Ex-UConn guard Ahmad Nowell transferring to VCU

Former UConn men’s basketball guard Ahmad Nowell will transfer to VCU, he announced on Instagram Monday.

The 6-foot, 195-pound freshman from Philadelphia averaged 6.5 minutes in 18 games for the Huskies last season, posting 1.5 points and 1.1 assists per. Nowell was a highly-rated recruit coming out of high school, ranking as the 8th-best guard in the country and No. 36 overall in ESPN’s Top 100.

He chose UConn over Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia.

Nowell likely envisioned getting more playing time as a freshman in Storrs, but that never materialized, as head coach Dan Hurley opted for more experience in the backcourt. Nowell struggled with his shot, knocking down just 18.8% from 3-point range and 35.7% overall, and struggled with turnovers at times as well, averaging 3.1 per 40 minutes.

“Starting fresh and vision clear greatness closer than it appears,” Nowell wrote in his post on Instagram.

He received messages of support from his now former teammates, with Jaylin Stewart commenting, “Be great brother!!”, Liam McNeeley writing “Let’s go baby,” and Solo Ball writing, “Let’s go Moddyyy prouda u bro.”

Nowell will play for head coach Phil Martelli Jr., who took over at VCU after two seasons at Bryant, where he led the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament this year.