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.
After graduation, he played some basketball overseas, but he recognized that he wasn’t destined for the NBA. To some, that could be a disappointing and crippling reality. For Neptune, it was a pivotal turning point that placed him on the path to Fordham.
“Coaching entered my thoughts in between playing overseas and staying home,” said Neptune. “I didn’t make teams here so I worked and worked at camps. Being around the game brought the same enjoyment, so I tried coaching.”
That enjoyment directed him into a profession that he truly loves.
He began his coaching journey in 2008 as a video coordinator at Villanova.
It was a grind with little financial reward. But he remained focused and resilient, primarily because he understood what being part of a winning environment would do for him.
“You don’t go through all this unless you see yourself being a head coach at the end of the tunnel,” said Neptune in an interview with The Athletic.
That year, Jay Wright led the Wildcats to the Final Four, which rekindled the feelings Neptune experienced at Friends and Lehigh.
It also cemented his desire to coach.
Neptune moved to Niagra University where, after three years, he rose up the ranks to become an assistant coach.
Then he returned to Villanova as an assistant coach to further his tutelage under coach Wright. Over his eight years with the Wildcats, he was part of five Big East titles and two national titles (2016, 2018), giving him a resume most would kill for.
Head coach Kyle Neptune
In between those titles, Neptune’s desire to coach swelled.
And not just coach.
No, he wanted to be a head coach.
“For me, it was three to four years ago,” said Neptune, reflecting on when he first knew he could be a head coach. “The last three to four years, after the championships at Villanova and seeing your peers leaving and doing great things. I think I was ready then.”
And so, after almost a decade at Villanova and all of the recruiting trips up and down the east coast, Jay Wright’s longest-tenured assistant coach finally entered the head coaching pool.
In 2021, Fordham called. He answered and returned home in March.
Only this time he was headed uptown as head coach Kyle Neptune.
So now, almost a year after his hiring, coach Neptune faces a tough challenge at the helm of the Fordham Rams.
The team, which joined the A10 from the Patriot League in 1995, hasn’t had an NCAA Tournament appearance since 1992. Last season the team went 2-12 in a pandemic shortened season.
But Neptune wasn’t flustered. Instead, he got to work.
He brought in new players, worked the recruiting trail from New York to the DMV area and implemented a system to change the culture and drive success.
His work ethic and attitude commanded respect and the team learned that he was much more than a talented recruiter.
He was a talented head coach.
“I know at Fordham they love the fact that he’s a recruiter, but he’s a really great Xs and Os guy,” said Wright. “Underrated. Our guys knew it, our staff and our players. I think more people are going to see that now that he’s a head coach.”
A New Era At Fordham
At the end of the regular season, Fordham’s new head coach had a 15-15 overall record and finished eighth in the conference with an 8-10 record.
Adding 13 wins in a single season speaks volumes of his talents. That’s what Fordham recognized and why they welcomed him so warmly.
He was greeted with great fanfare and a welcome video featuring famous university alumni like Michael Kay.
In return, coach Neptune gave his team a taste of the city that molded him. He took them to an opera, trendy restaurants, bowling and even a Knicks game.
He showed his team the heartbeat of the city and how influential it could be.
Kyle Neptune didn’t just talk about it, he showed it, which was easy because he’s about it.
The hard work, determination, hustle, grittiness, smarts, focus and attitude the city breeds are embedded in Fordham’s new coach, and that’s what endears him to the school and the program.
The success he’s had in his first year in the Bronx can be attributed to the way his parents raised him.
“It’s not about the path but the mentality,” said Neptune.
He was taught that if you want something, you have to fight for it while learning along the way.
This week, Kyle Neptune enters the A10 tournament on a positive note by winning four of their last six regular-season games.
But more importantly, he aims to bring a title back to the Bronx and represent for his hometown of Brooklyn.
Returning home as a head coach in a sport he started over two decades ago is an emotional moment and I could tell what it meant to him. Knowing this, I asked him what he would tell his younger self as he reflects on his path to Rose Hill Gymnasium.
“I wouldn’t tell myself anything because I’m living the dream now. I live in New York City and I coach basketball.”
That’s love.
