St. John's guard Deivon Smith's heartfelt take on Amir Abdur-Rahim's passing
St. John's fifth-year transfer guard Deivon Smith will enter his final year of college basketball with a heavy heart following Amir Abdur-Rahim's tragic death . The USF head basketball coach shockingly passed on Oct. 24 at just 43 years old, roughly one week before he was expected to begin his second year with the team.
Smith, who remained a close relationship with Abdur-Rahim, called the late coach a "great guy" who "always checked in" on him. Despite never officially playing for Abdur-Rahim, Smith was saddened to hear the news of one of his career mentors passing.
"He always called, always checked in," Smith said, via SB Nation. "He's always reached out and helped me navigate which way I wanted to go. Always keeping me motivated and hungry. A lot of people could say the same things about him, he was a great guy."
Smith and Abdur-Rahim were both born and raised in Georgia, leading to the latter taking the former under his wing. Before committing to Mississippi State in 2020, Smith played for Grayson High School in Loganville, Georgia, around the same time that Abdur-Rahim was an assistant coach under Tom Crean at Georgia.
Despite being the lesser-known brother of former NBA guard Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who is currently the president of the NBA G-League, Amir Abdur-Rahim was making a name for himself as one of the top rising coaches in college basketball at the time of his death. USF announced that Amir Abdur-Rahim's cause of death was complications from a routine surgery.
In his first year with USF, Abdur-Rahim led the team to a 25-8 record and a first-place regular season finish in the American Athletic Conference. During the season, the team broke into the top-25 rankings for the first time in program history.
St. John's seeks surprise 2024-2025 season in Big East
Now playing for his fourth school in five years, Smith is looking for a Big East run with St. John's in what will presumably be his final season of college basketball. The 22-year-old has played for Mississippi State, Georgia Tech and Utah before settling with Rick Pitino's Red Storm for a fifth year.
St. John's will have a lot of work ahead of them in a crowded Big East. The two-time defending national champions, UConn Huskies, are unsurprisingly expected to win the conference, particularly with head coach Bobby Hurley turning down the NBA to remain with the team. St. John's was predicted to finish fifth in the preseason coaches poll behind UConn, Creighton, Xavier and Marquette.
