One of Cobb County’s own, Amir Abdur-Rahim begins his fourth season as head coach at Kennesaw State, and the Marietta native signed a contract extension following the 2021-22 season that will keep him on the Owl bench through the 2026-27 campaign.
Abdur-Rahim received the extension after leading the Owls to a 13-18 overall record this past season, which more than doubled the total numbers of wins from the previous two seasons combined, while the team’s 7-9 conference mark was also more than double the Owls’ ASUN win total in that two-year period as well. In addition to having the Owls finish one game behind the all-time season win record at the Division I level, KSU’s impressive showing against one of the toughest schedules in the nation led to the school’s highest-ever finish in both the KemPom (223) and NET (224) rankings.
Abdur-Rahim grew up just a stone’s throw away from KSU, playing his prep career at Wheeler High School. A standout guard at Wheeler, he came to the Black and Gold with a proven track record of winning as a player and a coach with 13 years of experience developing and recruiting talented athletes out of the south. One of his first moves at KSU was to bring in standout freshmen Terrell Burden and Armani Harris who made an immediate impact during the 2019-20 campaign. He followed that with one of the top recruiting classes in KSU history. Three of Georgia’s top-25 recruits in threestar athletes Chris Youngblood, Brandon Stroud and Kasen Jennings all signed with KSU in the fall of 2019, giving the Owls the top class in the ASUN and the 61st in the nation
Abdur-Rahim came to Kennesaw State after a year-long stint as an assistant at Georgia under head coach Tom Crean.
With stints as an assistant at Texas A&M (2014-18) and Murray State (2006-07), he has helped develop two NBA draft picks in Robert Williams III from TAMU and Isaiah Canaan out of MSU.
He was also one of the lead recruiters for UGA, helping the Bulldogs secure a top-10 recruiting class before joining the Owls. Abdur-Rahim 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.
Prior to UGA, he spent four years as an assistant at Texas A&M (2014-18), helping lead the Aggies to three NCAA Tournament bids, including two Sweet 16 appearances in 2016 and 2018. He helped orchestrate three 20-win seasons while at TAMU, helping the Aggies to a school record 28 wins in 2016.
Texas A&M won a share of the SEC Regular Season Title during that record season, the first for the program in 30 years.
Before moving to College Station, Abdur-Rahim served at the College of Charleston as an assistant from 2012-13 before being promoted to associate head coach for the 2013-14 campaign.
The Cougars recorded an overall record of 38-29 during his two seasons, earning a 2013 CBI bid.
Abdur-Rahim also spent a year as Georgia Tech’s Director of Player Development after five seasons at Murray State.
While earning his masters in organizational communication, he spent two years as a graduate assistant on the Racers’ staff before being promoted to an assistant coach from 2008-11. During Abdur-Rahim’s tenure at Murray State, the Racers compiled a 73-26 overall record, earning two OVC Regular Season Championships and a 2010 OVC Tournament title. The Racers reached the second round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, upsetting No. 4 seed Vanderbilt in the opening round before falling to eventual runner-up Butler.
A graduate of Southeastern Louisiana, Abdur-Rahim was a three-time All-Southland Conference guard for the Lions, finishing his career ranked seventh in the career record books for points scored and second for three-pointers made and steals. As a freshman at Garden City (Kansas) Community College, he ranked No. 24 nationally in scoring, averaging 19.1 points per game.
Married to Arianne Buchanan, he and his wife have two daughters, Laila and Lana. He is one of 13 children born to Deborah Hester and William Abdur-Rahim and one of six brothers to play college basketball, including his older brother Shareef who was a 13-year NBA veteran and is now the President of the NBA’s G-League.
