'We felt like he was on his way': Amir Abdur-Rahim's death is an immeasurable loss for college basketball

When he got his first head coaching job five years ago, Amir Abdur-Rahim didn't immediately accept the offer.

His concern wasn't that Kennesaw State was coming off a 26-loss season or that his potential salary wouldn't be enough. Abdur-Rahim didn't feel right leaving his job as an assistant coach on Tom Crean's team at Georgia without getting the blessing of the top-five recruit with whom he had built a relationship and persuaded to join the Bulldogs to sign.

“If you need me here, I’ll stay. I'm totally okay with it,” Abdur-Rahim promised Anthony Edwards when he called the future Minnesota Timberwolves superstar about Kennesaw State's offer.

Only after Edwards and everyone else involved in recruiting told Abdur-Rahim that the opportunity was too good to pass up did he finally accept the job at Kennesaw State.

“That was a relationship that lasted four years,” Abdur-Rahim said on the “Coaching Origins” podcast in 2022. “There were people around me that I had real relationships with that trusted me and the coaching staff at Georgia and trusted me.” to be there. This may not be normal, but it’s just who I am and how I was raised.”

This story resurfaced after the heartbreaking news Thursday that Abdur-Rahim died as a result of complications during a medical procedure at a Tampa-area hospital. It embodies the type of person and leader that the University of South Florida men's basketball coach was, why he was considered a rising star in his profession, why his death at just 43 years old is a loss so terrible that it can't even be ignored can even begin to describe it as a tragedy. Do it justice.

Winfred Jordan, Edwards' coach at AAU Atlanta Xpress, met Abdur-Rahim as a teenager more than two decades ago. Jordan told Yahoo Sports that it was a testament to Abdur-Rahim's character that he offered to forego a head coaching opportunity to keep a promise to a teenager.

“You could really hear the sincerity in his voice when he called and asked us about it,” Jordan said. “It meant a lot to us that he was willing to make that sacrifice. Most people in his position wouldn’t have done that.”

Abdur-Rahim died just 10 days before he was scheduled to open his second season in South Florida with a Nov. 4 game against Florida. He leaves behind his wife Arianne and the couple's three small children, daughters Laila and Lana and son Aydin.

“All of us at South Florida Athletics mourn with the family of coach Abdur-Rahim,” said athletic director Michael Kelly. “He was authentic, motivated and his infectious personality captivated the entire Bulls Nation.”

In a statement on behalf of the family, older brother Shareef Abdur-Rahim said: “On behalf of my family, I would like to express our gratitude to everyone who has come forward in connection with Amir’s death. Please remember our family in your prayers. As @sunsetAMIR would say, to God be the glory.”

Amir Abdur-Rahim, the fourth oldest of 13 siblings, came from a basketball family. Shareef was the No. 3 pick in the 1996 NBA draft and played 13 seasons in the league. Following in his older brother's footsteps, Amir Abdur-Rahim averaged 19.5 points and won three straight Southland Conference honors while playing guard for Billy Kennedy in southeast Louisiana.

Abdur-Rahim once explained that he decided to pursue coaching while working as an assistant under Kennedy at Murray State. The players described to Abdur-Rahim the goals they wanted to achieve, but he said: “Their habits did not fit those words.”

It was Abdur-Rahim's hope that he could “teach life through basketball” and help the players he coached avoid this trap. As he once put it, “I just want them to have a great example of what a man looks like, what a leader looks like, what a husband looks like, what a father looks like.”

This motivation helped propel Abdur-Rahim up the coaching ladder. He started as a first-year assistant coach at Murray State University, earning $38,000 per year. He later worked at Georgia Tech, the College of Charleston and Texas A&M before spending that lone year under Crean at Georgia and then taking over his own program at Kennesaw State.

In Abdur-Rahim's first year at Kennesaw State, he had a dismal 1-28 season. He then completed a remarkable turnaround, leading the Owls to an Atlantic Sun title and an NCAA Tournament berth in his fourth season and bringing third-seeded Xavier to the brink of elimination.

In the postgame locker room following the season-ending 72-67 loss to Xavier, Abdur-Rahim stood in front of a whiteboard with only the words “Love Wins” scrawled on the top right corner. With tears in his eyes, Abdur-Rahim told his players that they would leave as winners no matter what was on the scoreboard.

“Guys, we won because you love each other,” Abdur-Rahim said. “We won because you committed to each other. We won because when times got tough, you didn't back down.

“These are tears of joy here,” he added. “I’m not disappointed in the slightest.”

The rebuild initiated by Abdur-Rahim helped attract the attention of larger programs, as did the passion he displayed during a tearful postgame press conference following the Xavier loss. South Florida hired him in March 2023, hoping he could revitalize a program that hadn't made the NCAA Tournament since 2012 and hadn't hit .500 in league play since moving to American football in 2013.

At his introductory press conference, Abdur-Rahim gave an insight into his personality as a man and coach. He promised that “there will never be a day where you will feel betrayed with me as head coach.” He promised not to get overwhelmed in recruiting. He vowed to hang banners and win championships as South Florida's coach.

“I asked (Kelly), 'Are you afraid of heights?'” Abdur-Rahim said that day. “Because one day you’re going to have to climb the ladder to cut those nets.”

That day came sooner than Kelly — or anyone in South Florida — expected.

In his first season, Abdur-Rahim oversaw a stunning transformation that led South Florida to a school-record 25 wins, a conference title and an NIT berth. The Bulls also earned the program's first AP Top 25 ranking and recorded an overall GPA of 3.20 for the 2023-2024 academic year.

The sellout crowd at the Yuengling Center wasn't just due to the team's success. Abdur-Rahim generated interest by handing out free ice cream sandwiches or donuts to students, buying a round of coffee at the on-campus Starbucks and shaking hands with fans waiting in line in the rain before a game.

Last spring, Abdur-Rahim's name was again linked to larger contracts. Instead, he chose to stay in South Florida and sign an extension through 2030.

“I was so happy for him and so proud of him,” Jordan said. “We felt like he was on his way.”

Less than five months later, Abdur-Rahim is dead, a devastating blow to college basketball as a whole and to those close to him in particular.

When contacted by Yahoo Sports on Thursday evening, Crean and Kennedy politely declined to comment because they were unwilling to speak publicly about Abdur-Rahim. Crean, who was with Abdur-Rahim's family in the hospital at the time, later tweeted: “It was a true honor and gift to know and work with Amir.”

“Take your kids to school tomorrow,” Crean added. “He loved doing it.”