True freshman guard Jonathan Powell has continued to mold his game.
The Ohio native is coming off a very productive all-around game against Utah where he played 37 minutes and turned that into 11 points on 4-7 shooting, with 7 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal without turning the ball over.
It was the first time that Powell had hit double figures since Jan. 21.
Powell has been asked to play major minutes as a true freshman given the state of the roster and that’s also afforded him a chance to play through some of his mistakes.
“He gets a little more leeway to make some mistakes and play through it and a lot of times as a freshman you don’t always get that opportunity anywhere,” head coach Darian DeVries said. “But he’s done a great job of continuing to grow with it and expand his game and doing some good things.”
And confidence is key for Powell.
Powell has embraced his role as a shooter on the West Virginia roster but it’s the contributions in other areas where he has made some of the biggest jumps.
“I don’t worry about hunting my shot. I know my teammates are going to look for me and find me at times. It’s really just playing the game the right way and when shots come just knock them down,” Powell said.
That was especially true when Powell was able to record a steal and then dunk the ball on the other end. Those are the types of plays that have helped Powell see even more time on the floor. He also displayed some maturity when he was able to hit a pull-up shot as the shot clock was expiring.
“It’s not always just the threes you make. He has seven rebounds tonight, defensive rebounds, so a good game all around by him,” DeVries said.
----------
• Talk about it with West Virginia fans on The Blue Lot.
• SUBSCRIBE today to stay up on the latest on Mountaineer sports and recruiting.
• Get all of our WVU videos on YouTube by subscribing to the WVSports.com Channel
• Follow us on Twitter: @WVSportsDotCom, @rivalskeenan, @wesleyshoe
