Drake Powell signed his National Letter of Intent Thursday morning with the North Carolina Tar Heels. The ceremony occurred at Northwood High School in Pittsboro.
He became the second Class of 2024 player to officially join the Tar Heels. James Brown put his name on the dotted line Wednesday, which was the opening day of the Early Signing Period. Ian Jackson will be the third and final senior class commit to ink with UNC this Saturday morning at 10:30 A.M.
Powell is currently ranked No. 8 nationally by Rivals, followed by Jackson one spot behind. Brown comes in at No. 63. The trio puts North Carolina in third place overall according to Rivals team rankings. North Carolina will not add any other newcomers during the Early Signing Period.
Powell committed to UNC before ever playing the first game of his junior season. He was offered by Hubert Davis in July of 2022. He took an official visit in late August of that year, and committed to the Tar Heels roughly two weeks later. His pledge was accurately considered a very strong one from the onset.
The 6-foot-6 wing took another official to Chapel Hill in mid-October. He has also taken many other unofficial trips to campus including numerous ones to the Dean Smith Center for UNC basketball games.
Powell admittedly grew up a Tar Heel fan. Both of his parents are alums of the university, and Pittsboro is less than a half hour drive to the UNC campus.
Powell had 13 offers when Hubert Davis went all in. In fact, the North Carolina coach broke the ice with the offer by saying, "You've got number 14 now."
Despite the attention from college coaches, Powell was not a household name nationally. That has changed more and more in the last 16 months. Powell has gone to top-100 player, to top-50, to a top-10 talent with five-star status.
The newest Tar Heel comes in at No. 8, but the humble young man from a grounded family shows little signs of being star struck or impressed.
"I try not to pay too much attention to the rankings, " Powell recently told Tar Heel Illustrated. "I just try to keep my head down, and keep improving my game. The only approval that I am really looking for is the approval from my parents, and the approval of myself. So as far as expecting this to happen since coming into Northwood as a freshman I did kind of expect this to happen, because basketball is something that I want to do as an occupation."
Powell made that most recent jump into the top-10 thanks to an outstanding spring and summer with Team CP3 of the EYBL, and on the camp circuit.
He averaged 11.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists during the 17-game spring EYBL schedule. He shot 40.5% from the field, 80% from the foul line, but just 19.1% from three-point range. The long range numbers leapt to 50% during the Peach Jam. His overall shooting numbers climbed to 55.6%, as did his foul shooting at 87.5%.
That improved outside shooting over the summer was a big issue. Powell was already one of the top players in the high school ranks. The combination of an ACC ready physique, quick twitch athleticism, defensive and rebounding tenacity, and finishing ability at the rim made him a five-star. However, his outside shooting in July took him to another level. He made 9 of 18 three-point attempts at Peach Jam which turned a lot of heads. With his consistent rate of improvement it isn't hard to fathom that he could rise farther up the charts before the final rankings are released next spring.
Rob Cassidy assesses, "A future North Carolina Tar Heel, Drake Powell had an impressive grassroots season but really turned it on at Peach Jam, where he looked like the complete player into which many had hoped he’d blossom. In five games at the event, Powell shot 55% from the floor and averaged 16.6 PPG, 10 RPG and 3.6 APG. He is hitting his stride as he begins his senior year and has looked every bit like a top-10 player for the better part of the last three months."
Earlier in the week, Cassidy predicted North Carolina to be one of the big winners of the Early Signing Period. One big reason was Powell who he described as, "One of the biggest stock-risers of the summer and has a refined skill set."
Powell's next move will be the beginning of his senior season of high school basketball. Northwood is scheduled to begin the 2023-24 campaign in early December. Meanwhile, he says he is working on, "Understanding certain reads as a point guard. I'm working on my post-up game, back to the basket, and just developing my off the dribble shooting."
