Tampa, Fla. — South Florida introduced Ben Fletcher as interim basketball coach Tuesday, saying he is 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, vowed to help grieving players deal with the loss and set a new standard for success at American Athletic Conference schools.
“He’s going to lead us all season, I know. We’re not going to try to forget or put emotions aside. That’s real life, you know?” Dr. Fletcher.
“Those guys have to grieve at their own pace. But what we want to do is pour into those young guys and make sure they have all the support. But as far as basketball, we’ll keep his name alive.”
Abdur-Rahim, 43, died Thursday at a Tampa-area hospital from complications that arose during a procedure.
The Bulls, who won a school-record 25 games and captured USF’s first conference championship in Abdur-Rahim’s lone season, play an exhibition game Wednesday night against Edward Waters. The regular season begins next Monday in Jacksonville against No. 21 Florida.
“We did everything in our power to try and make sure they had the counseling they needed,” Fletcher said.
“They wanted to play. They wanted to practice (last) Saturday. I was adamant, ‘Tell me when you’re ready.’ All I want to do in this situation is force those guys to do something while they’re grieving … we’re going to maintain the standard that we set.”
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 an assistant coach in 2017.
He served four years on Abdur-Rahim’s staff at Kennesaw State, which went from winning one game in their first season there to 26-9 and the NCAA Tournament in 2022-23.
He followed Abdur-Rahim to USF in 2023 as an assistant. The Bulls went 25-8 last winter, winning the AAC regular-season title and celebrating the program’s first ranking in the AP Top 25 along the way. Abdur Rahim was unanimously selected as the coach of the year.
“Ben was with us last year. He was with Coach Amir for four seasons at Kennesaw State and they had an incredible transition there. And, he had a very successful career at Troy as both a player and a coach,” USF Vice President of Athletics Michael Kelly said.
“There’s no question in my mind that Ben is the right person to lead our program forward. … The guys, both as basketball players and as men, are eager to do what they love and do what coach wanted them to do. And so they’re eager to move forward with that transition. .”
