Fordham Hires Kyle Neptune
April 6, 2021 — Well now we are a week into the Kyle Neptune era on Rose Hill. And things have been . . . well quiet. But first, let’s get into who I am and what FordhamHoops is going to be.
This isn’t going to be a real-time breaking news type of site or blog. This isn’t going to be some insider-scoops type of site. This is going to be the ramblings (pardon the pun) of a frustrated Fordham fan who is hoping that this time, after so long and so many different attempts, the Fordham administration has finally gotten two things right 1) a newfound dedication to the Men’s Basketball program in terms of both funding and university support and 2) the hiring of a competent coach.
Throughout the hiring process a litany of names were tossed out to the masses via social media and various ‘leaks’ on the Fordhamfans message board. Names such as Luke Murray, Steve Lavin, Shaheen Halloway, Jared Grasso and many others were bandied-about, all of whom had their pluses and minuses on what they could bring to the program. The other name, the name that I had hoped for since it was mentioned very early on in the process, was the eventual hire, Kyle Neptune.
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Neptune was my pick for a few reasons — and the number one reason was because it was different than any hire Fordham had made: an assistant from a high-level program who was going to be a first-time head coach. Someone who has recruited talent to a top-tier program and been a part of multiple national championships. (I don’t need to mention Fordham hasn’t seen an NCAA tournament since 1992.)
Fordham has hired coaches from smaller conferences before, its previous three were all of that mold. Local schools (Pecora/Whittenberg), schools in the middle of the country (Neubauer), all without any real success.
Fordham’s shortcomings as a program are clear, and have been for some time. We have the oldest on-campus arena in Division 1 that holds at best 3,000 fans. We have a fanbase that can be described as apathetic for the 100,000 alumni Fordham claims. Our season ticket holder listing might actually be able to be counted on your fingers and toes. We don’t have a dedicated practice facility. The twitter following for the Men’s Basketball program can fit inside the arena on game day and still not be considered a sellout. The list goes on and on.
This is where I believe & hope that Neptune can make a difference. I don’t expect him to turn around the ship in a single year (although his statements indicate he wants to win right away — coach speak I’m sure). But what I know he does have, without a doubt, is exposure to what it takes. He’s seen how it’s done at an upper echelon program, and while I can’t honestly expect Fordham to be a Villanova-type program — Neptune has seen how things ‘should’ be done. I just mentioned the various things that Fordham needs to change in relation to the program, that that isn’t the exhaustive list — and a new voice in Neptune (along with a fresh AD in Eddie Kull) could hopefully be the ones to finally start to steer this “sleeping giant” (how I hate that term) in the right direction.
As I’ve said to friends who follow the program even tangentially, this time feels different. Feelings do not mean much, and might account for even less, but what this fan and this program needs, is hope.
As I mentioned in my opening paragraph, things have been quiet since Neptune was announced as head coach. No staffing announcements and the only player-related news came earlier today that Joel Soriano has entered the transfer portal. I’ll be honest and say that I was selfishly hoping that announcements about assistant coaches and player transferring in were going to come quickly after the hiring announcement, capitalizing on the momentum of the program. But as Fordham has taught me over the years, with painstaking repetition, is that Fordham is never on my schedule, and for the last 20 years, wasn’t even on the same trajectory as I hoped. While the scheduling is still off, at least now I think everyone has the same goals. And that’s a start.
