Things I like about Powell:
1. 4 year starter at Brooks,a brand new school that opened only 4 years ago. It is a magnet type of school with a reputation of high academics,so he should be a qualifier.
2. Powell, George Marshall,his backcourt mate who is headed to Wisconsin next year,and the Gray twins,a pair of 6'7'' forwards, are all 4 year starters at Brooks,obviously due to the school opening only 4 years ago...but they have progressed each year,and last nite clinched a trip to the State Tourny for Class 3A,where they will match up vs Chasson Randle,Stanford bound star guard for Rock Island on Friday. I will be watching.
3. When star George Marshall broke his arm in December, Powell stepped up and led the team to a great season,culminating with an upset of nationally ranked Simeon(defending state 4A champs) and the highly rated Whitney Young(10 division 1 prospects) in route to the Public League Championship. This was a huge shocker in Chicago by Brooks. They also just eliminated Morgan Park with star Wayne Blackshear(Louisville commit,top 20 nationally) in the regionals.
Powell has basically been their star without Marshall on the team. Everyone thought they were screwed when Marshall went down,but Powell carried them ..
Now, negatives:
1. Small. Would prefer a bigger guy.
2. Does he use his right hand? Not too apparent in the highlites.
Thats it. Otherwise, I think we should take a look. It also might just help open up the Chicagoland region a bit for Iowa bb again. The last two players out of Chicagoland,Pierce and Freeman,have had bad experiences at Iowa,so would be nice to have a kid come in and have a positive experience.
Worth a look,imo.