City of Basketball Love

By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
––

(Ed. Note: This story is part of CoBL’s “Prepping for Preps” series, which will take a look at many of the top high school programs in the region as part of our 2024-25 season preview coverage. The complete list of schools previewed thus far can be found here.)

~~~

As good as Andre Noble’s Imhotep Charter program has been in its two decades in the PIAA, there are always new challenges for the uber-successful Panthers coach. That’s what keeps the 10-time state champion excited about each new season, even as it continues its absolute stronghold on the Philadelphia Public League. 

That’ll be the case yet again, the defending Pub and PIAA 5A trophy-lifters turning the page to a new group of talent ready to shine, taking on a new challenge on the state’s biggest stage — as well as the program’s usual slate of high-profile non-league matchups.

Even in October, Noble was already talking about the tough task his team had in the early portion of his schedule, highlighted by a trip to Hawai’i for the Iolani Classic (Dec. 17-21). The Panthers will play four games in a 16-team bracket consisting of an even mix of the Aloha State’s best as well as some of the top programs in the country, like Paul VI (Va.), Brewster Academy (N.H.), Wheeler (Ga.) and more. 

It’s the type of event that Noble’s challenged his team with regularly, Imhotep one of the most in-demand programs in the country. He’s used to it. It’s a challenge every time.

“I am, but it doesn’t make it any less daunting when you look at it on a piece of paper,” he said. “But it gets doable [...] we really work on this opponent, nothing else, this opponent, and [that] approach of just being locked in one at a time has really worked for us. 

“We don’t start looking [ahead], we really focus in on whoever we’re playing, we don’t care who it is. And doing that, we’ve been able to, game-by-game, have success and it doesn’t seem so daunting.”

It’s hard to believe Noble and his Panthers find anything daunting, as they’ve established themselves as not just a regional but a national-level powerhouse amongst traditional (non-boarding/prep) high schools on the hoops scene. Imhotep has been regularly pumping out high-level college talent, with just about every senior class of his over the last decade sending at least one player onto the Division I ranks. 

That applies to his 2024 class, led by current UConn freshman Ahmad Nowell. The 6-foot-tall, 195-pound lead guard helped the Panthers to three straight Public League and PIAA state championships, winning PIAA Class 5A Player of the Year honors as a senior. Though classmates Ma’kye Taylor (Albany) and Jeremiah White, two four-year varsity members in the frontcourt, also graduated, there’s no doubt that it’s Nowell whose absence will be the toughest to replace on both ends, for his ability to get a bucket in any situation, guard the opponent’s best player and generally lead the Panthers for both of his upperclassman years.

In his absence, Noble is turning to a whole group of Panthers to step up, with one of his deepest groups yet all eager to take their turn. Senior guard Carnell Henderson (6-3), junior point guard RJ Smith (5-8), junior wing Zaahir Muhammad-Gray (6-7) and junior wing Lateef Lorenzano-White (6-5) are all Division I recruits returning from last year’s rotation, all of whom are well-versed in Imhotep’s ultra-intense, highly-disciplined style of play.

“I’ve really got to step up and lead,” said Muhammad-Gray, a muscular wing and strong outside shooter with offers from Penn State, FGCU, Temple, Georgia Tech and more. “I’ve got to do everything on the court — lead, play defense, score, everything. Rebound. It’s a different role than it was last year, having Ahmad on the court.”

“Everyone has a different role,” Noble said. “RJ’s got to be the primary ball-handler; last year he played off Ahmad, that’s different. All those guys’ roles have had to increase. But they work really hard in the gym and we’ll see what we do with it.”

Smith, who missed most of the preseason with a broken bone in his hand, is a slippery, speedy point guard who will be the team’s primary ball-handler. But he won’t have to do it alone — his absence this preseason has allowed Henderson, Muhammad-Gray and 5-10 freshman Ian Smith all plenty of experience doing so, and expect offense to initiate from multiple points. 

That includes out of the hands of sophomore Zion Green, son of former La Salle standout Rodney Green, who’s especially come into his own of late. The 6-8 wing was more of a stretch ‘5’ in somewhat-limited minutes as a freshman, but he’ll be a wing by the time he gets to college, and he’s made a lot of progress in that regard this offseason. Green can create off the dribble, knock down pullup 3s and defend just about every position on the court; ESPN ranked him No. 17 in the 2027 class, tops in the state, and that might be low.

“His eighth grade year going into ninth, we played in Philly Live, [and] we really couldn’t put him out there on the court a lot because he really couldn’t do it,” Noble said. “And then in one calendar year, he went from that to being one of the best prospects in the gym at Philly Live. That growth over one year, that’s really hard to do.”

In addition to that group, senior guard Talasi Henderson (6-2), senior forward Nasir Ellis-Rocks (6-6), and sophomore guard Kevin Benson III will all be in the mix for minutes. 

Noble said the Panthers will be playing five-out more than they ever have before, his coaching staff constantly throwing ideas at him all summer, helped along by Noble’s inclusion at the USA Basketball Junior Minicamp in October. 

In addition to Hawai’i, Noble’s got highlight games against St. Joe’s Prep (Dec. 4), Father Judge (Dec. 14), Central York (Jan. 18) and more. They’ll also be expected to repeat as Public League champs.

States will present a new challenge, as Imhotep plays up in the 6A classification for the first time. To get the program’s 11th state championship, the Panthers will have to go through the other best big-school teams in the state. 

“If we’re going to be a good team, we’ve got to play hard every game,” Muhammad-Gray said. “We can’t take (any) days off, just got to be on ‘go’ every time.”