Sindarius Thornwell is a fiery competitor on the court. And after being coached by the likes of Frank Martin at the University of South Carolina and Doc Rivers with the Los Angeles Clippers, he’s typically played for people who share a similar temperament.

But when Sindarius thinks about Mahmoud—and how he jokes with his coach in Rio Grande Valley—he can’t help but grin.

“Dang, Mahmoud, yell at us! Mahmoud, yell at me, man!” the 25-year-old guard says. “I just need him to yell at us one time. Just snap one time!”

Unlike Sindarius’ previous coaches, Mahmoud tends to keep an even keel. He is a master at finding a balance between building individual relationships and telling it like it is, while maintaining his composure regardless of the situation—a change that initially left Sindarius unsure of how to react.

“I've never played for a coach that's calm,” Sindarius says. “I'm more of an aggressive [person], so sometimes in those type of moments, I'm the aggressor and Mahmoud's just looking at me, like, 'Sin, we're together. I'm with you.’

“It's different for me, and it's something I had to learn because I'm used to a coach yelling at me and just cursing me out and just telling me how bad of a player I am, and not somebody that's mellow.”

Mahmoud’s coaching style, while distinct within his field, is steeped in pedagogy. His late mother was heavily involved in education throughout her life. His older sisters followed a similar path. Buthiana is a preschool teacher and Hadeil is an assistant principal with 20 years of experience. Watching them take on a leadership role was a prominent factor in pushing him in that direction.

From a player perspective, Mahmoud’s former coaches left a great impression on him as well. At Taft, Nick Nishibayashi was a people person. At Wilbur Wright, Joe Wharton was laid back and let guys do their thing. At State, Kevin Schlagel showed him a stricter side where understanding the rules took precedence.

Over time, Mahmoud has taken every characteristic he’s seen and molded it into his own methodology.

Jaron Blossomgame senses Mahmoud’s passion every time he speaks. The third-year forward describes him as “even-keeled,” with an innate ability to relate and communicate with his players. That, in turn, motivates them to deliver results to Mahmoud.

“He's thinking about the team 24/7,” Jaron says. “He eats, sleeps and drinks basketball. Like, it's all basketball, 24/7. And he's a great guy. It's what makes him great, it's what makes the reason he got the job. He really puts the guys first, and I think that's what matters the most."

Details and organization are critical to Mahmoud. He operates with a professional expectation of everybody he works with—be on time, pay attention and respect one another. The values he holds so dear in coaching go back to the ones he applies to everyday life.

The Muslim faith requires Mahmoud to abide by a strict regimen. He fasts every Monday and Thursday. He prays five times a day, beginning with a wake-up call before sunrise and concluding after sunset, but still finds plenty of time to work out and strategize in between.

He’s always available to players and coaches that call him. Sometimes, he even initiates the conversations just to check in and see how things are with the people he works with.

Such a schedule requires meticulous time management. Vipers assistant Devan Blair jokes that Mahmoud’s is so good that it’s annoying.

“His whole day is down to the exact minute,” Devan says. “I give him crap all the time.”

Devan quickly found that out first hand. As a first-time assistant coach on Rio Grande Valley’s bench, he had to learn ways to sort out pregame shooting times. Mahmoud, who had been in that position during the previous two seasons, showed him the ropes by rattling off the responsibilities required to successfully juggle the job.

Mahmoud broke it down to Devan.

Be done when there’s 36 minutes on the clock in order to devote time on final film study. The first group goes at 5:02 and ends at 5:07. That allots 15 minutes for every group to get the same amount of time to get shots up, treatment and whatever else needs to be done.

Practices are just as exacting. Some activities will run for seven minutes. Drills might go for 13. The same goes for break times. Mahmoud’s staff doesn’t question it. Nor do his players.

“That's why he's so comfortable and at peace with most of his decisions,” Vipers assistant Sam Daghlas says. “Because he's on time with everything and he gives everything the designated time, and then he moves on to the next thing once that time's up."

Sam’s relationship with Mahmoud began when the former was head coach of the Jordanian national team in 2017-18. He discovered Mahmoud’s work ethic immediately as an assistant. It was a unique approach to the game that he came to appreciate. So when Mahmoud requested that Sam join him in Rio Grande Valley in a reverse role this past summer, the decision was easy. Sam felt that using his knowledge of previous head coaching experience could help take some things off of Mahmoud’s plate.

And, like Mahmoud, Sam is Palestinian and a practicing Muslim, though their shared heritage was not the main reason they came to connect. Both are early birds due to their religion, hold the same standards and constantly think of ways to improve in their respective basketball duties.

“I think we complete each other in a way,” Sam says.