The signature on Shane Nowell’s letter-of-intent last November was technically binding, but in reality was anything but.
Considering the revolving doors spinning all over college basketball today, and the inevitable roster transition that follows a coaching change, Nowell would have surprised nobody by heading elsewhere. Arizona’s two other fall signees, K.J. Simpson and Shane Dezonie, took off after UA replaced Sean Miller with Tommy Lloyd last month, and Nowell could have, too.
The four-star Seattle-area wing had chosen UA over Washington, WSU, Montana, Montana State and Oklahoma last October, and he could have fielded a similar level of interest if he decommitted this spring.
“It’s always a decision to make,” Lloyd said of Nowell and other signees facing a coaching change before they arrive in college.
In an interview with the Star on Saturday, Nowell said he took two weeks after Miller was fired on April 7 to consider whether he wanted to re-open his recruitment, and then took more time afterward to get to know Lloyd and the uptempo scheme he would be playing in.
They did it in true COVID-style, too, meeting over Zoom and talking during several other calls.
“It definitely took some time because I wasn’t too sure,” Nowell said. “It was pretty much a matter of what’s the best situation for me, as well as my family, because I didn’t want to go too far away from home.
“But then also once I got to know Coach Lloyd, got to see his coaching style, to see how he plans to really incorporate me, I really liked what he had to say. So it just felt like it was the best scenario.”
As the weeks passed, it wasn’t entirely clear publicly what Nowell was thinking. Nowell isn’t the sort of guy to post constant top-10 lists of finalists and other updates. He’s not on Twitter, and has all of four posts to his current Instagram account.
Even his coach at Eastside Catholic in Sammamish, Washington, Brent Merritt, said via email to the Star on May 11 that Nowell still hasn’t told him anything about his decision yet.
“I am waiting like you,” Merritt said then.
But as it turned out, the quiet process Nowell went through is one reason he and Lloyd bonded. Lloyd calls himself a “relationship guy,” and it’s clear already he prefers to communicate directly rather than over social media.
“I had some good conversations with Shane,” Lloyd said. “He’s a great kid. He’s low-key and I can appreciate that.”
It also helped Arizona that assistant coach Jason Terry remained on the staff. Terry developed a relationship with Nowell before his signing last fall, thanks in part to Terry’s deep Seattle roots, and was there during that awkward week between Miller’s firing and Lloyd’s hiring.
“JT was a huge factor in me really staying because he was really the primary person who recruited me in that situation with the firing and all that,” Nowell said. “When I first met him and when he first he started recruiting me, I got to build a really good relationship with him. He’s a really nice dude.”
Nowell said he received family support to stick with Arizona, too. That includes brother Jaylen Nowell, the Timberwolves guard who became the Pac-12 Player of the Year in 2018-19 as a sophomore at Washington.
“He was pretty much excited wherever I wanted to go,” Shane Nowell said. “He was 100% behind it.”
Ultimately, Nowell’s decision — of course — was also largely about basketball. Having bonded with Miller and envisioning himself in his system, Nowell had to do the same with Lloyd.
Gonzaga didn’t recruit Nowell, but he had watched the Zags play — especially the two times they beat Jaylen and the Huskies in 2017-18 and 2018-19. Nowell said he had an idea what Lloyd might want to do at Arizona.
Then Lloyd told Nowell directly.
“Coach Lloyd said that they’re going to be playing pretty fast, a real up-and-down type of team, pick-and-roll, and that’s really my game,” Nowell said. “I mean, I’m a really good playmaker, as well as I can really facilitate and I’m a good shooter. Pretty much just whatever Coach Lloyd needs me to do, I can do that.”
The assists leader at Eastside Catholic in a shortened high school season this spring, Nowell said he expected he would start on the wing with Arizona. He can slide over to point guard if needed, maybe more so as his career goes on.
With Nowell next season, the Wildcats will have a deep group of combo guards and wings, many of whom — like Kerr Kriisa, Pelle Larsson, Justin Kier, Dalen Terry and Adama Bal — also have ballhandling experience.
Nowell also brings a certain adaptability, thanks to Washington’s strict COVID-19 restrictions. Nowell couldn’t play in organized games for a year, and then had to wear a mask when the high school season finally began last month.
“It’s definitely been a challenge on and off the court, especially here in Washington,” Nowell said. “Because the numbers are so high up earlier, they made it mandatory for us to wear (masks) during the game. That was kind of a weird setup, but I’ve adjusted to it.”
Now, Nowell will go straight from his high school season to Arizona’s offseason workouts. Scheduled to arrive in two weeks and enroll in a UA summer session, Nowell said he may not even finish out the Crusaders’ schedule, which won’t feature statewide tournament games anyway.
“I want to get acclimated,” Nowell said.
Then, COVID-willing, comes the big adjustment next fall: Playing in front of five-figure crowds at McKale Center.
Thanks to his brother, Nowell already has the scouting report on how that might go.
“He said when you play there it’s gonna be loud, the crowd’s really energetic, and to just go have of fun,” Shane said. “So I’m just really looking forward to it.”
