May 9, 2012
Fordham's Gaston gets Olympic invite from native Puerto Rico (NYPost.com)
St. Anthony basketball stars reunite for Olympic dream (NYPost.com)
Bronx, N.Y. -
Fordham University junior forward Chris Gaston has been invited to try out for the Puerto Rican National Team last week and will be off to the island as soon as he completes finals next week. He hopes to land a position on the team that will compete in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London this summer.
Gaston, who was named Second Team All-Atlantic 10 and Second Team All-Met in 2011-12, led the Fordham squad in both scoring and rebounding for the third straight year, averaging 17.1 ppg and 9.9 rpg. He also recorded 46 blocks (second best in the team), 35 steals (third best on the squad), and 30 assists. Gaston led the Atlantic 10 in rebounding - the third consecutive season he leads the conference in rebounding - and in offensive (4.0/game) and defensive rebounding (5.9/game). He is also ranked fifth in the conference in scoring and seventh in blocked shots (1.6/game).
Gaston registered 16 doubles-doubles on the year, the most for any Atlantic 10 player and the 18th best in the NCAA Division I. He was also 24th in the NCAA in rebounding, 72nd in scoring and 80th in blocks.
On the year Gaston set a new career-high in scoring, netting 35 points in the win over Texas State on December 22nd and then matching that in the victory over La Salle on February 25th. The 35-point outburst was the second best among all A-10 players this winter.
Over his three-year career, Gaston has amassed 1,428 points, good for eleventh place on the Fordham all-time scoring list, seven points behind Fred Herzog (1987-92) for tenth place. He also has 911 career rebounds, placing him sixth on the Fordham all-time rebounding list, six behind John Stevens (1962-65) for fifth place. With his 16 doubles-doubles this year, Gaston brings his career total to 51 in 83 career games.
The Rams closed out the 2011-12 season with a 10-19 overall record, 3-13 in the Atlantic 10. Fordham knocked off #22/21 Harvard on January 3rd, snapping a 20-game losing streak to Associated Press nationally-ranked opponents. The Rams finished the year with a 9-6 record in the historic Rose Hill Gym, the most home wins for Fordham since the 2006-07 squad went 11-3 at home.
