NCAA Basketball: 10 best head coaching hires of 2023 offseason

8. Amir Abdur-Rahim (South Florida)

Frankly, South Florida is not a basketball program by any means. The Bulls have finished below .500 in conference play in each of their first ten seasons in the AAC. In fact, they’ve only been above .500 once overall in that span, with former coach Brian Gregory not making much headway in the last six years. This program has just one trip to the NCAA Tournament in the last three decades but brought in some new energy in Abdur-Rahim.

It’s been quite the rise through the coaching ranks for Abdur-Rahim over the last decade and a half. He started off on the Murray State staff in 2006 and has spent time as an aide at Charleston, Texas A&M, and Georgia as well. His head coaching career began four years ago at Kennesaw State where he engineered quite a turnaround with the Owls. After winning just a single game in his first season, he led Kennesaw State to a historic season, winning 26 games and making their first NCAA Tournament in program history.

After that four-year burst at Kennesaw, it’s a brand new challenge for Abdur-Rahim at South Florida. He’s never worked in the AAC and has major obstacles ahead, but his experience in the SEC has readied him for this chance. He’s a rising coach and his addition should be a major factor at South Florida. The AAC is a conference undergoing major changes this offseason and this hire could be a chance for the Bulls to take a step forward in the coming years.