The University of South Florida men's basketball team on Tuesday named associate head coach Ben Fletcher as interim coach for the 2024-25 season.
Fletcher takes over following the death of head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim, 43, on Thursday.
"Obviously it's been a hard couple of days here for the USF family and certainly for the Amir Abdur-Rahim family," said USF Vice President for Athletics Michael Kelly during a news conference.
"You can tell by the reach that Amir had, well beyond basketball, the outpouring of love, comments and offers of support, are so appreciated by the family, and by our department as a whole."
Fletcher steps in as head coach for a Bulls team that went 25-8 in Abdur-Rahim's first year and won its first American Athletic Conference championship. USF also set a school record for most wins in a season.
The Bulls were also ranked in the Top 25 for the first time in program history.
READ MORE: USF men's basketball coach Amir Abdur-Rahim dies at age 43
“To God be the glory," Fletcher said. "It’s a difficult time as you know, but I know that Coach Amir would want this and just know that I don’t take this lightly.”
Fletcher joined Abdur-Rahim as assistant head coach last season, and was promoted to associate head coach in June.
Prior to joining USF, Fletcher served as an assistant coach under Abdur-Rahim for four seasons at Kennesaw State, where the Owls set a school record for wins with 26 in 2022-23 and earned its first NCAA Tournament appearance after winning just one game the previous season.
"There's no question in my mind that Ben is the right man to lead the program forward," Kelly said.
The Bulls canceled a scrimmage at Miami on Saturday, but instead held their first practice since Abdur-Rahim's death.
"We were not going to put them through that,” Fletcher said. "In typical Amir fashion, those guys were as locked in as I’ve ever seen, and I know that was their way of honoring him. They wanted to play, they wanted to practice Saturday.”
Fletcher said the team decided it will play Wednesday night's home exhibition game against Edward Waters University.
"I think the biggest thing is making sure we give our guys the support that they really need, as well as the staff, but I think the guys are moving in the right direction," Fletcher said. "I know that they knew Coach loved them, I think they know that the staff loves them."
Prior to Kennesaw State, Fletcher was an assistant coach at Troy University from 2005-19.
The Bulls open the regular season on Monday against the University of Florida in Jacksonville.
A public memorial service for Abdur-Rahim will be held Saturday morning at the Yuengling Center.
