Kyle Neptune, Fordham University’s new head men’s basketball coach, knows all about the significance of New York City basketball for he grew up in the city game.
At one time, Brooklyn and the Bronx produced some of the greatest players in high school basketball- and basketball history- period.
Chris Mullin, Rod Strickland, Walter Berry, Mark Jackson, Bernard and Albert King, Connie Hawkins, Stephon Marbury, Kemba Walker and Lance Stephenson are just a few of the legendary names from the boroughs who helped make New York the hotbed for basketball talent.
And don’t forget about Brooklyn being the birthplace of the GOAT, Michael Jordan.
But outside of Mullin, Berry and Jackson, coaches have had a tough time convincing high school stars to play their college ball at home.
New Fordham University head basketball coach Kyle Neptune doesn’t see that as a problem though.
Hired in March 2021, the 37-year-old first-time head coach has big dreams for the university and the pedigree to make those dreams a reality.
The child of Trini and Guyanese parents, Neptune was born and raised in Brooklyn.
He found basketball at a young age and by 11, he was playing AAU ball. He attended Brooklyn Friends School, a prestigious high school in downtown Brooklyn.
The relationship between private school and neighborhood kids can be a tricky one, especially in the city, but that was never a problem for Neptune.
“I started playing with AAU teams at eleven so the neighborhood kids were my best friends,” Neptune told me. “So I didn’t have a tough transition.”
After winning a state championship in 2003, Neptune took his talents to Lehigh University, where he was a four-year player for the Moutain Hawks. In his freshman year in 2004, Lehigh won the Patriot League title, extending his championship run for another year. By his senior year, he was named team captain, a testament to his maturity and blossoming leadership skills.
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