Silence filled the Xfinity Center media room when Maryland men’s basketball’s coaching staff gathered around Selton Miguel after the team’s practice on Oct. 24, 2024.

Assistant coach Kevin Norris broke the news — Amir Abdur-Rahim, Miguel’s former coach at South Florida, had died at 43 years old. Miguel sank to the ground in disbelief.

They only knew each other for a year, but Miguel said it felt much longer.

“I could come and talk to him about anything. He was always there,” Miguel said. “He’s probably the best coach I’ve had.”

Without Abdur-Rahim, the fifth-year guard might not have had the success that allowed him to transfer to Maryland last April. Even though the coach was hurt when Miguel entered the portal, he knew he wanted to play at a higher level and didn’t let it fracture their relationship.

Abdur-Rahim had texted Miguel two days before he died about his upcoming procedure, which led to complications that caused his death.

Norris knew Abdur-Rahim professionally and struggled with the loss. But he also recognized that Miguel, who he’s known since the guard was in eighth grade, had an especially close relationship with Abdur-Rahim. Telling Miguel was one of the hardest parts, Norris said.

Associate coach David Cox and Abdur-Rahim weren’t close, but they didn’t need to be for Cox to understand who he was. Abdur-Rahim left Cox and Miguel with similar first impressions.

“You’re not always necessarily sure who to trust in this business, so you always keep your antennas up,” Cox said. “But with him, the antennas went down quickly, because you could feel how genuine and how caring he was.”

Staying at South Florida

Miguel spent his first two years at Kansas State before transferring to South Florida in 2022. He was ready to enter the transfer portal again after his first season there. The Bulls had a losing record, fired their coach and Miguel thought there were empty promises from that staff.

Then, the newly-hired Abdur-Rahim called.

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The coach was on his way to Tampa for his introductory press conference. Abdur-Rahim asked Miguel to meet with him before making any decisions.

“I had a one-on-one with him and I felt comfortable, without even knowing him,” Miguel said. “I don’t know why, I just felt something that was real.”

Abdur-Rahim’s authenticity became clear to Miguel when he saw how the coach talked with his children. He felt it was the same way he interacted with his athletes. He could relate to Abdur-Rahim too, knowing he was a former player.

That trust was evident when Abdur-Rahim asked Miguel if he’d be willing to come off the bench for him. The proposition didn’t excite Miguel, but he agreed to try.

Miguel said some players couldn’t handle coming off the bench. He made the sacrifice and gave the Bulls a scoring spark without starting.

The move panned out. South Florida won the American Athletic Conference and Miguel averaged a career-high 14.7 points while earning the conference’s sixth man and most improved player of the year awards. Some of Miguel’s success can be attributed to a much-improved 3-pointer. But a reshaped mentality — one that Abdur-Rahim forged — was behind it all.

Miguel’s brother, Rifen, said the siblings have the same temperament. He started noticing his brother change after Abdur-Rahim came to South Florida.

Miguel exuded a new sense of calm — he no longer got visibly down on himself after missing a shot or had an attitude on the bench after making a mistake, his brother said. Miguel credits Abdur-Rahim for helping him control his emotions and express himself while instilling confidence in him.

Throughout the year, the pair’s conversations became less about basketball and Abdur-Rahim became more of a mentor than a coach.

“There was nights that I’d see him and Amir on the phone just not talking about basketball, talking about personal things like Selton going through it with his girl, or whatever [was] going on in his life,” Rifen Miguel said. “He was able to talk to Amir about it.”

The connection became obvious at South Florida’s 2024 senior day. Miguel and his coach’s embrace when he left the game for the final time prompted a question in the postgame press conference. For nearly a minute, Abdur-Rahim smiled and spoke pridefully about Miguel.

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“He trusted me when he didn’t really have to,” Abdur-Rahim said at the press conference last March. “So to be able to take him out of that game, and for him to be able to hear how much these people appreciate him, that’s what it’s about for me, man. … I don’t need a piece of net or a ring to tell me I’m a good coach.”

Miguel, who was staring at the floor, whipped his head to his right when he heard Abdur-Rahim’s voice crack. He put his arm around his coach and covered his face with his hand as they both teared up.

Miguel remained in that position for the next 35 seconds as Abdur-Rahim kept gushing about his player. When he was done, Abdur-Rahim wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

“You got me, man,” Abdur-Rahim joked while sniffling.

Dealing with the loss

Miguel woke up to texts flooding his phone wishing him a happy 24th birthday on Oct. 24, 2024. The Terps hosted their annual midnight mile, an event that celebrates the season’s start, that night. Miguel didn’t attend.

Cox said it took Miguel days to fully process Abdur-Rahim’s death. Rifen Miguel stayed with his brother for three weeks to take his mind off it — even if that just meant dragging him out to get food. He and Norris were Miguel’s biggest support systems in College Park.

“I started [the season] a little bit slow, I was a little getting used to everything … I could have literally gave up,” Miguel said. “But [Abdur-Rahim] gave me that confidence to have a strong mind.”

Much of how Miguel carries himself on the basketball court is because of his former coach.

The guard is never afraid to shoot. After he makes a few in a row, a fist pump,shimmy or staredown are common sights. Sometimes it’s accompanied by a scream, or he’ll just shrug his shoulders and shake his head with a smile.

When shots aren’t going in, Miguel said he’ll look up to the sky — which gives him the belief his coach had in him.

Passion, swagger and flair are part of who Miguel is. Abdur-Rahim just helped him channel it.

“He used to motivate me a lot. Every game he’d just tell me, ‘Be you, be Selton Miguel. Don’t worry about what they’re talking about, we’re gonna be champions’,” Miguel said. “And we did. That’s a great thing.”