The college basketball world was rocked Thursday when news surfaced that USF head men’s hoops coach Amir Abdur-Rahim had died earlier in the day at the age of 43.
Abdur-Rahim died while undergoing a medical procedure, the school announced.
Soon after, a member of the BYU men’s basketball coaching staff took to social media to offer condolences to Abdur-Rahim’s family and pay tribute to the coach.
Justin Young, the Cougars’ new director of recruiting and older brother of head coach Kevin Young, knew Abdur-Rahim as they both grew up in the Atlanta area and then Justin Young made a name for himself in the recruiting world while Abdur-Rahim was becoming a star in the coaching world.
“Amir Abur-Rahim was a force for good in the world Truly,” Justin Young wrote on X. “He made you believe in something bigger than yourself. If you ever had a chance to converse with him, you were better for it. I’m heartbroken for his family and his basketball families.”
Abdur-Rahim became the head coach at Kennesaw State in Georgia in April of 2019. The Owls won just one game in Abdur-Rahim’s first season, but by the fourth they had gone 26-9 and made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.
As a 14 seed, Kennesaw State held a double-digit lead on 3 seed Xavier in the second half. The game was tied with 18 seconds left before Xavier pulled away to win 72-67.
Abdur-Rahim parlayed his success at Kennesaw State into the head coaching job at USF last season. In his first year at the helm, the Bulls went 25-8 (including 16-2 in conference play), setting a school record for most wins in a season and reaching the 20-win mark for just the sixth time in program history.
Abdur-Rahim is the brother of Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who played 13 seasons in the NBA and has been the president of the NBA G League since 2018. Amir Abdur-Rahim is also survived by his wife Arianne and three children.