TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — South Florida introduced Ben Fletcher as interim basketball coach on Tuesday, saying he’s the right man to lead the Bulls following the death of Amir Abdur-Rahim.
Fletcher, a close friend of Abdur-Rahim who helped the late coach turn around struggling programs at Kennesaw State and USF, promised to help grieving players cope with the loss and uphold a new standard for success at the American Athletic Conference school.
“He will spearhead us through the season, I know. We will not try to forget or put emotions to the side. This is real life, you know?” Fletcher said.
“Those guys will have to grieve at their own pace. But what we want to do is continue to pour into those young men and make sure they have all the support they need,” Fletcher added. “But as far as basketball, we will keep his name alive.”
Abdur-Rahim, 43, died Thursday from complications that arose while he was undergoing a procedure at a Tampa-area hospital.
The Bulls, who won a school-record 25 games and captured USF’s first conference championship in Abdur-Rahim’s lone season guiding the program, play an exhibition game against Edward Waters on Wednesday night. The regular season opens next Monday against No. 21 Florida in Jacksonville.
“We’ve done everything in our power to make sure and ensure that they have had the proper counseling that they need,” Fletcher said.
“They wanted to play. They wanted to practice (last) Saturday,” the interim coach added. “I was steadfast, ‘You guys tell me when you’re ready.’ The last thing I want to do in this situation is force those guys to do something when they’re grieving as well. … We’re going to uphold the standard that he left behind.”
Fletcher began his coaching career at his alma mater Troy, which he helped reach the NCAA Tournament as a player in 2003 and again as assistant coach in 2017.
He served on Abdur-Rahim’s staff for four years at Kennesaw State, which went from winning one game in their first season there to going 26-9 and making the NCAA Tournament in 2022-23.
He followed Abdur-Rahim to USF as an assistant in 2023. The Bulls went 25-8 last winter, won the AAC regular-season title and celebrated the program’s first-ever ranking in the AP Top 25 along the way. Abdur-Rahim was a unanimous selection as conference coach of the year.
“Ben was with us last year. He was with Coach Amir for the four seasons at Kennesaw State and the incredible transformation they had there. And, he had a highly successful career at Troy, both as a player and as a coach,” USF vice president for athletics Michael Kelly said.
“There’s no question in my mind that Ben is the right man to lead our program forward. … Guys are eager to do what they love and what coach wanted to do, both as basketball players and as men,” Kelly added. “And so they are eager to get on with that transition.”
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