Amir Abdur-Rahim

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 (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]}

Playing career

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]

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. ^[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]}

Personal life

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.

Head coaching record

References