USF men's basketball players earn blowout win to honor late coach

FOX 13's Sean Barie reports.

TAMPA - What is usually a meaningless game was anything but for the USF men's basketball team on Wednesday night.

Just six days after the death of head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim, the Bulls marched back onto the court for their season-opening exhibition against Edward Waters University.

"After so much over the last few days, I was just happy and proud that these guys could take the floor and play in a way that would honor Coach Amir like we would always want," said interim head coach Ben Fletcher.

Along with a moment of silence, players, staff and fans all honored Abdur-Rahim and kept the late coach in their hearts.

"He made me the grown man I am now," said guard Brandon Stroud.

"I was with him since I was 18 and now, I'm 22, so you already know I learned a lot from him."

Delivering a 94-51 win, the Bulls took the court with the hope of playing in a way that would make their late coach proud.

"We're happy to be back out there, and we're doing it for him," said sophomore guard Jayden Reid.

"You see we have the patch on here. It's a sad moment, but he left a legacy, and we're carrying it on."

While the Bulls want to continue to play in a way that would honor Abdur-Rahim, Fletcher says he doesn't want the memory of their coach to be their only motivation this season.

Because that is something that Coach Amir would not want.

"We're going to make sure we use this the right way, but I don't want it to solely be about that," Fletcher said.

"I want them to embrace discipline. That's what we want it to be about, because that's what Coach Amir would want it to be."

Regardless, the emotions felt by the team over the last week and over the first 40 minutes of their season are sure to stick with them.

"If I get emotional, I get emotional. You'll see it," said Fletcher.

"Instead of trying to mask it, for me, embrace it."

Now, the Bulls are trying to embrace the task ahead of them as they continue to move forward while always remembering back to the time they had with their head coach.

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