Fordham80GW75

Fordham’s Jeff McMillan is getting ahead of himself, as freshmen tend to do. When asked how dominating a pair of big men he and Duke Freeman-McKamey can be, McMillan actually uttered the names Tim Duncan and David Robinson.

Of course, a pair of big men such as the San Antonio Spurs duo come along about as often as Haley’s Comet. But it’s no coincidence that McMillan and Freeman-McKamey are wearing Fordham jerseys.

“To be honest with you, we were sitting around last year and I said to [assistant coach] Mike [Brown], ‘let’s come up with a dream team,’ ” said Fordham coach Bob Hill. “We said we wanted a 6-3, 6-4 point guard, a 6-6, 6-7 shooting guards, a 6-8, 6-9 small forward, a 6-9, 6-10 power forward, and a seven-foot center. We want guys with no necks, long arms and big hands. In this league. We want to be the dominant big team.”

The Rams, who improved to 10-6 and 3-2 in the Atlantic 10, are on their way. They overpowered George Washington 80-75 yesterday in the Garden by getting a breakout game from Freeman-McKamey, who had a game-high 22 points and seven rebounds.

Fordham outrebounded George Washington 54-40, including 18 offensive rebounds that lead to 15 second-chance points. McMillan, the freshman phenom who has been starting in the low post, has been in a bit of a slump the last two games, so Hill brought Freeman-McKamey off the bench and the Rams didn’t lose their advantage inside.

At, 6-foot-9, Freeman-McKinney has an inch over McMillan, but McMillan is more powerful. So when McMillan missed 5-of-7 shots in the first half, Hill turned to Freeman-McKamey, who scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half.

“There was a lot of adrenaline coming off the bench,” said Freeman-McKamey. “I was real anxious. It took a few minutes to get into the flow and work up a sweat. Once I did, I felt real comfortable. I feel like Jeff and I are learning to complement each other.”

Hill acknowledged being in error when he tried to use the two in a high-low set with Freeman-McKamey at the foul line. His game is on the low block. So is McMillan’s, which means Hill is tinkering with the best way to keep both players on the court together.

Freeman-McKamey’s dunk, off a great Bevon Robin feed gave the Rams a 68-58 lead with 5:15 to go. The Colonials (7-11, 1-4) got to within 74-71 with 36.8 seconds left on a pair of Marquin Chandler 3-pointers, but then the Rams sealed the game by converting 6-of-8 free throws.

“We never quit,” said GW coach Tom Penders. “We fight. We scrap. We just haven’t had much success in the W column.”

With Robin, the former Rice star, running the point and Jason Harris a legitimate 3-point threat, the combination of Freeman-McKamey and McMillan can make Fordham a force in the Atlantic 10. It’s not Hill’s dream team but that isn’t stopping the Rams from dreaming.

“Duke and I are learning to play together,” said McMillan. “I need him to rebound my misses and he needs me to rebound his. We can be like Tim Duncan and David Robinson.”

Talk about a dream team.