By Jimmy Sullivan

Fordham Men’s Basketball just suffered a crippling blow to its attempt to climb back towards the top of the Atlantic 10.

Point guard Nick Honor, who led the team in scoring and assists last season, is leaving the program to play for Clemson. Honor will have to sit out next season due to the NCAA’s transfer rules, but he is a “one-and-done” for his Fordham career.

Honor was the author of several outstanding performances, particularly during the Rams’ out-of-conference season. His Fordham career will likely be best remembered for his 30-point performance in a nationally-televised upset victory over Rutgers University at the Rose Hill Gym last December. Honor played in and started every game for Fordham last season, and was positioned to be the leader of a potential Fordham rebuild under head coach Jeff Neubauer; despite rumors of his demise at the end of last season, Fordham Athletic Director Dave Roach announced that Neubauer would return for next season shortly after the last one ended. Now, Honor is off to the ACC and Fordham is once again looking for answers.

Honor is the latest in a string of high-profile Fordham players to leave the program in recent years. After being named to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team and playing his first three years at Fordham, Jon Severe transferred to Iona after the 2015-16 season. The next year, he led the Gaels to the NCAA Tournament. The same was the case for Eric Paschall, who left the Bronx after the previous season to play at Villanova. That journey, which started with him winning the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year in 2015, culminated in a national championship with the Wildcats in 2018.

After the 2016-17 season, one of that year’s leading scorers, redshirt junior Antwoine Anderson, jumped ship and played his final collegiate season at the University of Connecticut. The trend continued after the 2017-18 season, when rising senior Joe Chartouny decided to spend his final season of eligibility at Marquette University. Chartouny’s new team reached the NCAA Tournament this season but was bounced in the first round by Murray State. It remains to be seen what Honor can do at Clemson.

The common thread with all five aforementioned players is that they were all double-digit scorers and important components of Fordham’s teams over the past few years. The Rams’ latest defection will send head coach Jeff Neubauer and his staff back to the drawing board once more.

CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein initially reported Honor’s impending transfer on April 10. On Monday, Honor told the world that he was going to Clemson to be closer to his family after an “event occurred with [his] mom,” but it is unclear what Honor is referencing. In Monday afternoon’s statement, which Honor released on his Twitter account, he said he reached his decision “after much discussion and prayer” with his family.

Ironically, on the same day, Honor was named the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Rookie of the Year. It was a fitting reminder of the year Honor had in the Bronx, but it may have been an even more appropriate symbol of what could have been.