Things moved quickly between North Carolina and Jonathan Powell. The Tar Heels first made contact with the rising sophomore almost a week ago once he entered the transfer portal after one season with West Virginia. The 6-foot-6 guard participated in a Zoom call with the UNC staff Tuesday morning at 11:00 A.M. Almost 12 hours later he announced his commitment to North Carolina.
He chose the Tar Heels over the likes of Ohio State, Cincinnati, Louisville, Kansas State, Ole Miss, Georgia Tech, Xavier, Oklahoma State, Pitt, Creighton, Clemson, Virginia Tech, Oregon, Georgetown, and yes, North Carolina.
Powell initially committed to Xavier in May 2023 from a list that included Clemson, Indiana, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Virginia Tech. He decommitted then chose West Virginia after reopening his recruitment.
Powell was the No. 147 ranked prospect in the Class of 2024 by Rivals, and the 36th highest rated shooting guard.
He started in 23 out of 32 games as a freshman this past season. He averaged 8.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 0.7 assists. Powell shot 37.8% overall, and 35.2% from three-point range. He was only a 48% free throw shooter. He also had an 8.3 point average in Big 12 play.
When it came to shooting, Powell was more strictly in the three-point role. 182 of 251 shot attempts were of the three-point variety. He made 64 trifectas in all.
Powell got off to a strong start right off the bat. He scored in double digits in all games in the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. He averaged 12 points per game for the event. He scored in double figures in 15 of his 32 games. His high was 17 points which came twice against North Carolina Central and Oklahoma State.
The freshman ended up being a valuable contributor to the Mountaineers. He played at least 28 minutes in every game starting December 10. Powell got at least 35 minutes of playing time in 11 games.
Powell finished the season in the 99th percentile in turnovers. One of his stronger attributes was when the other team had the ball. He finished in the 92nd percentile in defensive impact. He was also in the 79th percentile in playmaking.
He finished under the 50th percentile in ten major categories including assists, rebounding, scoring volume, and offensive impact.
