compete some minutes.  These kids are raw but they do have size and that is what matters most in basketball.  Sophomores Dan O’Sullivan and Dud Tongal will get some minutes though both have a long ways to go before they are legitimate D-1 centers.  Tongal is from the Sudan and is a true seven footer and has the potential to be the kind of rim protector and intimidator all teams need but that is a long ways off.  O’Sullivan is almost as big and does eat up space but is more of that smart big man than an intimidator but like Tongal is nowhere near ready for this level of competition but they will play some.  Seniors John Stevens (6’5) and talkative John Aderesie (6’4) plus 6’4 junior Tom Sullivan are scheduled to play often in the paint and all three are smart players but if they are the best they got the Rams are in trouble in the A-10 up front! 

Point guard is the other big issue for Bach as he tries to compose a team that hits all the right notes.  Senior Bob Mullens might get the start and is the team captain but he is more of a combo guard and might not be up to guarding these cat quick guards in this league.  He had some real problems with Bob Cousy last year and Bach knows he needs something better though Mullens at one point was the best player on this team and is a legend on Rose Hill.  Sophomore David Maxwell will probably get the shot as he is solid on both ends.  At 6’2 he a sort of combo guard as well and Bach has supposedly brought in some players to compete for this job just as he did up front.  Senior Billy Langheld and junior Bill Maynor are in the running for time in the back court but both are more two guards than points thus the reason Bach wants to move Charles.  Fellow senior Wayne McGuirt is a true point guard who has played often here but is not dynamic, big (5’11) or quick enough for this league filled with super point guards.  There are so many M’s on this team fans have started calling them the M&M club which started with Mullens, McGuirk and Jim Manhardt.  Bob Melvin is one of these and he can score but is not big enough for wing up here.  Seniors Dick Fitzgerald (who once started here), Fred Christ and Bill Carlson round out the squad but none of these guys will be in line for many minutes unless fortune changes around Rose Hill..and not for the better.  Time will tell if any of these cats are the answer and if they are this team does have a chance of competing this year but if not the fans of Rose Hill will not be happy rooting for a potentially last place club.  That is a real chance as the one thing the A-10 is famous for is being extremely deep.  There might be 12 teams in this league but none are gimmes as these Rams will soon found out.