Why McNeese State’s viral manager is back after short stint at NC State originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
In one tweet, everything changed for Amir Khan. “We back @McNeeseMBB.”
Yes, there was a short tease video. Nothing over the top, just enough to get people’s attention.
Still, it didn’t take much. One post, and suddenly the temperature around McNeese State University basketball ticked up a few degrees.
Now, let’s be clear. McNeese is 23-5. This is not a team searching for relevance. The Cowboys are firmly in position to make another March run. The résumé is there. The wins are there.
And yet. Last season, during McNeese’s NCAA Tournament surge, Khan became one of the unexpected faces of the moment. He was the manager with the boombox leading the tunnel walk, somehow turning into a national storyline without ever taking a shot.
He later followed head coach Will Wade before eventually transferring back, and weeks ago he explained why on the McNeese Pokecast.
“Also just wanted to be back here was a big reason,” Khan said. “Wanted to graduate from here. It felt more special being down here. I lived here my whole life. House is five minutes away from here. So, yeah, it just means a lot more than NC State does.”
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There was practicality behind it too.
“A lot of my credits didn’t transfer over there. Pushed me back to being a sophomore,” he said. “But also just wanted to be back here was a big reason.”
The attention never seemed to change how he viewed the job.
“What I want to do is shine light on student managers as a whole,” Khan said. “A lot of people didn’t know what we do. When I got the spotlight, they thought I was a professional boom box. A lot of what we do is behind the scenes.”
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Behind the scenes, sure. But when a 23 win team with real March aspirations suddenly gets its Aura back, even in a lighthearted social media way, it feels aligned. And now, so is the soundtrack.