TAMPA, Fla. – What Amir Abdur-Rahim accomplished in his lone season in charge of the USF men’s basketball program will not soon be forgotten. In fact, there will be visible reminders to those walking through the Yuengling Center doors this season and seasons to come.
Prior to the Bulls’ home opener against Arkansas Pine-Bluff on Tuesday evening, the coach was honored with a moment of silence. That was followed by the student section formerly known as the SoFlo Rodeo being renamed the Amir Abdur-Rahim Student Section. Chants of “AAR” accompanied the unveiling of the signage behind the students.
In perhaps the most poignant reminder of what the husband and father of three, who passed away October 24 at age 43, accomplished on the court in his 18 short months in Tampa was the unveiling of the 2023-24 American Conference regular season champions banner.
The Bulls (1-2) followed the pregame ceremonies with an 85-69 victory over their SWAC opponent in what was often a sloppy performance by both teams.
USF led 50-34 at the half thanks largely to dominating (10-3) the offensive glass. UA-PB, though, trimmed the deficit to eight with 2:30 remaining in the game. The fact the Bulls, who shot 8-for-34 (23.5 percent) from beyond the arch, went nearly four minutes in the latter stages of the second half without a field goal did not help their cause.
READ: Groundbreaking Brings Vision Of USF On-Campus Stadium Closer To Reality
Things got a little testy less than five minutes into the matchup when the Golden Lions’ Zach Reinhart shoved USF guard and Florida State transfer De’Ante Green, resulting in the ejection of the former. Bulls’ guards Jimmie Williams, a JUCO transfer, and C.J. Brown, a freshman, were getting ready to check-in. They left the scorer’s table to come to the aid of their teammate and were ejected.
The Bulls host Atlantic Sun Conference member West Georgia on Friday at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+. Then it is off to the Myrtle Beach Invitational, where USF will be among eight teams in the three-day event that will be broadcast on ESPN2 or ESPNU. The Bulls open against Portland on Nov. 21 and will play twice more against teams to be determined.
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