Amir_Abdur-Rahim
Amir Abdur-Rahim
American basketball player and coach (born 1981)
Amir Abdur-Rahim (born March 18, 1981) is an American basketball coach and former player. He is the head coach of the South Florida Bulls men's basketball team.[1] 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.[2][3]
Abdur-Rahim at his USF introductory press conference in March 2023 | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | South Florida |
| Conference | American |
| Record | 25–8 (.758) |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | (1981-03-18) March 18, 1981 (age 43) Atlanta, Georgia, 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–present | 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) | |
Amir Abdur-Rahim played at Joseph Wheeler High School in Marietta, Georgia.[4]
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.[5] He graduated seventh all-time in career points and second all-time in three-pointers made and steals.[2]
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.[6] 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.[7] 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.[8] In 2018, he returned to his home state to join Tom Crean's staff at Georgia.[9]
On April 18, 2019, Abdur-Rahim was named the head coach at Kennesaw State, replacing Al Skinner.[3][10]
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.[11]
On March 29, 2023, Abdur-Rahim was named the head coach of South Florida.[12] 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.[13] 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.[14][15]
Abdur-Rahim's father William was an imam while his mother Deborah was a Christian special education teacher, and Amir is one of 13 siblings.[16] His brother Shareef played 13 years in the NBA, and is the current president of the NBA G League.[2] Amir is also the uncle of Shareef's son Jabri Abdur-Rahim.
Abdur-Rahim and his wife Ari have three children.
| 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–present) | |||||||||
| 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
| |||||||||
- "Kelly Names Amir Abdur-Rahim to Lead South Florida Men's Basketball Program". USF Athletics. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
- "Amir Abdur-Rahim - Head Coach - Staff Directory". Kennesaw State University Athletics.
- "Kennesaw State Announces Amir Abdur-Rahim as Men's Basketball Coach". Kennesaw State University Athletics.
- "Amir Abdur-Rahim College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
- "Amir Abdur-Rahim - Men's Basketball Coach". Murray State University Athletics.
- "Amir Abdur-Rahim - Men's Basketball Coach". College of Charleston Athletics.
- "Amir Abdur-Rahim - Men's Basketball Coach". Texas A&M University Athletics - Home of the 12th Man.
- "Amir Abdur-Rahim - Assistant Coach - Staff Directory". University of Georgia Athletics.[permanent dead link]
- "Abdur-Rahim named ASUN Coach of the Year". Marietta Daily Journal. February 27, 2023. Retrieved 2023-02-28 – via Yahoo! News.
- "USF men's basketball ranked in Top 25 for first time in Bulls history". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
- "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.
- "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.
- "Amir Abdur-Rahim, A Man of the People". USF Athletics. 2024-03-18. Retrieved 2024-03-19.