BROOKLYN, N.Y. – A pair of Fordham standouts has been recognized among the Atlantic 10's best, as Kyle Rose and Abdou Tsimbila earned selection to the Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Defensive Team on Tuesday morning.
 
The conference's preseason honors were released in conjunction with Atlantic 10 Media Day taking place at Barclays Center, the home of the 2024 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Championship. 
 
The league announced the Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll in conjunction with Media Day.  Coaches and select media members predicted Fordham to finish seventh in the the conference, its highest preseason ranking since the 2007-08 campaign when the Rams came in fourth.  Fordham earned one first-place vote in this year's poll.
 
The coaches and media predicted Dayton to take home the A-10 title followed by VCU in second and St. Bonaventure in third.  Duquesne, Saint Joseph's and Saint Louis finished fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, before Fordham rounded out the top half of the league in seventh.  The Rams were followed, in order, by Loyola Chicago, George Washington, George Mason, Richmond, Davidson, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and La Salle. 
 
Rose, a member of the 2023 Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team, earned a reputation as one of the league's top defensive stalwarts throughout the course of last season.  Often drawing the other team's toughest assignment, Rose proved up to the challenge.  During a two-game stretch in late January, he helped force GW's James Bishop IV into eight turnovers on Saturday before before limiting Saint Louis' Yuri Collins to just eight points and four assists on Tuesday; Collins entered the game leading the nation in assists with more than 10 per contest.  Both of those efforts helped propel Fordham to victory.
 
On the year, Rose led the team and ranked third in the Atlantic with 1.8 steals per game.  He also blocked 21 shots on the campaign.  Offensively, he ranked third on the squad with 7.3 points per outing
 
In his second year with the Rams in 2022-23, Tsimbila solidified himself as one of the premier rim protectors in the A-10.  The 6-foot-9 forward from Cameroon blocked 1.9 shots per game, good enough for second in the league behind only Dayton's Da'Ron Holmes II.  He logged three or more rejections in a game on 10 separate occasions, including a career-high five against Harvard on Nov. 27 and four apiece in wins over Tulane and VMI.  Tsimbila swatted three shots in back-to-game wins over Duquesne and La Salle to close the regular season and begin the A-10 Championship.
 
Fordham will open its 2023-24 campaign on Monday, Nov. 6, playing host to Wagner at 7:30 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the women's basketball team at the Rose Hill Gym.  To purchase tickets season tickets, click here or call the Fordham Ticket Office at 718-817-4759.