BRONX, N.Y. (July 22, 2009) – Fordham University head men’s basketball coach Dereck Whittenburg announced today that guard Jio Fontan will remain at the school for his sophomore season.
“After meeting with Jio Fontan and his family he decided to remain at Fordham,” said Whittenburg. “He has always had an open invitation to stay and we welcome him back with open arms.”
Last winter, Fontan was named to the Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball All-Rookie Team as well as Third Team All-Metropolitan Conference. He became the fifth Ram to earn A-10 All-Rookie Team honors, the first since 2005, joining Bryant Dunston and Marcus Stout (2005), Jeff McMillan (2001) and Bevon Robin (1998).
Fontan led the Rams in scoring on the year, averaging 15.3 ppg, while also dishing out a team-best 132 assists. He also averaged 2.7 rpg and recorded a team-high 33 steals along with three blocks. Fontan scored 429 points on the year, the third most for a Fordham freshman in school history (Robin scored 495 and Dunston 431 as freshmen), while his 132 assists are the most ever for a Ram rookie. He is ranked ninth in the Atlantic 10 in scoring, fourth in assists (4.71/game) and 12th in assist/turnover ratio (1.29).
On the year, Fontan led all Atlantic 10 freshmen in both scoring and assists and was twice named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week. He appeared in all 28 games at point guard, starting 27, scoring in double figures in 24 of the 28 games, including six 20-point games.
“After talking with my family we felt that the best decision was to remain at Fordham and build on the momentum from my appearance this summer with the Puerto Rican Under-19 national team,” said Fontan. “I’m excited to remain at Fordham and excited to be a part of the basketball program.”
Please direct all media requests to Joe DiBari, director of sports information.
