Exclusive: McNeese Manager Amir “Aura” Khan’s Keys to the Game – Sports Illustrated

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OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. –  A little over a year ago, one of the more intriguing and unique stories in college basketball emerged. In February of 2025, McNeese student manager Amir “Aura” Khan stumbled upon newfound fame after he led the Cowboys out of their locker room with a boombox around his neck for a game against Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
A video of Khan rapping with the boombox around him, leading the charge out to the court went viral seemingly instantaneously. 
Sure enough, the viral video quickly made Khan an internet legend for the month of March a year ago as McNeese would go on to win the Southland Conference Championship and clinch a No. 12 seed against No. 5 Clemson in the Round of 64 in the NCAA Tournament.
As the Cowboys pulled off the upset over the Tigers – one that was a popularly picked upset amongst fans who filled out last year’s brackets – the story of Khan grew more, creating more attention surrounding him and the McNeese program.
A year later, Khan and the McNeese Cowboys return to the NCAA Tournament. While there may not be as many posts on social media about Khan himself this time around, nobody has forgotten who he is. After all, how could anyone forget what was one of the more prominent stories of the tournament outside the game of basketball itself?
This March Madness, Vanderbilt now crosses paths with McNeese and Khan in a matchup between the No. 5 seed Commodores and the No. 12 seed Cowboys in the Round of 64.
Since Selection Sunday, Khan has watched film on Vanderbilt and gotten to know about the Commodores well. Khan has studied Vanderbilt’s tendencies, best players and how he thinks McNeese could pull an upset.
So, what does Khan see out of Vanderbilt? And which players does he think pose a threat to McNeese?
“I think it’s the backcourt duo of Tyler Tanner and Duke Miles. Obviously, they’re both electric and fun to watch. I think it’s a tough ask for any team to guard those two,” Khan told Vandy On SI. “Hopefully you slow them down, but those two are fun to watch.”
Khan could perhaps end up being right if Vanderbilt plays to its standard and plays to its highest capabilities. Tanner and Miles have given teams problems game in and game out. Between the duo’s offensive and defensive skillsets, Tanner and Miles have made Vanderbilt one of the most efficient teams in the country, especially offensively.
But Khan also knows Vanderbilt is not just Tyler Tanner and Duke Miles. He is familiar with how good Vanderbilt plays together as a team. McNeese’s scouting report also gives attention to Vanderbilt’s frontcourt, one would assume.
“The whole team is great. We know that the team is deep,” Khan said. “It’s definitely going to be a tough ask, but we definitely feel confident about it.”
While Vanderbilt enters the game as 11.5-point favorites, it is still March. Anything can happen. At this point in the season, betting lines and favorites can essentially be thrown out in a tournament where literally anybody can beat anybody.
How does Khan think McNeese can pull the upset?
“Turn them over. Force their guards to turn over the ball. I know Vandy controls the ball really well. They don’t turn over a lot, but we force teams to turn over the ball quite a lot. That’s something that we have to do to win this game,” Khan told Vandy On SI.
Vanderbilt and McNeese will tipoff at approximately 2:15 p.m. CT Thursday, or 25 minutes after the conclusion of No. 4 seed Nebraska and No. 13 seed Troy.
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Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.
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