A celebration of the life of the former Kennesaw State University basketball coach

KENNESAW, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – The former Kennesaw State University basketball coach who led the Owls to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance died this week.

Amir Abdur-Rahim, KSU’s head basketball coach for four seasons, died Thursday at a Tampa hospital from complications following a medical procedure. He was only 43 years old.

His family, friends, former athletes and coaches celebrated his life Sunday at the Kennesaw State Convocation Center.

The Marietta native led KSU basketball to a first-place finish in March Madness after winning the 2023 Atlantic Sun regular-season and tournament titles.

“Under his leadership, we have witnessed the transformation of a struggling basketball program into a March Madness contender,” said Kathy Schwaig, president of Kennesaw State University.

Abdur-Rahim was also an assistant at the University of Georgia while Tom Crean was the coach.

“He wanted to be a head coach and he wanted to come home,” Crean said. “He wanted to build in the city where he was born and raised.”

Abdur-Rahim was the head men’s basketball coach at the University of South Florida and had just finished his first season there.

He was the unanimous American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year after a 25-8 (16-2 AAC) university record and led the program to its first-ever regular season conference title.

Abdur-Rahim, a Southeastern Louisiana University graduate, was a three-time All-Southland Conference guard for the Lions, finishing his career seventh in the record books in scoring and second in three-pointers made and steals.

As a freshman at Garden City (Kansas) Community College, he ranked 24th in the nation in scoring, averaging 19.1 points per game.

Before playing college basketball, Abdur-Rahim excelled at Joseph Wheeler High School in Marietta.

His old coach Doug Lipscomb had high praise for his former star.

“When Amir came here, I noticed a change in the community,” he said. “I have seen a change in the pride of this school.”

The University of South Florida also planned the ceremony. This service will be held this Saturday at 11:00 a.m. at the Tampa Basketball Stadium.