UNC freshman forward Drake Powell caught fire at the Maui Invitational last week.
Powell, the former Northwood basketball star, scored a career-high and team-high 18 points in UNC’s overtime loss to Michigan State on Nov. 27. He shot 4-for-6 from the three-point line (78% from the floor) and made big shots all night, including a go-ahead layup in the second half that gave the Tar Heels their first lead since the first minute of the game.
“I’m very happy with the way Ian (Jackson) and Drake played,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said in the press conference following the Michigan State game. “I thought they stepped up for us on both ends of the floor, and I was happy with their effort tonight.”
Powell played his most efficient basketball of the year in the tournament, shooting 78% from the floor and 67% from three across the three games. In the Tar Heels’ huge comeback win over Dayton, Powell knocked down a couple of huge corner threes in the second half, including a go-ahead triple that put UNC up 88-87 with just over a minute left to play. He also grabbed four rebounds and two steals in the win.
“Drake’s gifted athletically and he’s elite defensively on and off the ball,” Davis said after the win over Dayton. “I thought his length, athleticism and pressure on the ball when we were switching caused them problems. And then also, his ability to rebound the basketball. I thought he stepped up when he got into the game.”
Said Davis, “To be able to have that confidence, to be able to knock down that three in the corner to put us up by one was huge.”
Powell has been having a solid freshman campaign so far, averaging 6.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. Earlier this season, he struggled to get going offensively, but he made his presence felt on the defensive end and on the boards. Powell’s athleticism has shined in his ability to stay in front of ball handlers and track and block shot attempts.
But as well as he’s played, Powell isn’t the only former Chatham County basketball standout making waves in their freshman year.
Former Northwood girls’ basketball guard Skylar Adams has made an immediate impact in her freshman season at Shaw. Adams is averaging 8.2 points per game (third-most on the team), 3.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists (second-most on the team) as of Sunday. She has also been the Bears’ most efficient three-point shooter, shooing a team-high 39% from beyond the arc.
After the first three games of the season, Adams moved into the starting lineup. Since becoming a starter, she’s recorded nine points, 2.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game while playing 30 minutes each night. In her first start against Barton on Nov. 21, Adams scored a career-high 11 points on a 40% shooting clip. She hit a team-high three triples and dished out two assists in the loss.
Adams was named the CIAA Rookie of the Week for week two.
Former Chatham Charter girls’ basketball forward Meah Brooks has also worked her way into the starting lineup at Greensboro College after a stellar start to her freshman year. In her first game with over 10 minutes of gameplay, Brooks made 12 field goals and scored a career and team-high 27 points to lead Greensboro to a win over Mid-Atlantic Christian on Nov. 17. She also notched a double-double in that game with a team-high 14 rebounds (also a career-high). That game helped her earn USA South Conference Rookie of the Week honors on Nov. 18.
Brooks made her first start against Pfeiffer on Nov. 23, and she recorded team-highs of 19 points and eight rebounds in the loss. Brooks leads the team in field goal percentage () as of Sunday.
Hannah Ajayi, the former Seaforth girls’ basketball guard now at Guilford, had her best game in a big win over Brooks and Greensboro College on Nov. 20. Ajayi put up a career-high six points while shooting 50% from the floor (2-2 from three) in a career-high 15 minutes.