’Nova assistant Neptune hired at Fordham
Kyle Neptune is going home.
Fordham hired the 36-year-old Brooklyn native and longtime Villanova assistant coach as its men’s basketball coach Tuesday.
In a statement, Neptune thanked Villanova president Rev. Joseph McShane, the school’s trustees and “the Fordham community for placing their trust in me as I look to create a bold new legacy here for men’s basketball.”
“This is Fordham’s time,” Neptune continued in a statement posted on the Fordham athletic website. “As a native New Yorker, I couldn’t be more thrilled to be coming home at a moment like this, when Fordham men’s basketball is poised to make its mark in the Atlantic 10 Conference and beyond. I know this program well and I know its potential to recruit and develop winning young men both on and off the court who will inspire Fordham fans and the entire community.”
Neptune just completed his eighth season on Jay Wright’s staff, his second stint with the program. He served as an administrative assistant/video coordinator from 2008-10. He was part of the staff that helped the Wildcats reach the Final Four in 2009.
Neptune left Villanova to join Joe Mihalich’s staff at Niagara from 2010-2013. He went with Mihalich to Hofstra before accepting a position with the Wildcats in 2013.
During his second stint the Wildcats compiled an .838 winning percentage (233-45), won seven Big East regular-season championships (six outright), four Big East Tournament titles and two national championships (2016 and 2018).
Neptune replaces Mike DePaoli, who served as interim head coach after Jeff Neubauer was fired in January. Neptune takes over a program that went 2-12 this season. Fordham has not had a winning season since it went 17-14 in 2015-16 and has not reached the NCAA Tournament since 1992.
“He is definitely ready to be a head coach,” Wright said of Neptune. “He probably is one of the best X and O guys we’ve had this early in his career. It’s kind of funny, he kind of drives me crazy with it but it’s a good thing. I don’t know if it’s noticeable but sometimes you see me on the bench telling him to shut up.
“He’s got so many great suggestions. Most times I listen to them but they’re always great X and O ideas and then sometimes it’s just too much, which is rare, but it’s funny because he knows I like to hear his X and O suggestions.”