Watch Coach Urgo and Zach Riley at Atlantic 10 Media Day | Fordham Men's Basketball with the Field of 68
 
BRONX - Attitude is the mantra for the Fordham University men's basketball program. This year head coach Keith Urgo's squad will have a new attitude in the form of two new transfer student-athletes and four new freshmen. The six newcomers will join with seven returning student-athletes as the Rams welcome in the 2024-25 season on Monday, November 4.
 

Even though the Rams will have six new student-athletes on the roster, Fordham returns one of the most experienced lineups in the Atlantic 10, returning more than 60 percent of its scoring from 2023-24, led by senior guard Japhet Medor and junior guard Will Richardson at 9.8 points per game. Medor shot 33.2% from the floor and 33.6% from three last year, and led the team in free throws made (82) and free throws attempts (114). Richardson scored in double figures 18 times last winter and dished out 1.9 assists per game with a 1.6-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
 
The Rams also welcome back their leading rebounder and shot blocker in grad student center Abdou Tsimbila, who ranked second in the league and 18th nationally with 2.3 rejections per contest last season. He has 157 career blocks at Fordham, sixth on the Rams' career list.
 
Also returning are senior guard Zach Riley, junior forwards Romad Dean and Joshua Rivera, and sophomore forward Jahmere Tripp. Riley appeared in 23 games as a reserve last year and averaged 2.3 points in 9.3 minutes per outing while shooting a career-best 43.2% from the floor and 71.4% from the charity stripe. Dean saw action in all 33 games, including 15 starts, and averaged 4.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, while Rivera averaged 7.7 ppg, fifth on the team, playing in 29 games, including 11 starts. Tripp appeared in 32 games, starting six of the team's final seven outings, and averaged 4.3 points and 2.0 rebounds per game.
 
The transfers joining Fordham this season are grad student Fordham Matt Zona, who played four years at Note Dame, and senior guard Jackie Johnson III, who was a member of the UNLV squad the past two years. Zona appeared in all 33 games for the Irish last year, averaging 2.3 points and 2.3 rebounds, both career highs, shooting 43.3 percent from the floor and 31.7 percent from deep. Johnson, who played his freshman season at Duquesne, saw action in all 34 games for the Runnin' Rebels last winter as UNLV went 21-13 and reached the quarterfinals of the NIT. He averaged 5.4 points in 14.8 minutes per game, shooting 41.0 percent from the field and 34.4 percent from deep
 
The freshman class is led by 6-11 center Jaden Smith, a four-star recruit according to ESPN and the number 23 center in the country for the class of 2024. ESPN also lists him as the number 6 recruit in the state of Illinois.  He is Fordham's second four-star recruit since ESPN began the star-based ranking system in 2010, joining Nick Honor (2018). Smith arrives in the Bronx from Chicago, where he was a standout for Kenwood Academy on the city's South Side.  This past season, he averaged 8.4 points and 8.3 rebounds while blocking an astounding 5.0 shots per game.  As a junior, he helped lead Kenwood to the city championship game after averaging 5.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.2 rejections per outing.

 
Also new to the Fordham roster are freshmen guards Kingston Price, Aleksander Pachucki and Ryan Pettis.
 
Price is a product of Severn School in Severna Park, Md., where he led the Admirals to a 24-5 record and a 2024 MIAA 'B' Conference title, the program's first in 31 years.  A First Team All-Metro selection by the Baltimore Sun and a First Team All-County Selection by Capital Gazette, Price averaged a team-high 17.5 points to go along with 4.0 rebounds per game.  Price finished his high school career with 1,279 points.
 
Pachucki was a three-year prep standout at Hoosac School in Hoosick, N.Y. where he was named to the AAA All-NESPSAC Team as a senior in 2023-24 after averaging 18 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals per game.
 
Pettis starred at Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo, Calif., where he was named to the San Francisco Chronicle All-Metro First Team and Mercury News All-Bay Area First Team as a senior after averaging 14.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while leading his team to a 20-9 record.
 
The Rams open the 2024-25 season on Monday, November 4, as they travel into Queens for a matchup with St. John's University. The home opener will occur on Tuesday, November 12, as the Rams welcome Binghamton to the historic Rose Hill Gym.