A sad, stunning day at USF

Some days, you’d like to ignore the news.

1. Amir Abdur-Rahim, 1981-2024

This news shocked college basketball on Thursday afternoon.

Abdur-Rahim was undergoing a medical procedure at a Tampa-area hospital on Thursday when he died from complications from the procedure. He was 43.

He was one of the sport’s rising coaching stars, having turned Kennesaw State from a 1-28 program into an NCAA Tournament, then led South Florida to a program-record 25 wins and the AAC title last season, his only year at the school. The Bulls had never finished above .500 in the AAC, and were ranked in the AP Top 25 for the first time in school history.

“All of us with South Florida Athletics are grieving with the loved ones of Coach Abdur-Rahim,” USF athletic director Michael Kelly said in a statement. “He was authentic, driven, and his infectious personality captivated all of Bulls Nation. Coach Abdur-Rahim leaves a lasting impact on our student-athletes, the university and the community. We are supporting those closest to him, including his family, team and athletics staff, to ensure they have the resources they need to deal with this tremendous loss.”

Abdur-Rahim was the younger brother of former Cal and NBA star Shareef Abdur-Rahim. He played for three seasons at Southeastern Louisiana, and was a three-time All-Southland selection. He then coached on staffs at Georgia — where he helped bring future NBA star Anthony Edwards to Athens — Texas A&M, Charleston, Georgia Tech and Murray State.

He spent four seasons at Kennesaw State, culminating in a euphoric 26-9 season in 2022-23 in which the Owls beat ASUN power Liberty in the conference tournament title game for a spot in the NCAA Tournament, where they narrowly lost to Xavier. Abdur-Rahim was the ASUN coach of the year and the Hugh Durham award winner, given to the nation’s top mid-major coach.

He was the type of person who might just go into a campus Starbucks and buy the students coffee, or recognize that fans and supporters can revel in the wins as much as the team. Because some things are bigger than the game.

Hundreds of public statements from various coaches and friends flooded social media on Thursday, all fondly remembering a man who could win games or put an achievement into a larger context.

Among the coaches who expressed condolences includes AAC compatriots, friends, assistants, coaches from the Big East, the SEC, former players, former schools, other rising stars, and peers also in their 40s.

Abdur-Rahim is survived by his wife, Arianne, and their three children: daughters Laila and Lana and son Aydin.

2. More fallout from Temple gambling scandal

Yesterday, we learned that Virginia Tech dismissed former Temple guard Hysier Miller due to the Temple gambling scandal from last season. It turns out that the Owls also will be impacted this upcoming season.

Subscribe to Premium to read the rest.