Westchester’s Mr. Basketball Eric Paschall Making Good at Fordham

If there were any Westchester County high school basketball player that graduated to the college ranks and deserves notoriety, it would be Dobbs Ferry resident Eric Paschall who attends Fordham University.

Paschall attended Dobbs Ferry High School for three years and departed after leading the Eagles to the Section 1 Class B Championship game in 2013. The Eagles lost to Our Lady of Lourdes in the Title game that year. However, as a junior, Paschall garnished every accolade that could be bestowed upon a Westchester County student/athlete, including NYS Class B Player of the Year and Mr. Westchester County Basketball.

Paschall, while being selected Mr. Basketball in Westchester County as a junior, aligned himself with Elton Brand, Ben Gordon and Jabarie Hinds, as the only four juniors to achieve the distinction.

Paschall transferred to St. Thomas More Prep School, in Oakdale, Connecticut, where he was groomed by Head Coach Jere Quinn. Although, Paschall acknowledges that he learned a lot under Head Coach Scott Patrillo, at Dobbs Ferry, it was while attending St. Thomas More that he fine-tuned his skills.

“Dobbs Ferry did help me with my game but going to St. Thomas More and playing against the best competition was definitely the right move,” said Paschall.

Paschall is presently a freshman at Fordham University and assisting to make Rams Men’s basketball relative in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Paschall is not only helping Fordham become an A-10 competitor, he is the leading scorer on the team.

Paschall is averaging 16.5 points per game this season and has played in 26 of 27 games for the Rams, while starting all 26 games. The only game Paschall missed was due to a health caution when he was discovered with an irregular heartbeat earlier this season. He underwent a battery of tests, all of which were normal, and resumed playing after he was cleared by doctors.

On November 14, in his initial game for the Rams, Paschall scored 31 points against NYIT, which set a school-record for most points scored by a freshman in a debut at Fordham. He has since been named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week twice and is ranked fourth in scoring among freshmen in NCAA Division 1.

“It has all come together at Fordham for Eric. He is doing wonderful academically with over 3.0 GPA and he is averaging nearly 17 points per game,” said Fordham Head Coach Tom Pecora.

Paschall could have attended many colleges but he chose Fordham University for a particular set of reasons. “I like to be close to home. I love my family and my family can come to the games. Also, Fordham offered a great education and that had a lot to do with me coming here,” stated Paschall.

Rams Assistant Coach Tom Parrotta had much influence on Paschall’s decision to attend Fordham. Parrotta is a Fordham alumnus and Yonkers native who graduated from Stepinac High School in 1984. “Number one, Eric comes from an unbelievable family. They were very in tune regarding what Fordham could do for their son after he plays basketball,” said Parrotta, who was inducted into the Stepinac Basketball Hardwood Club in 2010.

However, Paschall is only one of the young players on the very young and inspired Rams basketball team. In fact, the only senior in the starting line-up for the Rams is guard Bryan Smith. Paschall and Smith are complemented on the court by freshman forward Chris Sengfelder, who is averaging 11.4 points per game. Sengfelder was named A-10 Rookie of the Week three times this season. Notably, Paschall and Sengfelder are presently the only freshmen teammates in the nation to be averaging more than 10 ppg. and five rebounds per game this season.

The Rams also have two juniors in their starting line-up, including guard Mandell Thomas, who is second on team in scoring with 13 ppg. and leads the team in assists with 99, this season. Also junior forward Ryan Rhoomes is the leading rebounder on the team with 8.7 rebounds per game. Furthermore, the Rams sixth man is young sophomore scoring threat Jon Severe.

Fordham has a record of 9-18 overall and 4-12 in the A-10 this season. To understand the impact these young recruits are having at Fordham; consider after they beat LaSalle University, on February 25, it was only the first time since 2008 that the Rams had four A-10 wins in a season.

“I came here to win. It is not fun losing, it is fun winning,” expressed Paschall. “I have been winning my whole life. It is going to take time but we will turn this program around,” Paschall said.

Paschall’s mother Cecelia and father Juan still reside in Dobbs Ferry and attend every Fordham home game with an accompaniment of other members of Eric’s family, along with friends and loyal supporters from Dobbs Ferry.