KENNESAW, Ga. — Kennesaw State University is remembering a beloved basketball coach, Amir Abdur-Rahim, who passed away earlier this week in Tampa due to medical complications during surgery.
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The Marietta native was the head men's basketball coach at the University of South Florida when he passed away but was KSU's head coach from 2019 through 2023.
The university held a public memorial service for Abdur-Rahim on Sunday at KSU's Convocation Center, which started at 5 p.m.
The service was streamed live on KSU's website. You can find a version of that stream in this story.
More on Amir Abdur-Rahim
During his time at KSU, Abdur-Rahim turned the program around from one of the worst in college basketball to earning a March Madness berth just last year. Abdur-Rahim led an all-time turnaround. In his first season in 2019-20, the Owls sputtered to a 1-28 record. In 2023, he led the Owls to a 26-8 mark -- including 15 conference wins -- and put KSU on the forefront of the state's college basketball radar by passing the likes of struggling Georgia and Georgia Tech.
"When you have a vision, alright, and you know that there's more in the tank and that the way we built this thing, we're capable of going into that tournament and winning, you have to keep it as normal as possible," Abdur-Rahim said before the NCAA Tournament in 2023.
During his four seasons at KSU, he doubled the programs win every season before culminating in the university's first winning record as an NCAA Division I program and first ASUN conference titles in 2022-23.
Abdur-Rahim also spent one year as an assistant coach at the University of Georgia from 2018-19 under head coach Tom Crean. As one of the lead recruiters for UGA, he helped the Bulldogs secure a top-10 recruiting class and was pivotal in signing Anthony Edwards, who was selected as the No. 1 overall draft pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2020 NBA Draft.
Abdur-Rahim also had stints at Texas A&M from 2014 to 2018 and Murray State from 2006-07 and 2008 to 2011, a release said. During this time, he helped develop two NBA Draft picks, Robert Williams III from TAMU and Isaiah Canaan out of MSU. He also was an assistant coach at the College of Charleston starting in 2012 before being promoted to associate head coach in the 2013-14 campaign. He even spent a year at Georgia Tech from 2007-08 as director of player development.
He was a graduate of Southeastern Lousiana University, where he was a three-time All-Southland Conference guard for the Lions. He finished his career ranked seventh in the record books for points scored and second for three-pointers made and steals. In addition, KSU said that as a freshman at Garden City (Kansas) Community College, he ranked No. 24 nationally in scoring, averaging 19.1 points per game.
Abur-Rahim received many honors as a collegiate basketball coach, including 2024 American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, 2024 NABC District 24 Coach of the Year, 2023 NABC District 3 Coach of the Year, 2023 ASUN Coach of the Year, 2023 Hugh Durham Award (Division I Mid-Major Coach of the Year) and 2023 Georgia Men's College Coach of the Year by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.
According to KSU, he was known by his colleagues as “a man of high character, who is a proven recruiter, program-builder and winner that creates unparalleled student-athlete experiences."
He was known as a dedicated husband, father and family man, KSU said. His legacy lives on through his wife, Arianne, and three young children: two daughters, Laila and Lana, and his son, Aydin. Abur-Rahim was also one of 13 children and one of six brothers who played college basketball.
In lieu of flowers, his family has asked that contributions be made in his honor to the Future Foundation. This is a South Fulton-based non-profit organization created by his sister, Qaadirah Abdur-Rahim and brother, Shareef and his wife, Delicia Abdur-Rahim, that engages a second family model to disrupt the cycle of poverty among the areas under-resourced youth.