Leon Powe, 6-7 SR PF Oakland (Calif.) Oakland Tech, suffered an ACL injury this spring and he'll be unable to participate in any of the summer evaluation events. Fortunately for Powe, every coach in the country realized a long time ago that he's one of the premier prospects in the class of 2003. As a result, Powe will have his pick of schools when he makes his decision.
We spoke with Powe last weekend at the Cal team camp, where Powe was hanging out and helping to "coach" his Oakland Tech high school team. Powe was a vocal and enthusiastic supporter Friday night, but we noticed he was conspicuously absent from the 9:00 a.m. game Saturday morning (he strolled in later for the afternoon game). Apparently, Leon isn't quite ready to devote himself fulltime to the coaching gig.
Powe told us he's still wide open, listing Cal, North Carolina, Kansas, Florida, Texas and Maryland as schools that he's considering. He's been to the Cal campus many times for Bear games, but hasn't yet visited any other schools. He said he'll set up some trips at the end of summer and plans on making a decision in September or October.
Powe listed the coaching staff as his primary factor when choosing a school. "The coaching staff, how I get along with them, will be important," Powe said. "I want a staff that has integrity. And the academics will be important too."
We asked about his recovery from the ACL injury and Powe said, "I'm ahead of schedule -- they say I should be able to do full workouts in September."
Powe told us that he had a 3.1 GPA in his last semester. He recently took the SAT, but hasn't received his score yet.