The Hawaii basketball team’s newest addition is a typical player who was named to the junior college All-America second team, scored 103 points in a high school game, and whose replica jersey was worn by his good friend, rapper Drake, during a concert in Florida.

Ahmed Ali, a 5-foot-11 guard, has accepted a basketball scholarship from the Rainbow Warriors. After playing two years at a junior college and the past season at Washington State, Ali will have two years to play one season for the ’Bows. He arrives in Honolulu on Aug. 23 in advance to the Aug. 26 start of UH’s fall semester.

“I feel like a brand-new baby picking this school,” Ali told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in a Facetime interview. “I’m just excited for this opportunity.”

He said he has applied for a waiver that will allow him to play this season without redshirting, the usual requirement for a player transferring between Division I schools.

Ali decided to enter the NCAA’s transfer portal after Washington State changed head coaches following the Cougars’ first-round ouster from the 2019 Pac-12 tournament. At WSU, Ali played in all 32 games, starting 24, while compiling an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.9 to 1, among the conference’s best.

Ali had joined WSU after a standout career at Eastern Florida State College, where he averaged 16.9 points while hitting 42.6 percent of his 3-point shots in two seasons. He set the school record with 230 successful 3-point shots. As a sophomore in 2017-18, Ali was named to the National Junior College Athletic Association’s Division I All-America second team after averaging 17.9 points and 4.7 assists while connecting on 40.1 percent of his 3s.

“Ahmed is one of my all-time favorites,” EFSC coach Jeremy Shulman said. “He’s an unbelievable high-character kid. And on the floor, he’s one of the best I’ve ever coached.”

Shulman said Ali “has a lot of similarities — I’m not saying as good — as Trae Young (of the Atlanta Hawks). He has a very similar game. He’s a phenomenal passer. He has range of up to 30 feet. People have doubted him because he’s a little undersized compared to competition year in and year out. He’s just a special player.”

Ali was born and reared in Toronto. His 103 points marked the second time a Canadian hit the century mark in a high school game. Soon after, Drake reached out to Ali’s brother, a musician. After Ali committed to EFSC, Drake requested a custom-made jersey with No. 103 — signifying Ali’s historic scoring spree. Ali attended a concert in Tampa, where Drake performed in that jersey. “He’s a nice guy,” Ali said.

Ali said he chose the ’Bows after “the way they showed me love. I felt wanted. And just the place in general … I feel that will be home for the next year or two.”

Ali will be reunited with 6-5 guard Junior Madut, a former Eastern Florida State teammate. Madut signed with the ’Bows in April. Justin Webster, a 6-3 guard from Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia, and Bernardo da Silva of Wasatch Academy in Utah accepted scholarship offers from UH in June. Jessiya Villa, a Kahuku graduate who spent the past two years on a church mission, will be part of this year’s team. Kameron Ng, the Star-Advertiser’s 2018-19 player of the year, has joined the ’Bows as a walk-on.