Former Fordham Star Signs With the Los Angeles Lakers
Former Fordham basketball standout Smush Parker signed with the Los Angeles Lakers on August 3. This is the fourth NBA team for Parker, who played 66 games with the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2002-03 season, 11 games with the Detroit Pistons, and five games with the Phoenix Suns last year.
Parker played for the Rams as a freshman during the 2001-02 season and led the team in scoring with a 16.5 points-per-game (ppg) average and in assists with 125 for the season. He was named to the Second Team All-Atlantic 10 and Second Team All-Metropolitan.
Parker also appeared in 23 games for the Florida Flame of the NBA Development League last season. He averaged 19.1 points, 9.1 assists and 3.0 steals per game for the Flame.
In 82 career NBA games, Parker averaged 5.6 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.
Dereck Whittenburg Receives Contract Extension
Fordham University’s head men’s basketball coach Dereck Whittenburg signed a contract extension in July to coach the Rams though the 2010 season.
“We are excited that Dereck Whittenburg is committed to leading the Fordham program for years to come,” said Frank McLaughlin, executive director of intercollegiate athletics. “Dereck has made tremendous progress with the men’s basketball program in his first two years and we look forward to the continuation of the progress in the future.”
In his second season as coach, Whittenburg guided the 2004-05 squad, a team that entered the season with five true freshmen, to a 13-16 overall record, 8-8 in the Atlantic 10. The eight conference wins were the most by a Fordham team since the Rams joined the Atlantic 10 in the 1995-96 season.
Last season, the Rams won their first Atlantic 10 tournament game with a 65-53 win over Duquesne in the first round of the tournament.
Whittenburg, 44, came to Rose Hill after coaching for four years at Wagner College, where he led the Seahawks to their first ever bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Baseball Player Signs Pro Contract
Fordham pitcher Shingo Mitsumori recently signed a contract to pitch for the Japan Samurai Bears of the Golden League, an independent baseball league in California.
During his two years at Fordham, Mitsumori posted a 4-3 record with three saves and 75 strikeouts. During the 2004 season, he led the Rams with a 3.11 earned run average and 20 appearances.
Mitsumori joins Bobby Kingsbury and Rob Semerano as former Rams who are currently playing professional baseball. Kingsbury, a two-time Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, is playing for the Lynchburg Hillcats in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. Semerano is playing for the Kane County Cougars in the Oakland Athletics organization.
Back to top
|
