‘It’s nuts’: How Kennesaw State pulled off one of college

When Amir Abdur-Rahim came to Kennesaw State in the spring of 2019, he was aware the program had history. Sure, it didn’t come at the Department I level, but it was still a program with a championship game in 2004.

Yet when he walked into the group’s home arena four years ago, there was no evidence of it.The group’s Division II national championship banner remained in a storage closet. As quickly as Abdur-Rahim found it, he went to the school’s centers individuals and asked that it be installed in the rafters.

“That was a terrific symbol of special things can be done here,” Abdur-Rahim informed ESPN on Monday morning. “We used it. Not simply with recruiting, but with our group. There are people that have been here that care about this program. It was a location without any identity, but was on the cusp of being able to do something genuine special.”

The Owls now have 2 more banners to set up alongside it, sharing the Atlantic Sun regular-season champion with Liberty, and after that punching their ticket to the NCAA competition on Sunday after beating the Flames in the conference tournament title game. They wait for next Sunday’s statement of where they’ll land in the field of 68.

Sunday’s success capped one of the most significant turnarounds in current college basketball history in which Kennesaw State went from one win in Abdur-Rahim’s very first season, to 26 this season.

“It’s nuts, to be honest with you,” he stated.

The Kennesaw State Owls have not had this

winning sensation in the 18 years they’ve been played Department I college basketball. Dave Williamson Here’s some viewpoint on the extent of Abdur-Rahim’s rebuilding job at Kennesaw: Not only is this the program’s very first NCAA competition appearance because moving to Department I in 2005, it’s the program’s very first season ending up above.500 in Department I, period. This year’s team set the program record for wins in a season in mid-January.

For a coach who invested the previous five years on high-major personnels at Texas A&M and Georgia, taking control of among the worst teams in college basketball was a dramatically different experience. Abdur-Rahim didn’t want to simply turn the program in one year and after that need to start from scratch again every season, however. The procedure was going to take longer. He wanted to take the long-lasting view.Editor’s Picks

2 Associated”This is as basic as I can put it: Every task is not a transfer portal task,”he said. “Some jobs have to be developed with high school kids, to be able to sustain it in time. When you’re building a different team every year, everyone’s buy-in is not the exact same. We wanted to build with high school kids, age with the very same men. I have actually been fortunate and blessed to be able to do that.”

Abdur-Rahim and his staff only had 2 offered scholarships when they took control of Kennesaw State. Their very first two employees were starting guard Terrell Concern, and reserve forward Armani Harris. The next recruiting cycle, the Owls signed Chris Youngblood, Brandon Stroud, Spencer Rodgers and Kasen Jennings. On Sunday, 5 of the 6 players checked in Abdur-Rahim’s first 2 years saw at least 20 minutes.The roadway to the NCAA competition wasn’t without growing discomforts, obviously. Kennesaw State was among the worst groups in the nation in 2020 and 2021. The Owls went 1-28 overall in 2020, winning simply one ASUN game. The next season, they improved only a little, completing 5-19 general and 2-13 in the league.The transfer portal started becoming increasingly more of a temptation.

“After our second year, I resembled, we got ta age. We simply got ta go get as talented as we can potentially get,” Abdur-Rahim said. “Ben Fletcher, my associate head coach, he goes, ‘Nope.’ What do you imply, nope? ‘That’s not how you said you wanted to do it. We’re right there. We’re not stressing now. We’re not going to break character now, let’s stay devoted and keep developing.'”

The Owls ‘Department II men’s championship banner once again hangs in the gym– and will quickly be signed up with by two Division I banners celebrating the program’s

outstanding turnaround. Courtesy KSU Sports It worked both ways– the talented young players Abdur-Rahim hired those very first number of seasons might have pursued other alternatives, too.

“A lot of outside people were stating, what are you doing here, why do not you go into the website?” Problem informed ESPN. “It was all going to come together. Running away from issues gets you nowhere, it teaches you nothing. Embrace the journey through the discomfort and the not successful seasons prior to you have the successful ones.”

In 2021-22, Kennesaw State finally revealed indications of life, improving to 7-9 in conference play and notching wins against Bellarmine and Jacksonville, last season’s ASUN competition champion finalists. Through all of it, the group’s core stayed undamaged– resulting in a 25-win enhancement in simply 3 seasons.

“It was just a matter of time if we kept the exact same group,” Burden said. “Learning how to win is the hardest part. When you find out how to win, doing it is simpler than discovering it.

Winning the ASUN’s bid to the NCAA competition has been four years in the producing Amir Abdur-Rahim, who acquired among the then-worst programs in Division I men’s college basketball when he got here in 2019. Dave Williamson

“That was the most crucial thing,” he included, referring to this year’s juniors and senior citizens remaining together from the outset. “We have actually all been through the same thing. Those are my bros now. Keeping the core group, that indicated more to me than individuals understand. It’s simple to say, you’re a young group, go get some men out of the transfer portal and get older. However when you’re able to mesh together as a young system, it makes it 10 times better.”

In going over the amazing turnaround, both Abdur-Rahim and Problem harkened back to a moment throughout their very first season together. The Owls lost on Senior Day to NJIT, with both Burden and Harris sidelined due to injury. As the group was walking off the floor, the then-first-year head coach went up to his 2 employees at center court. He pointed to the sparse crowd of around 1,000 people and had a clear message:

Do not get used to this, since it’s not constantly going to be like this.

The crowd won’t resemble this, the environment will not be like this, the group and the culture won’t resemble this. It’s going to change when we begin winning.Men’s Competition Obstacle Total your bracket by picking the winner for

each game of the 2023 guys’s NCAA competition. Play Competition Obstacle Burden and Harris remembered the moment four years in the future Sunday– in front

of a school-record attendance of 3,805. Both went up to Abdur-Rahim and thanked him. “To see it concern fruition, it has a various significance,”Concern stated.

“It was a different sensation … that was the best time to advise him. “With a week until Choice Sunday, the biggest concern for Kennesaw right

now is when to put the banners up, whether it occurs today or at the start of next season. However they definitely will not be in a storage closet.Said Abdur-Rahim:” They’ll go right next to that 2004 national championship banner. “