This Philly basketball star is back home leading Imhotep, and he’s high on the national recruiting radar

He may be just a sophomore, but Ahmad Nowell knows a thing or two about winning.

This season, as a starting point guard for Imhotep Charter, Nowell helped the Panthers capture both the Public League title and the District 12 Class 5A championship. Following Saturday’s 66-41 win over Chester in the PIAA semifinals, Nowell and the Panthers will play New Castle for the 5A state championship Friday night in Hershey.

Nowell arrived at coach Andre Noble’s program having already won a state championship last year with Houston High School in Germantown, Tenn., outside Memphis. A Philadelphia native, Nowell moved to Tennessee before freshman season to play under 17-year NBA veteran and former University of Memphis assistant coach Mike Miller.

While Philadelphia has no shortage of storied high school basketball programs, Nowell wanted the chance to work directly with an NBA veteran.

“He’s a good coach and knows stuff on a higher level,” Nowell said. “So, I just took the opportunity. He needed a point guard, [and] I just wanted to get that experience.”

Nowell arrived in Tennessee with the talent, so much of the training he received was on the finer parts of the game, the ones that often take players years to master.

“I learned a lot about spacing and how important it is to do little stuff like communicate and picking up your teammates when they’re down,” Nowell said.

With upperclassmen filling the starting lineup during his freshman year with Houston, Nowell mostly came off the bench. It helped the young guard learn how to contribute on a team full of talented players, a skill he utilizes at Imhotep.

“It taught me to give what the coach needed,” he said. “Knowing that I was the sixth man, seventh man, I was [responsible] for energy and good decision-making when I got in the game. I learned how to be patient and give a lot of energy.”

After Houston High won the state championship and Miller’s son graduated, Miller left the program. Since playing under Miller had been his primary motive for moving away from home, Nowell began looking into returning to Philadelphia and eventually landed at Imhotep.

Even though Noble hadn’t seen Nowell play in person, and despite Nowell joining a new team in a historically competitive league, the transition was smooth. Nowell soon carved out a starting role with the Panthers, playing alongside fellow guard and current junior Rahmir Barno. Although Barno and Nowell are both lead guards, the two play with different styles.

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Barno, listed at 5-foot-11 and 155 pounds, brings a unique quickness and positional awareness. Meanwhile, Nowell, listed at 6-foot and 180, uses his larger frame to drive the lane and find holes in the defense. The pair’s differing styles have allowed Noble to give each a chance to shoulder the load of handling the ball.

“In the middle of games, we’ll switch,” Noble said. “Sometimes [Barno] will be off the ball where it’s intentional that Ahmad is on it. … The other thing we want to maximize is Ahmad’s decision-making. When he gets in the lane, especially against teams that are trying to keep us out of there, he’s really big and strong, so it’s hard to keep him out of the lane.”

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At Imhotep, Nowell has deployed the communication and leadership skills he gained during his year under Miller.

“He’s a vocal leader in most of the stuff he does,” Noble said. “With those being his strengths, you forget he’s only a sophomore [because] that’s not normal for a sophomore. That’s him every day. It’s not once a week, it’s every day. He’s been a great teammate; he’s been a really great leader.”

Nowell has also seen his recruiting stock skyrocket since joining Imhotep in the fall. While it’s still early in his recruiting timeline, Nowell is already rated as a four-star point guard and the No. 1 player in Pennsylvania in the class of 2024. He is also a top-five point guard prospect nationally. He has received offers from Auburn, Kansas, and Memphis so far.

Nowell is keeping his focus on all the basketball he’ll be playing over the next few months. First, there is a state title to be won. After that, a summer playing AAU ball in front of college coaches on the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League circuit with Team Final.

“I’m looking forward to winning the state championship this year [and] finishing off the season right,” Nowell said. “Going into AAU, [I want] to leave a good impression for all the coaches that didn’t get to see me my ninth-grade year [or] my ninth-grade summer.”