Dereck Whittenburg Fired By Fordham During Jimmy V Week

As Eamonn Brennan mentioned here in the From Our Editors section on Wednesday, it's Jimmy V Week on the ESPN family of networks.  To commemorate this now annual event that shows how there are some things in life that are bigger than basketball, Fordham fired their head basketball coach, Dereck Whittenburg.

You know, Dereck Whittenburg, the player whose miss led to the most famous moment of Jim Valvano's coaching career. Warning: Billy Packer is the color commentator.

Sure, the Rams started the season with one win in five games, and they only won three times all of last season. And just yesterday, Fordham's brightest young player, sophomore guard Jio Fontan, announced that he was leaving the program. And while all the signs pointed to further struggles in Whittenberg's sixth season at the school (and the Rams did struggle, winning only 69 games in the coach's tenure), would it have hurt to hold off on this decision for another week?

The schedule gives a clue as to why Fordham moved when it did. The Rams have home games Bowling Green on Saturday and Stony Brook on Tuesday. Better to fire the coach when a new hire can provide some buzz that may lead to ticket sales. Assistant Jared Grasso will take over at Rose Hill, and it will be up to him to breathe new life into the program for the rest of the season.