City of Basketball Love

By Joseph Santoliquito (@JSantoliquito)
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The floor was always a welcome sanctuary. Between grunts, it allowed Ahmad Nowell to dream about what he could be, what he could develop into, and created an avenue to where he was going. He would slap his palms down, his nose an inch off the floor, and proceed to push his stubby arms up and down like pistons, moving his body each morning. He had to be precise. There were no cutting edges. If he cheated, he thought, he was cheating himself. Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down. Just out of bed in the morning, just before going to bed at night, Nowell had to get his push-ups in — at the age of five.

It's probably why the 6-foot-1, 190-pound rising Imhotep Charter senior guard resembles an NFL running back. It’s probably why he has muscle stretch marks on each of his shoulders, which happens when muscles bulk too quickly for the skin to catch up. It’s probably why no one pushes him around on or off a basketball court, why he’s able to impose his will offensively or defensively. It’s probably why major schools like defending NCAA national champion UConn is after him, as are Kentucky and legendary coach John Calipari, Tennessee and Georgia Tech — the final four schools in the mix for the college decision he’ll make next month.

Work ethic got Nowell, 17, this far. His meticulous work ethic will take him farther.

Teneka Greer, Nowell’s mother, laughs at the recollection of her little jacked-up son constantly hitting the ground to get his push-ups in. It explains why Nowell is considered among the top guards in the country and arguably the best high school player in Philadelphia, with Team Final teammates Jalil Bethea (Archbishop Wood) and Thomas Sorber (Archbishop Ryan).

In Philly Live’s second weekend, Nowell dropped 27 on St. Rose in a 56-51 Imhotep victory. The previous weekend, he blew by three Don Bosco defenders in another Imhotep victory. He’s explosive, quick, and above everything else determined and strong. Determined and strong. In that order.

He had to be determined to get strong.

He didn’t have too far to find the mortar for that foundation — his mother, Teneka.

Greer has raised Ahmad and his younger sister, a budding track star, by herself. Greer was once a track star. She has worked two and sometimes three different jobs to keep food on the table. She’s used to fighting. Part of Ahmad’s training requires some boxing work, with his personal trainer Tasheed Carr, a former guard at Saint Joseph’s.

For as much resistance in him, however, Ahmad can’t erase the times he saw his mother asleep, knocked out from exhaustion on the couch sapped from work. Whatever drives her has been inherited by him.

“I never wanted my children to want for anything,” she said. “I had to make sure he would never slip into the streets of Philadelphia. I always instilled in him to work hard and never give up. I pray a lot. Ahmad was a good kid. He had basketball and sports, fortunately, as an outlet and spent a lot of time at Rose Park. Basketball kept him on the straight-and-narrow. I didn’t even know he was that good. We struggled. We struggled together.”

Like the times bills mounted and money was scarce. Teneka would seal herself away in the car or excuse herself from the kids to walk around the block and cry. She wasn’t about to let her children see her during the rare momentary breaks. Her priority was keeping smiles on her children’s faces, even if it was with a touch of fake joy behind a façade. There was no moping. There was no feeling sorry for herself.

“There were some tense times, and it was a struggle to reach this stage with Ahmad, but I am a firm believer in what you speak can become your reality,” she said. “I worked two and three jobs. I was so tired I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I also knew that if I didn’t make those sacrifices, my children wouldn’t have a chance. It’s why I kept mindful, why I kept reminding myself to stay positive, and kept telling myself, ‘I can get through this.’

“I used to get emotional when I watched Ahmad play. Now, I’m more of a coach, yelling at him (laughs). Ahmad had to take his time. There were a lot of stars on this team and now he’s the one who’s the leader. He really loves playing basketball. That started early. I would say it started when I would see him doing push-ups when he was five. Who knows why a five-year-old would want to be physically in shape, but that was Ahmad. It’s why he is built the way he is now.”

When Ahmad was in fifth grade, he and Teneka were homeless, living out of a hotel and the back trunk of a car for a few weeks. He had to wear the same clothes to school every day. It made him self-conscious, feeling eyes were on him.

“Seeing her go through that, that inspired me,” Nowell said. “My mom worked for everything she got. She never complained to anyone. She got everything done the way it had to be done. That made me know when I was younger that anything hard I faced I could get it done, too. I think it’s where my work ethic and my attitude come from. I felt some rage. I learned to use that on the court. I think it’s why I play the way I do now. I saw her cry. I knew. She always tried to stay strong. I was such a young kid. I didn’t really know what was going on. She hid it well. It’s why I keep things in.

“I do remember it was embarrassing going to school wearing the same clothes. I’m a bit of a neat freak. I used to be afraid I would get stains on those clothes that people would see.”

Ahmad says he got his body from his mother’s genetics. Football was his first love, before gradually coming around to basketball. He would meet the same problem: He was usually larger than other kids his age. It’s why he gravitated toward playing with older kids at Rose Park. They never took it easy on him. Nowell would get knocked down. He would bounce back up. No crying. No moping.

Nowell’s eyes dipped for a moment. At 17, he knows at least seven kids his age that are dead and 20 that are in jail—and many more that may be heading to jail.

“I couldn’t let my mom down,” he said. “That’s what drove me. It’s what drives me now. I remember her going through those money struggles and people that could have helped her didn’t. I can’t rock with that. I’m a momma’s boy and seeing people not being able to help her, when they could have, that made me angry.”

The 2023 Imhotep Panthers will be Nowell’s team. He played in the considerable shadow of the nation’s No. 1 player, Kentucky-bound Justin Edwards, last season and had other stars around him like Rahmir Barno (FGCU). It didn’t stop Nowell from speaking up, and considering he’s going to be the face of the program in 2023, he vows to be even more vocal. The Panthers (30-3 last season) enter this season as 11-time Philadelphia Public League champions, six-time District 12 champions and nine-time state champions, looking to threepeat after Imhotep’s 78-40 route over Exeter in the Class 5A state title game last season.

“Ahmad is the kind of kid who is an ultra-competitor and a great teammate, he’s always had a maturity beyond his years,” Imhotep coach Andre Noble said. “His physical build does make him look like an NFL running back. Think about it. He’s 17. His work ethic, from what I see, is incredible. I’ve been doing this for a long, long time and I’ve had guys who have worked as hard as Ahmad, but no one who has worked harder. The other thing about Ahmad is he’s always been very thoughtful. This is 100-percent his team. We’ve talked to him about that. Ahmad has always been very good at making everyone around him better. We have some good young guys back, and some guys who are seniors joining him, but he’s going to have to stir that drink and help us win some games.

“I like what I’ve seen so far this summer from him and our team. Guys are playing hard and playing together, and Ahmad is leading. Some folks think we may fall off the map because of what we lost, but we’re not the kind of place that takes on six or seven transfers. We build from the ground up, and we’re a team who happens to have one of the best players in the country, and one of the best leaders in the country. He’s going to lead this team.”

The only way Nowell knows — with a stern push from the ground up.

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Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area who began writing for CoBL in 2021 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter here.