Amir Abdur-Rahim

Amir Abdur-Rahim (March 18, 1981 – October 24, 2024) was an American basketball coach and player who was the head coach of the South Florida Bulls men's basketball team. Prior to coaching at USF, he was the head coach at Kennesaw State from 2019 to 2023, leading the Owls to the 2023 conference regular season and tournament titles and their first-ever berth in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.

Amir Abdur-Rahim

Abdur-Rahim in 2023
Biographical details
Born	(1981-03-18)March 18, 1981^[citation needed] Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.^[citation needed]
Died	October 24, 2024(2024-10-24) (aged 43) Tampa Bay area, Florida, U.S.
Playing career
2000–2001	Garden City CC
2001–2004	Southeastern Louisiana
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2006–2011	Murray State (assistant)
2012–2014	Charleston (assistant)
2014–2018	Texas A&M (assistant)
2018–2019	Georgia (assistant)
2019–2023	Kennesaw State
2023–2024	South Florida
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
2011–2012	Georgia Tech (dir. player development)
Head coaching record
Overall	70–82 (.461)
Tournaments	0–1 (NCAA Division I) 1–1 (NIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
ASUN regular season (2023) ASUN tournament (2023) AAC regular season (2024)
Awards
Hugh Durham Award (2023) ASUN Coach of the Year (2023) AAC Coach of the Year (2024)

Playing career

Amir Abdur-Rahim played at Joseph Wheeler High School in Marietta, Georgia.

After one season at Garden City Community College, Abdur-Rahim transferred to Southeastern Louisiana where he was a three-time All-Southland Conference selection playing for Billy Kennedy. He graduated seventh all-time in career points and second all-time in three-pointers made and steals.

Coaching career

Abdur-Rahim began coaching in 2006 serving as a graduate assistant at Murray State for two seasons under Kennedy before being promoted to a full-time assistant coach. He stayed with the Racers until 2011, when he joined the staff at Georgia Tech as the director of player development for one season before becoming an assistant coach at the College of Charleston in 2012. Abdur-Rahim reunited with Kennedy as an assistant coach at Texas A&M from 2014 to 2018 where he was on staff for two of the Aggies' Sweet 16 appearances. In 2018, he returned to his home state to join Tom Crean's staff at Georgia.

On April 18, 2019, Abdur-Rahim was named the head coach at Kennesaw State, replacing Al Skinner. In the 2022–23 season, Abdur-Rahim led Kennesaw State to their first winning season in their Division I program history, with a record of 26–9. The Owls also won their first Atlantic Sun title and went to their first NCAA Division I tournament. As a result, he was named the 2023 ASUN Coach of the Year.

On March 29, 2023, Abdur-Rahim was named the head coach of South Florida. He replaced Brian Gregory. He led the program to their first Top 25 ranking in both the AP and Coaches' Poll and their first American Athletic Conference regular season title, as the team finished 25–8. Abdur-Rahim was named a Naismith College Coach of the Year semifinalist, and a finalist for the Ben Jobe National Coach of the Year and the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year.

Personal life and death

Abdur-Rahim's father William was an imam while his mother Deborah was a Christian special education teacher, and Amir was one of 13 siblings. His brother Shareef played 13 years in the NBA, and is the current president of the NBA G League. Shareef is Jabri Abdur-Rahim's father.

Abdur-Rahim died at a hospital in the Tampa Bay area, on October 24, 2024, from complications that arose during a medical procedure related to an undisclosed illness. He was 43.

Head coaching record

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Kennesaw State Owls (ASUN Conference) (2019–2023)
2019–20	Kennesaw State	1–28	0–16	9th
2020–21	Kennesaw State	5–19	2–13	9th
2021–22	Kennesaw State	13–18	7–9	T–4th (East)
2022–23	Kennesaw State	26–9	15–3	T–1st	NCAA Division I Round of 64
Kennesaw State:		45–74 (.378)	24–41 (.369)
South Florida Bulls (American Athletic Conference) (2023–2024)
2023–24	South Florida	25–8	16–2	1st	NIT Second Round
South Florida:		25–8 (.758)	16–2 (.889)
Total:		70–82 (.461)
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

Source:

References

1. "Kelly Names Amir Abdur-Rahim to Lead South Florida Men's Basketball Program". USF Athletics. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
2. "Amir Abdur-Rahim – Head Coach – Staff Directory". Kennesaw State University Athletics.
3. "Kennesaw State Announces Amir Abdur-Rahim as Men's Basketball Coach". Kennesaw State University Athletics.
4. "Cobb native Amir Abdur-Rahim hired as Kennesaw State men's basketball coach". 18 April 2019.
5. "Amir Abdur-Rahim College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
6. "Amir Abdur-Rahim – Men's Basketball Coach". Murray State University Athletics.
7. "Amir Abdur-Rahim – Men's Basketball Coach". College of Charleston Athletics.
8. "Amir Abdur-Rahim – Men's Basketball Coach". Texas A&M University Athletics – Home of the 12th Man.
9. "Amir Abdur-Rahim – Assistant Coach – Staff Directory". University of Georgia Athletics.^{[permanent dead link]}
10. "Amir Abdur-Rahim named men's basketball coach at Kennesaw State". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. April 18, 2019.
11. "Abdur-Rahim named ASUN Coach of the Year". Marietta Daily Journal. February 27, 2023. Retrieved 2023-02-28 – via Yahoo! News.
12. "Kelly Names Amir Abdur-Rahim to Lead South Florida Men's Basketball Program".
13. "USF men's basketball ranked in Top 25 for first time in Bulls history". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
14. "USF Basketball's Abdur-Rahim Named Semifinalist For Werner Ladder Naismith Men's College Coach Of The Year". USF Athletics. 2024-03-16. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
15. "USF Basketball's Amir Abdur-Rahim Named A Finalist for Jim Phelan and Ben Jobe National Coach of the Year". USF Athletics. 2024-03-19. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
16. "Amir Abdur-Rahim, A Man of the People". USF Athletics. 2024-03-18. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
17. "USF men's basketball coach Amir Abdur-Rahim dies at 43".
18. "Amir Abdur-Rahim, South Florida Basketball Coach, Dies at 43". People.com.
19. "Amir Abdur-Rahim". Sports Reference. Retrieved 31 October 2024.