Imhotep Charter’s Ahmad Nowell: A hot recruit in the new NIL era

Ahmad Nowell’s path to top high school guard in Philadelphia took years of work, most unseen.

“Waking up at 6 a.m., being out late — to 11, 12, as a young kid — just in the gym,” Nowell said. “It went from there.”

Those hours … Tasheed Carr was there, too.

“During the pandemic, we were outside every single day, getting hundreds of shots,” said Carr, the former St. Joseph’s guard who has been a local basketball trainer for some years now. “Anywhere we could find a round thing to put a ball in. … I’ve got my own space now.”

Nothing unusual about any of that. Except Nowell is in different territory now, maybe the first generation of high school stars who began being recruited in this NIL collective era.

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As Nowell did his thing Friday night for Imhotep Charter against Camden High in the Philly Live high school showcase at Jefferson University, Carr watched from the running track above the court on Henry Avenue.

Also on that track, over in the corner, Connecticut coach Dan Hurley stood with a UConn assistant. There to be seen as much as to see, even after winning an NCAA title. Going into his senior year, Nowell has narrowed his college choices to UConn, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia Tech. Carr is his principal adviser. Imhotep coach Andre Noble said he trusts Carr on this front.

“My mom took a chance on Tasheed — she began to trust him,” Nowell said recently, sitting next to Carr in a conference room at Imhotep. “In sixth grade, I was a pretty decent kid, raw talent and stuff like that. … It went from there.”

The 6-foot-1 guard from West Philly had command of the court, even against top competition. He’s a mainstay for powerhouse Team Final on the Nike summer EYBL circuit, too. As an Imhotep junior, Nowell wasn’t the star, but he was the one guarding Camden’s D.J. Wagner in February. His broad shoulders could remind you of Kyle Lowry.

His ball skills now stand out as a senior. He can get where he needs to go, leaving defenders behind, opening up options for himself and teammates. He’s got an A list of schools wanting him for a reason.

“After Kentucky [offered a scholarship], being a blue blood school, I was like, ‘Damn, that’s one of those schools I grew up knowing all those NBA players come from,’” Nowell said. “That’s when I was like, ‘Yeah, they’re kind of all-in for me.’”

This was just in April. UK coach John Calipari made a point of making the offer in person. So is this a different pitch now?

Not in the beginning.

“He talked about the things that he loved about me, like my defense, how hard I played, how I played on offense, like my decision-making and my shot-making,” Nowell said. “Just talking about all the things he’s seen within my game.”

Did Calipari bring up NIL?

“No.”

Not a word?

“No.”

The process for that, Carr interjected, is more like how an NBA team will negotiate a contract with an agent.

“An NBA team would pretty much never talk to a player about a contract,” Carr said. “I’ve been the only one who has talked to all the schools for him, and I haven’t even said anything about the money and all that.”

This isn’t a naïve approach. Quite the opposite. Carr talks about waiting, choosing a school first, then wanting the “max” amount.

“My thing is, I think for us, our plan is to continue to build him up, get him from a four-star to a five-star, then that conversation changes,” Carr said. “It’s like the NBA pay scale. You’re a four-star, a top-30 kid … but when you’re a five-star, you’re a top-20 kid, now you’ve got more leverage to get a little more.”

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The reasoning is sound. For a school, shorting a star player walking in the door doesn’t make sense in this age when the transfer portal is always open.

“The other thing — timing, a school’s needs,” Carr said, sitting to Nowell’s left. A lot of class of 2024 guards already have committed, Carr said, which in his mind equates to leverage for them.

“I think he regularly would have been one of the most sought-after kids, but now it’s even more of a necessity,” Carr said. “Because it comes at a time when they realize how good he is — and he’s available. The timing is pretty good now.”

In Nowell’s mind, what is he looking for as he makes his choice?

“I look for different things, but my top things are definitely the brotherhood and the culture within the school, how the coaches and players collide with each other,” he said.

What a great term … basketball is a collision sport in every sort of way.

“I also look for the training staff because I look to develop throughout my college career and hope to become a better player,” Nowell said. “Also, the history — if they get their players to the NBA, because that’s the ultimate goal.”

How important is NIL in his decision?

“It’s important, but it’s not more important than I think the longevity of getting to the NBA,” Nowell said.

The real goal.

“Times two, that money I can get than in my college career,” Nowell said.

“Times 20,” Carr said.

“Times 20,” Nowell said.

Now, not coincidentally, the schools that have future pros are typically the same schools that are raising the most NIL collective money. It’s not like Nowell has to choose the short term over the long term.

“I feel like the hard work that I put in and where I’m going to be at the end of my senior year — everything is going to play out,” Nowell said. “The money that I’m going to deserve, a college is going to be willing to give me. It’s just going to play out.”

Again, they’re not being naïve. But under NCAA rules, a coach or a school can’t offer an NIL inducement to get a player. It’s all tricky. Carr understands that.

“It’ll be a big part, when I get to the table with those guys, what I really negotiate,” Carr said. “Because it’s really an open market. There’s no cap on it.”

He was adamant that they’d do it differently. Choose the school first.

“For us, to be honest, the reason I don’t have conversations really about the money, I really think that’s the smallest part of the equation with a young man like him,” Carr said. “I think every situation is different. I believe that some players have to get it right now, get as much as they can. Because they may not have a future.”

That includes players in the transfer portal.

“Especially in the portal,” Carr said. “Because more than likely, if you’re transferring to another school, you’re not an NBA player. More than likely. It happens different. But more than likely.”

The night before Nowell was playing at Jefferson, he was up in Brooklyn with Carr, at the NBA draft, “getting him a taste of it,” Carr said.

The goals are clear. The trust between the two, stronger than ever.

“When I was in sixth grade, when I met him, I worked out with him one time,” Nowell said. “Ever since then, I’ve just been with him every day.”

Nowell’s shoulders seem to carry the burden of expectations pretty easily. Harder to gauge a college future now that the transfer portal makes for virtual free agency every offseason?

“It could be,” Carr said. “But for him, I don’t think it’s harder because I think he’s better. He’ll come in — even if it’s a college junior, he’ll be better than that guy. I’ve really got a lot of trust and belief that he’ll be upper-echelon.”

Having some grit in his game, Nowell said, came early, from games at Haddington Recreation Center, at 57th and Haverford, to Rose playground, where legends such as Wali Jones honed their craft.

“I grew up with my older friends — you were either going to play hard and be a dog or you were going to get pushed over,” Nowell said. “That just wasn’t the type of cat I was.”

He’s a Philly guard. The next one. This era doesn’t change that.