Part two of a five-part series by Steve Kelley, former Seattle Times sports columnist
William Powell said he’s never told this story before, not to his parents, not even to his Seattle University basketball coach Cameron Dollar. It’s not that he’s embarrassed about it. It’s just something he never felt a need to volunteer.
But recently the Huntsville, Ala., native was asked if, when he first came to school, he had difficulty making the transition from the Deep South to the Pacific Northwest.
He nodded his head and told the story.
After he arrived in Seattle, after he had one final farewell dinner with his parents, when finally he was alone in his dorm room, it hit him like a gust of wind. He was about to turn the page to the next chapter in his life and suddenly, he was alone in the big city.
And for that first week in Seattle, as a reminder that he could go home again, Powell kept his bags packed.
“It was definitely culture shock,” Powell, the Redhawks’ 6-foot-6 senior swingman said, sitting in the basketball team’s meeting room inside the Connolly Complex. “I was seeing things I’d never seen before. That first week I had my bags packed. I didn’t think I could do it.”
Powell, a thoughtful, soft-spoken young man, can laugh as he tells the story. His time on campus and in the gym has been transformative. So much has changed for the good since that first week in Seattle in 2013.
Now, the city and the university feel like home. Now he’s on track to graduate with a degree in business administration. And this season he will be the Redhawks’ captain, a role he comes by naturally.
“We’ve been fortunate to have him for all these years,” Dollar said, speaking with an almost father-like pride. “It’s not a coincidence that we’re always a tough out with him on the floor. He’s just always a guy who’s going to be a key contributor when he’s in your rotation.”
In the patient growth of a basketball program, every coach needs a player like William Powell, a guy who will do anything that is asked of him; a leader who isn’t afraid to take charges, isn’t afraid to box out players taller than he, isn’t uncomfortable with a leadership role. Powell is tough as gristle and he has been willing to accept Dollar’s development plan, never questioning his role, improving every aspect of his game, every season.
“He’s led us in (taking) charges the last two years,” Dollar said. “And he will again this year. He’s our leading rebounder, a crunch time scorer, a facilitator (second last season in assists). He defends multiple positions. He’s just a consummate glue guy who gets things done.”
Powell even reminds his coach of a former point guard from a national championship UCLA team.
“He reminds me of me, yeah,” Dollar said. “It doesn’t matter where you put him on the roster, when you’re making projections about your roster. You might look at his size and where he’s going to fit and all that stuff, but he is just a pure basketball player, who is multi-skilled and has an effect on the game in a variety of ways.
“You look at Will and you just say, ‘He’s playing,’ because he’s going to will himself to play because he’s going to do whatever it takes to help his team. I’ve always liked guys on my team that I just call basketball players. That’s Will.”
Looking for comparisons? Dollar mentioned Bobby Jones and Jamaal Williams, two players he coached as an assistant at the University of Washington. He also mentioned a former Redhawk, Aaron Broussard.
“You try to find guys who don’t really have a set position,” Dollar said. “They just go make plays. You look at Will and say, ‘He’s not a three. He’s not a four. He’s just a hard-working basketball player.’”
Powell said he learned about hard work by watching his parents. He saw his mother Rose, a member of the 1984 silver-medalist U.S. Olympic volleyball team, coach Alabama A&M’s volleyball team during the day, then coach a club team at night. He watched his father Harry, run a gym during the day and teach martial arts after a quick dinner.
“They helped instill in me what it takes to be a winner,” Powell said. “They’ve always been winners.”
Watch a Seattle U time out. While the coaches meet near the free-throw line to discuss what’s next, Powell sits in Dollar’s chair and talks to his teammates about things he sees on the floor. If there could be a player/coach position in college basketball it would belong to Powell.
“I do it every game,” Powell said. “I will see something during the game and remind myself that I’ll talk about that at the next media time out. Sometimes guys see the game at all different speeds. Sometimes I think I can see it a little quicker.”
One of the many pleasures of following a mid-level, Division I basketball program is watching the way a player evolves over his career. Following Powell’s ascendancy has been one of those pleasure. And you get the feeling Dollar is going to have difficulty saying goodbye to him late next winter on Senior Night.
“He’s our heart,” the Redhawks’ coach said. “Our toughness. Talk about a guy who brings it every night. That’s him. He’s a relatively quiet guy until you get to know him. But he’s business-like. He takes care of business.
“He’s been on the cusp, I would say, of being all (WAC) conference in my opinion. He’s improved his ball-handling and shooting every year he’s been here. I expect him to finish this year out as an all-conference performer. He’ll have that ‘C’ on his chest this year, but he’s been a leader since he walked in that door.”
Powell is an interviewer’s dream. He doesn’t sling clichés. He thinks about the questions he’s asked. He often repeats the questions and gives thoughtful answers.
Now, more than three years after he wondered whether he could make it here, so far from home, Powell said he’s right where he belongs, whether it’s in the classroom, on the wing defending quick guards, in the paint wrestling for rebounds with power forwards, or whether he’s sitting in the coach’s chair at a time out.
“The coaches are always trying to get players in the program who fit the system,” Powell said, “guys who buy into what you’re trying to do. I think my versatility has been a big help to my teammates.
“For me this has been a great journey. I gradually got comfortable with my teammates, guys like Clarence Trent, D’Vonne Pickett, Isiah Umipig and Emmanuel Chibuogwu, We became a family. And after you get comfortable, it gets easy. At Seattle U I found out I could take care of myself.
“I always knew I would have to leave home and I always felt like I would be a successful person here, my work ethic and how I carry myself. I’ve always thought highly of myself and I’ve always felt supported here. Now I feel like whatever I do, wherever I go, I will be successful.”
If you’re looking for a player who symbolizes what Redhawks’ basketball is striving to become, watch William Powell this season. He is Seattle U.
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The 2016-17 men's basketball schedule has been released! Included in the 16-game home slate are 10 contests at KeyArena and six in Seattle U's newly renovated Connolly Complex. Secure your tickets today by contacting the SU Athletics Ticket Office at 206-398-4678, or email Zach Habner, Coordinator of Tickets and Fan Experience, at habnerz@seattleu.edu.