May 23, 2012

Four sign letters of intent to join Fordham's men's basketball team (NY Post.com)

Bronx, N.Y. - Fordham University men's basketball head coach Tom Pecora announced the signing of Travion Leonard (Raleigh, N.C./Kestrel Heights School (Lee Academy)), Jermaine Myers (Ajax, Ontario/Culver Academy (Blair Academy)), Ryan Rhoomes (Middletown, N.Y./Cardoza) and Mandell Thomas (Rochester, N.Y./ Rush-Henrietta (Notre Dame Prep)) to National Letters of Intent for the 2012-13 season.

Leonard, a 6'8", 285-pound forward/center, is a graduate of Kestral Heights High School in Durham, North Carolina, who is attended Lee Academy in Lee, Maine, this past year.

At Kestral Heights in 2010-11, Leonard averaged over 11 ppg and eight rpg for the Hawks as a senior. This past winter, he helped lead Lee Academy, ranked eighth among New England Prep schools, to a 21-7 record as the Pandas fell in the Maine Class C championship game.

Other programs who were recruiting Leonard included Duquesne, East Carolina, UNC-Wilmington, and UNC-Greensboro.

Myers, a 6'1", 180-pound point guard, is originally from Ajax, Ontario, but spent three years at Culver Academy in Culver, Indiana, before finishing out his high school career at Blair Academy in New Jersey.

At Culver, Myers was rated the 25th top senior in 2010-11 as he helped lead the team to its first ever Indiana state final appearance. The Eagles fell in the championship game to Washington, led by current Indiana star Cody Zeller, to close out the year with a 20-6 record. Myers finished the year averaging 19.8 points, 5.3 assists, and 4.3 rebounds in addition to shooting 50.6 percent from the floor.

At Blair Academy this past winter, Myers averaged 14.0 ppg and 9.0 assists/game and led the team to the 2012 MAPL Championship. The Bucs advanced to the Prep A State Final game where they fell to St. Benedict's (28-1), the #5 team in the nation, and finished the year with an 18-7 record.

Myers chose Fordham over Valparaiso, Western Kentucky, Vermont and Middle Tennessee State.

Rhoomes, a 6'9", 210-pound, forward, played for head coach Ron Naclerio at Cardozo High School in Queens in 2009-10, leading the Judges to the Queens Borough championship and the PSAL Class AA title game where they fell to Boys and Girls, 55-50, at Madison Square Garden. He averaged 16.7 points and 11.2 rebounds per game as a senior.

In 2010-11, Rhoomes did a postgraduate year at NIA Prep in Newark, New Jersey, averaging 10 points, 5.7 rebounds and two blocks per game.

Thomas, a 6'3", 185-pound guard, is a 2011 graduate of Rush-Henrietta in Rochester, New York, who just finished a postgrad year at Notre Dame Prep School in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.

At Rush-Henrietta in 2010-11, Thomas averaged 27.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.9 steals/game, leading the team to the Section V Class AA1 title and earning 2010-11 All-Greater Rochester boys basketball co-Player of the Year honors. He was also named All-County in 2010-11 and was the Section V scoring leader.

At Notre Dame Prep this past season, Thomas helped the Crusaders to the 2012 National Prep Championship tournament where they defeated St. Thomas More, 80-76, in the quarterfinals before falling to eventual champions, Brewster Academy, in the semifinals. He was one of four highly recruited guards on the 2011-12 Notre Dame squad, joining Myles Davis (who committed to Xavier), Sam Cassell Jr. (who committed to Maryland) and Adonis Filer (who committed to Clemson).

St. Bonaventure, Siena, Stony Brook and Eastern Kentucky had also been recruiting Thomas.

"We're very excited to have this group of young men join us and become part of the Fordham University basketball family," said Pecora. "They all have great potential as both young men and student-athletes and we feel confident that they will grow and achieve their personal goals, as well as our team's goals, in their time at Fordham."