Georgia Southern's Powers gets another shot at UF

It was a shot no different than the thousands Willie Powers poured in during his years as an all-state performer at P.K. Yonge and all-conference star at Georgia Southern University.

It was the same silky-smooth jumpshot that tortured local coaches and embarrassed would-be defenders since he was a middle school athlete playing against varsity competition.

Except this time, Powers felt a pop in his knee. Something he wasn’t used to.

“I went up (for the shot) and felt my knee slip a little bit,” said Powers, who missed the final 19 games of the Eagles’ 2008-09 season after tearing his left ACL on Jan. 8 against Stetson. “I tried to play for a minute after that, but I knew something was wrong. I called to come out and told the trainer that I was pretty sure I had torn it.”

What followed was six months of rehab that he calls “the worst thing I’ve ever went through in my life.”

It was five days a week that tore the combo guard down and built him up a bigger, stronger player, though he admits he’s still playing at about 90 percent.

Up to 200 pounds after trimming fat and building muscle, Powers is hoping that the third time is the charm against the Gators. After missing a 3-point opportunity that would have sent the game into overtime in Jacksonville during his freshman year, and dropping an 88-81 decision last year, the Eagles will enter the O’Connell Center tonight looking to make a name for a young program and their star guard; even if the name is well-known in this area.

“Willie Powers is the overall best player in the program,” Eagles’ first-year coach Charlton Young said. “He has tremendous size for his position and a very, very high basketball high I.Q, definitely the highest in the program. ...

“He’s the key right now to Georgia Southern basketball.”

Powers returned to the Eagles’ lineup last week for a 108-59 season-opening win over Reinhardt and connected on seven-of-eight shot attempts for 15 points while adding six assists and two steals. In a 90-66 loss Monday at South Carolina, Powers arguably outplayed star guard Devan Downey, holding him to 4-of-10 shooting and forcing seven turnovers while scoring 14 points and dishing four assists.

These are performances Southern Conference coaches have come to expect from the junior combo guard who built his game on the streets of Gainesville. So much that he was voted preseason first-team all-conference despite missing most of last year.

“That shows that coaches respect me,” Powers said, “but at the same time, they picked us last in the conference and that’s a lack of respect. We feel like we can play with anyone in the nation.”

It’s that sort of selfless thinking that has made Young’s transition from assistant at Georgia Tech to head coach at his alma mater that much easier.

“I want to thank Willie, his mom, his dad and his family publicly just for believing in me and not transferring and going to another program because of a coaching change,” Young said, “because if that kid wasn’t here right now, my life would be in shambles.”