USF battles for road win in "Love Wins Classic" at Kennesaw State to honor the late Amir Abdur-Rahim
KENNESAW, Georgia — The late head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim made his mark on both the South Florida and Kennesaw State men’s basketball programs, building a culture of success and love, before his sudden passing last October.
On Sunday afternoon his legacy was on full display as the two teams he led as head coach went to battle at VyStar Arena in Kennesaw with South Florida earning a 108-89 road victory over the host Owls in a fast-paced, physical contest that served as the first-ever “Love Wins Classic,” named after Abdur-Rahim’s motto that guided his life and coaching career.
South Florida head coach Bryan Hodgson, who had a close relationship with Abdur-Rahim, said it truly was a special day and a special event his team got to be a part of.
“It was unbelievably special. I had a relationship with Coach as did a few of our guys obviously and a lot of people back home in Tampa,” said Hodgson. “Man, he left such a lasting impact on this university, this community and this program as well as ours. Truly blessed to play this game and honor him. He was a special man, and to see the amount of people that came here and had ‘Love Wins’ on their chest to honor a man that really lived that every day, it means the world.”
In the game itself, South Florida (3-1) was able to use its tempo, physicality, free-throw shooting and a 20-point first half from Joseph Pinion to grab control and a 15-point lead at the break 56-41 as the teams headed to the locker room. The Bulls shot 63 percent from the field over the first 20 minutes and made 14 free throws to aid the charge.
Kennesaw State (3-1) made a run to open the second half, cutting the deficit to five twice at 71-66 and 73-68, but South Florida had the answer to re-establish a substantial lead. The Bulls once again made the most of their chances at the free throw line, making 24-of-27 attempts to help seal the game in the final half, including several in the final 10 minutes to put the game out of reach. They Bulls finished by going 38-of-46 from the line in the game.
Hodgson said he knew that Kennesaw State wouldn’t go quietly in the second half and battle back, but he was proud of the way his team was able to close the game out with some big plays on both ends of the court.
“(Kennesaw State) is a great team. Coach (Antoine) Pettway is one of my best friends. He’s a man that I look up to as a husband, as a father and as a basketball coach. I knew this one was going to be a war,” said Hodgson. “They made that run in the second half, and they are a well-coached team. I knew they were going to. I told our guys that at halftime. But I do like the way our guys responded. We got some stops, and then we went down and scored the basketball.”
Pinion led five USF scorers in double figures with 24 points as he slowed down a bit in the second half after his big start to the game that included him hitting 3-of-3 from outside the arc.
Josh Omojafo also had some big buckets and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line to reach 20 points, while Izaiyah Nelson was big with a double-double that consisted of 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls.
Two other Bulls reached double figures with Wes Enis scoring 13 and CJ Brown scoring 10. Hodgson said he likes to see his team play balanced that way and something he hopes continues throughout the season.
“That’s the plan. We’ve got a deep group, and hopefully we get to get into our bench even more here down the road as some of these freshmen evolve and some of these guys figure out what we want to do on both ends of the floor,” said Hodgson. “But we’ve got a very unselfish group so I’m not surprised by that (balance).”
Kennesaw State’s top scorer was Simeon Cottle who had a game-high 25 points, including three 3s and a 12-of-16 effort at the free throw line. Braedan Lue added 12 points, RJ Johnson and Trey Simpson each scored 11 and Perry Smith Jr. had 10. Simpson and Franquon Sherman shared the top rebounding total with eight apiece.
During halftime, several members of Abdur-Rahim’s family, as well as a few close friends and former players were recognized at half court. Abdur-Rahim’s wife spoke to the crowd about his legacy and establishing a scholarship fund in his honor.
Abdur-Rahim served as head coach at Kennesaw State from the 2019-2020 season through the 2022-23 season and engineered a remarkable turnaround for the Owls’ program, going from a 1-28 overall record in his first season at the helm to leading the team to an NCAA Tournament berth in his last one as his team went 26-9 overall and 15-3 in conference play to win a share of the A-Sun regular season title and the tournament title to punch their ticket to March Madness.
Abdur-Rahim then took over the USF program after that and in his one season leading the Bulls 25-8 overall record and a 16-2 mark in conference play to claim the American Athletic Conference regular-season title in 2023-24 as well as advancing to the second round of the NIT.
USF’s Brown, who had a bit of a homecoming on Sunday as he played his high school ball at Kell a few miles away in Marietta, said it was an incredible game to be a part of as he was recruited to USF by Abdur-Rahim but never got the chance to actually play for him before his death.
“It meant everything,” said Brown. “We were preaching ‘Love Wins’ from the beginning of the season so to be able to come out and showcase it in an event that’s supposed to celebrate him (Abdur-Rahim) it just means everything in the world to me. He never officially coached me in a basketball game, but the impact he left on my life, I can never forget it. I just live by his everyday rules. His quotes are so powerful to me. ‘Love Wins’ I have it on my arm, and I try to live by that every day.”
USF will be on the road again for its next game at Oklahoma State on Wednesday at 8 p.m.
Kennesaw State will next make the trip to Fort Myers, Fla. to compete in the Geico Coconut Hoops Nov. 24-26 with their first game being against Rice at 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 24.