Fordham Basketball to Honor New York Knicks President Phil Jackson

The Fordham Rams aren't bringing in Phil Jackson to coach the triangle offense. Fordham already has an offensive philosophy and plan in place, and Jackson has enough to do as president of the New York Knicks.

Instead, Jackson will be honored at tonight's annual Tip-Off Dinner at the Grand Hyatt New York.

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The annual Tip Off Dinner is Monday! Can't wait to see everyone there, including #basketball legend @PhilJackson11 http://t.co/ZbnzqUj6H0

— FordhamBasketball (@FordhamBball) October 30, 2014"

Jackson will be the third recipient of the Johnny Bach Award. Bach coached the Rams for 18 seasons, from 1950 to 1968. He led Fordham to a 265-193 record over that period, taking the Rams to the NCAA tournament in the 1952-53 season and again the following year, and to the National Invitation Tournament five times. Bach is the winningest coach in Fordham history.

He went on to coach in the NBA and served as an assistant under Jackson with the Chicago Bulls.

The award is given annually, described by the university as honoring "an individual who has had a substantial and lasting impact on the sport of basketball and who best emulates Bach's drive and passion for excellence." 

Former New York Knicks center and NBA Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing won it in 2012, and P.J. Carlesimo, a graduate of Fordham, won it last year.

Tonight's event comes less than two weeks away from the start of the regular season.

"

#CollegeHoops season is almost here! #FordhamBasketball pic.twitter.com/c06suPyiit

— FordhamBasketball (@FordhamBball) November 3, 2014"

Opening night for Fordham is Nov. 14 when it will host the New York Institute of Technology at the Rose Hill Gym. It will be the first of 11 nonconference games for the Rams, who begin Atlantic 10 play on Jan. 4 against VCU.

Last week, when The Associated Press released its first poll of the season, VCU was ranked No. 15. It will be the first of many challenging games—18 in fact—against conference opponents.

While the triangle offense won't be front and center tonight, it has been a topic of conversation in New York since Jackson was named team president in March. Talk about the offense that Jackson used to win 11 NBA championships as a head coach has only intensified now that the Knicks season is underway.

New York is 2-1 after three games. After the Rams host NYIT, they'll travel to Penn State and Maryland. One would think they'd sign up for a 2-1 start.

Charles Costello covers the Fordham Rams for Bleacher Report. A full archive of his articles can be found here. Twitter: @CFCostello