Myles Powell 2019

Sometimes stats tell only a partial story regardless of how impressive they are. And in the case of Seton Hall's co-captain and star guard Myles Powell that is the case.

Powell put Seton Hall on his back all season long playing under the pressure of knowing that anything short of his A game jeopardized the Hall's chance of victory in most every contest. A tremendous burden for a 6-2 player who cannot dominate on pure size or physical ability. Yet with that burden to bear the first team All Big East player and possible Haggerty Award winner came through for the Pirates with flying colors leading the squad to a surprising 3rd place finish in the Big East, a 2 point loss in the conference finals at MSG and an invite to the Big Dance, all in a season where expectations were minimal at best.

Coming to SHU everyone knew that Powell was considered one of the best shooters in high school. But despite that he was not recruited at the highest level and had offers from the likes of DePaul, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh, UConn, VCU and of course Seton Hall. A nice listing of schools but certainly not commensurate with his talent.

Of course we all know the reason for that and it was that Powell tipped the scales at about 50 pounds overweight and at 6-2 the elite are not coming to knock on your door. It was for that reason combined with the hard work of then assistant coach Shaheen Holloway that the Pirates were able to get the commitment that brought the sharpshooting guard to South Orange. But it was after that commitment, nearly a full basketball season later that the metamorphose that was to become Myles Powell occurred. Cheese, as he is so affectionately called was challenged by the Seton Hall staff to lose weight and he did, with a vengeance. And in a period of 3-4 months the 250 pound butterball body tipped the scales at a svelte 195 shedding an incredible amount of body fat in the process.

It was that desire, dedication and hard work that Pirate fans have come to expect from Powell and the reason he has just completed one of the most impressive single seasons in recent SHU basketball history. Maybe even in all of the school's gloried past.

Powell's game is now far more than just being a jumper shooter. He attacks the basket with a relentlessness, is far quicker and more athletic with the weight loss allowing him to play at full speed for nearly entire games, and although not an elite defender he has improved that facet of his game as well. All the while carrying the hopes and dreams of the entire roster on his shoulders.

In short the stats tell you Powell could be rated as an A- maybe even an A player. But as noted above stats do not always tell the story. Just sit back for a minute and think this horrible thought. What would this season have looked like if God forbid Myles Powell went down with a season ending injury early in the year? How many games would the team have won?

If your answer would be low to mid single digit numbers you could very well be correct. Yet for the 4th season in a row the Pirates reached at least the 20 win mark earning the school an NCAA invite in all of those years. In the past Myles was part of that reason. This year he WAS the reason with his insatiable desire to succeed and because of that my rating for the rising senior is the only grade possible, an A+.