During his Seton Hall career, Myles Powell often has celebrated after making a big shot, grabbing the front of his jersey to show off the name of his school.<\/p>\n
But in Powell\u2019s case, maybe it means a bit more. You see, it wasn\u2019t always a smooth ride from high school sophomore to first-team All-American (the program\u2019s first since 1953) and BIG EAST Player of the Year. But through it all, the senior shooting guard and Seton Hall stayed together, which is why he says, \u201cI\u2019ll always put the Seton Hall family first and I want the Seton Hall family to remember that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Powell\u2019s path to South Orange began in his hometown of Trenton, when he was contacted by then-Seton Hall assistant coach Shaheen Holloway. Powell also was contacted by Rutgers, Drexel and nearby Rider, but, he said, \u201cWhatever [Seton Hall] saw in me, they saw it first. \u2026 Real recognizes real. When I felt that love coming\u00a0from them, I knew it was real.\u201d<\/p>\n
But reality soon struck. In Powell\u2019s sophomore season at Trenton Catholic, he fractured his foot. And when he broke it again during a post-grad year at South Kent School in Connecticut, \u201cThat\u2019s when I got fat. And schools were saying, \u2018Why is he getting so fat?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
But Seton Hall never wavered, even when Powell arrived on campus in the summer of 2016 carrying 240 pounds and the nickname \u201cCheese,\u201d because he liked to put the dairy product on everything.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey knew what was going on,\u201d Powell said of head coach Kevin Willard and his staff. \u201cThey took the time to get to know me as a person.\u201d That motivated him to drop 45 pounds and \u201cshow them that whatever they saw in me, they saw the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Powell averaged 10.7 points as a freshman and 15.5 as a sophomore on teams filled with upperclassmen. He had to defer not only on the court, but off it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had so much love for them and just wanted to send them out the right way so bad,\u201d he said of the upperclassmen. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to step on anybody\u2019s toes.\u201d<\/p>\n
But once those seniors graduated, it was obvious who had to become the leader. And not merely on the stat sheet, although he averaged 23.1 points in 2018-19.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year I wanted to lead by example,\u201d Powell said. But that has changed in his senior year as team captain.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just had to find it in myself to get more comfortable in myself as a leader and come out and say certain things,\u201d he says. \u201cIf I see guys going through things, I\u2019ll pull them aside and talk to them even if it\u2019s not about basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll go up to them [and] make sure everybody\u2019s good,\u201d he added. \u201cI find myself going through the [residence] building, knocking on everybody\u2019s door, seeing if everybody\u2019s cool. \u2026 I just do my best to try to make everybody happy, even though it\u2019s kind of impossible.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like God has a way of sending blessings and opportunities to those who live the right way.\u201d
\n\u201cMyles is a once-in-a-lifetime person,\u201d said sophomore teammate Jared Rhoden. \u201cHe\u2019s like no one I\u2019ve ever seen before. His charisma is amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Powell credits his mother, Jeannette Moore, as his inspiration. \u201cAll my life I\u2019ve seen my mom fight, fight, fight [and] never complain. I just want to make her happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Making people happy is something Powell talks about often. More important, he lives it. At a preseason autograph session on the University Green, Powell made sure he and his teammates stayed until every fan in line had the opportunity to meet them. And after games at the Prudential Center, Powell regularly can be seen signing autographs for young fans.<\/p>\n
Powell always tells people, \u201cYou don\u2019t have to thank me. The smile that your son or your daughter just gave me, it lit my heart up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo matter how many accolades I get, at the end of the day none of that stuff matters,\u201d says Powell, who is working toward a degree in social and behavioral sciences. \u201cI just hope that I can be the role model they can look up to.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for Trenton, he says, \u201cI can\u2019t wait to make a lot of money and hopefully one day go back and build a boys and girls center. I want to give back something to my city.\u201d<\/p>\n
Much the same way he has given so much to Seton Hall University.<\/p>\n
During his Seton Hall career, Myles Powell often has celebrated after making a big shot, grabbing the front of his jersey to show off the name of his school.<\/p>\n