USF elevates Ben Fletcher to interim head coach following death of Amir Abdur-Rahim

USF named Ben Fletcher as the interim head coach of the Bulls men’s basketball team Tuesday at a press conference following the unexpected death of head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim last week. Fletcher is a longtime staffer under Abdur-Rahim dating back to 2019, when the two were at Kennesaw State before making the move together to USF in 2023.

“As we look toward an exhibition game that we have [Wednesday] night against Edward Waters, we’ll be led by our interim head coach, Ben Fletcher,” said Michael Kelly, the vice president for athletics at USF announcing the news of Fletcher’s elevation from associate head coach. “There’s no question in my mind that Ben is the right man to lead our program forward.”

Fletcher had a prolific playing career at Troy University and later served as an assistant coach at his alma mater from 2005-19. Abdur-Rahim then hired Fletcher to his staff at Kennesaw State, where together they led an Owls program that went from one win in 2019-20 to a school-record 26 wins in 2022-23, which culminated with the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance. When Abdur-Rahim took the USF job in 2023, Fletcher followed him to join the Bulls staff.

“It’s a difficult time, as you know,” Fletcher said Tuesday, fighting back tears about losing a friend and colleague. “I think the biggest thing is giving our guys and staff the support they need.”

Fletcher and Abdur-Rahim played against one another in college when Fletcher was at Troy and Abdur-Rahim was at Southeastern Louisiana. Fletcher’s team won the game but in the dual, Abdur-Rahim scored the most points, which Fletcher joked about Tuesday.

“I would always say, ‘OK, head coach,'” Fletcher said. “My college coach coached his college coach in high school. We’ve known each other for a long time.”

Abdur-Rahim and USF in his first year last season coaching the program led the Bulls to a 25-8 record and a first regular season conference title. They are expected to again be competitive this season in a deep AAC this year and were picked third in the preseason poll a few weeks ago behind only UAB and Memphis.