LORETTO, Pa. (June 17, 2008) – Saint Francis University head men’s basketball coach Don Friday announced on Tuesday afternoon that former Bucknell point guard Ibrahim Badmus has joined his Red Flash coaching staff.

Badmus joins Doug Kraft and Rob Krimmel as assistant coaches under Friday, who is entering his first season at the helm of the Saint Francis men’s basketball program.

Badmus, who is on campus this week working the Red Flash Boy’s Basketball Camps, joins the coaching ranks after working as a Teen and Community Outreach Advisor for the Cook County Clerk’s Office near Chicago, Illnois. He graduated with his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Bucknell University last May.

“We are very excited to have Abe Badmus join our staff here at Saint Francis,” Friday said. “I can’t wait for the people in our community to meet Abe. They are going to love him. Abe played a huge role during his four years in the Bucknell family, a system under (head coach) Pat Flannery that I was part of for 14 years. Being able to stay within the Flannery family was my number one priority. Abe will have a profound impact on the Saint Francis family as he is a real self-starter!”

Ironically, Badmus was the last recruit Friday signed while he was an assistant coach at Bucknell. Badmus played under former Bison head coach Pat Flannery, but Friday left to become the head coach at Lycoming College before Badmus’ collegiate playing career began.

“You have got a guy that is going to be relentless in everything that he does,” said former Bucknell coach Pat Flannery, who Badmus played under for four seasons. “He is the total package and will light up a room when he walks into it. Abe will do anything for anybody that he can, whether it is for the basketball program or the volleyball team or anybody else. He’s a guy that, with his personality, will be great working with kids in recruiting and when they are student-athletes at Saint Francis. He is a guy that the kids will go to because he is honest and sincere. They will love being around him. He knows his basketball, and is a great addition to that staff.”

Badmus was a key member of both of Bucknell’s Patriot League Championship teams that went on to upset wins over Kansas and Arkansas in the 2005 and 2006 NCAA Tournaments, respectively. He was the first-ever recipient of the Patriot League Defensive Player-of-the-Year award in 2005, and served as a 2006-07 senior co-captain for the Bison. He also picked up the 2005 and 2006 Thomas A. Thompson Award for spirit, intensity and outstanding defensive play. Additionally, he served on Bucknell’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

“This is a wonderful opportunity being able to reunite with coach Friday on the coaching level,” Badmus said. “My goal is to help bring back a great winning tradition here at Saint Francis.”

In addition to his collegiate playing experience, Badmus has been a member of the Nigerian Men’s National Basketball Team since the summer of 2005. He was with Nigeria when it competed in the African Championship and then qualified for the World Championship in Japan in 2006.

Badmus has also been very active in the community. For the past five years, he has been a volunteer at the Heiter Center in Lewisburg, as well as a volunteer at Geisinger Hospital in Danville. Since 2000, he has been a volunteer at the Loyola Park Therapeutic Recreation Center in Chicago, counseling children with behavioral and mental disabilities. He has also been a participant with the Red Cross and with Relay for Life.

Badmus, Kraft, Krimmel and Friday have a combined 50 years of coaching experience.

“You have a program with all good people, and all have strengths that are going to bring a lot to that staff,” Flannery added. “I think Don Friday has assembled a tremendous staff, and I don’t say that lightly. In this case, Abe adds a piece to that staff that compliments the other three. He will listen and hang on every word they say. He’ll bring the competitiveness to that program that we had in our program at Bucknell. He’ll be a great compliment to the program and to the staff. Abe making the move to Loretto can only be a blessing for Saint Francis. He is an absolute champ.”