Seton Hall guard Myles Powell (Image credit: Seton Hall Athletics)
If Myles Powell isn’t at the top of your list for Big East Player of the Year then something is wrong with you. Powell is having his best season to date. Averaging 21.9 points per game, he has not only become the team’s best scorer but he’s also become the team’s unquestioned leader. You’ll see him in constant communication with his teammates, directing them where to go, calling plays, encouraging them and getting on them when they make a mistake.
Powell has made gradual improvements in his field goal and free throw percentage. In his freshman season he shot 39 percent from the field, and that was coming off the bench. Now in his third year (second year as a starter) he has improved to 44 percent. In his Freshman season he barely got to the line, but he was able to shoot 81 percent despite that. Now as a Junior he goes to the line about six times a game and shoots at 86 percent.
In the Big East, Powell is right behind Marquette’s Markus Howard for top scorer in the conference.
Although he’s the second leading scorer in the Big East, Powell carries more of a scoring responsibility than Howard. Meaning that most times if Powell has a poor to average game Seton Hall loses, whereas with Howard he can have nights where he doesn’t score as much and Marquette still wins. When he scores 25 or more points Seton Hall is 9-1. That says a lot for a team that’s reliant on his scoring.
Head coach Kevin Willard knows how important it is to keep Powell on the floor. He averages about 35.5 minutes a game, which is the fourth highest in the Big East, the highest on his team, and the two more minutes than Howard (33.8).
Myles Powell may miss out on the NCAA Tournament but he definitely has something to play for. With just three games left to go in the season Powell can be a front runner for this award. How you ask? Well if he can average nearly 30 points a game, get close to 10 rebounds a game, out duel Markus Howard at home against Marquette, and win the last three games — then he has a good shot. He’s very capable and we should expect to him to go all out these last three games.
