Welcome to A10 Talk’s Preseason Top 25 Player Countdown for the 2018-19 season. Each day, we’ll be publishing a new article counting down our best 25 players for the coming season, as voted on by our staff of writers. Today, we feature #11 Pookie Powell of La Salle.
What He’s Done
Since transferring from Memphis after his freshman year, Powell has been one of the most dynamic scorers in the A-10 conference, yet has never been the sole go-to guy on his team. His sophomore year, he was La Salle’s third leading scorer with 13.7 points per game, behind Jordan Price and B.J. Johnson. His junior year, he was the second leading scorer behind Johnson. In the 2017-18 season, he averaged 16.9 points per game, while averaging 36.8 minutes per game, fourth most in the A-10. Powell also took a big step as a distributor last season, averaging 4.3 assists a game. Powell’s points and assist averages were both good enough to be in the top 10 in the A-10, which shows the strides his game took last season, even during a disappointing year for La Salle. Powell has established himself as an explosive score who is capable of dropping 30 on any given night and is a strong rebounder from the guard position as well.
What He’ll Do
Powell was one of the best guards in the A-10 last season despite La Salle having a disappointing season that led to Dr. John Gianninni’s firing. This year, Powell is the unquestioned leader for the Explorers and will have the ball in his hands for most of the game. In years past, Powell has had to play with other elite scorers such as Johnson and Price, but this year, he is the man for La Salle. Powell is going to put up some outlandish scoring numbers, as he will have the green light this year, and few players are scarier than him when he’s on. Expect Powell to challenge for the A-10 scoring crown, while also finishing in the top ten for assists.
Previously: #12 Mike Lewis II
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