For the last five years, Ben Fletcher has been at Amir Abdur-Rahim’s side – first as an assistant coach at Kennesaw State, then as the associate head coach when the two men took on the job of building USF’s men’s basketball program.
After Abdur-Rahim’s shocking death last week while undergoing a medical procedure, it seemed likely that Fletcher would be asked to take the job as the interim head coach.
That became official Tuesday when Vice President for Athletics Michael Kelly said Fletcher would fill that role this season. After Wednesday’s exhibition game against Edward Waters, the Bulls open the regular season on November 4 in Jacksonville against the Florida Gators.
“There there's no question in my mind that Ben is the right man to lead our program forward.,” USF Vice President for Athletics Michael Kelly said. “Coaching here is everything built an elite staff, and we've got a great staff to guide us through the season.”
Abdur-Rahim was Fletcher’s biggest supporter, going back to their days at Kennesaw.
“The one thing he would always tell me is, ‘You’re ready. God is preparing you for this,” Fletcher said.
Fletcher played for Troy University from 2001-03, averaging 13.4 points per game. He was first-team All-Atlantic Sun Conference his senior season when he helped lead the Trojans to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in Division I. That season, he set a team record with 92 three-pointers.
After serving as a student assistant for two years after graduating in 2003, he was named an assistant coach at Troy. He stayed in that role for 14 seasons until joining Abdur-Rahim at Kennesaw.
He helped change Kennesaw from a one-win team in his first season there into an NCAA Tournament team by the 2022-23 season. Now comes his biggest challenge.
“I think the biggest thing is making sure we give our guys support, as well as the staff,” Fletcher said. "But I think the guys are moving in the right direction.”
The Bulls practiced on Saturday for the first time since Abdur-Rahim’s death two days before.
“Those guys were as locked in as I’ve ever seen,” Fletcher said. “I know that was their way of honoring him.”
Fletcher said he gave the players the option of canceling the exhibition game, but they wanted to play.
“I was steadfast on the guys. The last thing I want to do in this situation is force something on them,” he said. “Everything that we've done has been to ensure that those guys have balance.”