Former Tar Heel Drake Powell is officially signed with the Brooklyn Nets after getting drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft. He was able to wow scouts quite a bit prior to the draft, which eventually led to him climbing higher and higher in the rankings. There was no doubt that he had a lot of potential whenever we watched him during his time at UNC, but were there things that we just didn’t see? We’ve heard Ian Jackson say that there was, and now Powell himself in his own way is saying the same thing.
During a recent press conference, Powell was asked about his time at UNC, in particular his usage declining compared to his high school days. Here is what he had to say:
> “I’d say it really just switched my mentality a little bit,” Powell said. “My usage rate, it dropped a lot once I got to North Carolina, but I was still playing heavy minutes and being able to help the team be successful. I really could have just sulked and complained to the coaches, but what does that get done? That was really the way I thought. And so I just accepted the role that I was given with open arms, and I just wanted to be able to play to the best of my ability to help the team be successful.”
Much like what Jackson said about his time at UNC, Powell’s comments made me think about how his usage actually declined between high school and college. I think that when things like this are said it’s easy to pin it as sour grapes, but honestly I kind of get where he’s coming from. He started 24 of the 37 games that he played for UNC and averaged 25.6 minutes per game, so looking at the minutes alone things start to make a little sense. Then you look at 211 field goal attempts and it’s quite understandable what is actually being said. Undoubtedly he had more playing time and did more on the floor than he did at UNC, and that change may or may not have been justifiable when looking at how Hubert Davis managed that situation.
But I am not here to litigate whether or not Davis used Powell less than he should or if he used him enough, but what I will say is that Powell’s attitude about how things played out will likely help him in the NBA. I would be surprised if the Nets roll him out as a starter, and so he will have to work really hard to earn playing time. The Nets drafted him based on his upside, and upside picks take time to get to the level teams need them to be at. The timing of these comments is interesting too, because I just saw a clip of Carmelo Anthony discussing his time with the Houston Rockets, and how they for whatever reason did not want him taking mid-range jumpers, which was one of his bags. It’s a good example of how once you get out of high school, things are different in terms of what coaches want from you.
I know that we will see a non-zero amount of Powell this season, but whether he would’ve preferred for it to go this way or not, UNC in a way did him a favor in preparing him for what is coming next. But what do all of you think? Do you think Powell had a strong case to complain about his usage rate? Do you think Hubert Davis utilized him as well as he could? Let us know in the comments below.