The Justin Powell Saga (Merged)

[ellitor 33,093]

JGT is hearing/thinking Louisville or Xavier as of now.

[AuburnMike86 43]

Just now, ellitor said:

JGT is hearing/thinking Louisville or Xavier as of now.

Louisville or Xavier?

That's 100% a Chris Mack connection on all fronts. I wouldn't be surprised if someone reached out to Powell's family or vice versa when he was feeling lonely and depressed. Mack still has connections there and if he can't get him to Louisville he could've worked his magic to get him a spot at Xavier or something.

I understand his family are Louisville fans, but the fact both schools were brought up makes this very fishy to me. Auburn stayed committed to this kid through thick and thin. Injuries in both high school and after a few college games. The staff and fans supported him. The staff gave him every chance to shine and develop.

I hope more to the story comes out and there was no tampering and that he was truly just home sick, but Xavier isn't home and neither is any other school reaching out. Outside of Louisville or Kentucky the being lonely and wanting to be close to home excuse doesn't fit.

If it's sanctions, possible sanctions, etc.. Louisville doesn't fit. This kind of stuff happens constantly in college sports. It's too easy to access a player or a players family. Outside of this season which is a rebuilding season, the past few seasons Auburn has been one of the most successful basketball programs in the SEC. If Cooper comes back with new additions a lot of people have us preseason top 5. You don't leave that to go play second fiddle in the ACC on a Louisville team that will finish 5th-8th or a Xavier team in a watered down Big East that will probably be 4th at best.

I guess we'll see where it leads. If not, oh well, we'll be fine. 

[cole256 17,080]

1 hour ago, tigeraddikt said:

Your points are very well taken, but I think the prevailing defense of AU in this situation is that it is well-documented that Pearl saw Powell as a diamond in the rough and got in on him early, even sticking with him through his HS adversity (injuries), etc. We just don't know enough of the facts of the transfer to be able to comment intelligently without mass speculation, so that's kinda what everybody is doing. He was the best player for AU pre-Cooper, and would have made our lineup so much better next year had he stayed. Also, all us AU hoops loyalists are sick of the testicle-jabs that come every few months.

I feel the wanting things to go right.....he never was our best player though. That's sort of my point. You guys treat Flannigan like a step child and was so in love with a guy who wasn't as good as him. That's weird.

[AuburnMike86 43]

2 minutes ago, cole256 said:

I feel the wanting things to go right.....he never was our best player though. That's sort of my point. You guys treat Flannigan like a step child and was so in love with a guy who wasn't as good as him. That's weird.

 

He was good but very up and down scoring wise.

To me his value was in his three point ability and the threat of his three ball while he was on the court. He also played very hard, rebounded well from the guard position and passed well. Very high IQ player.

He wasn't the best player but he was incredibly valuable.

 

[gravejd 3,270]

17 minutes ago, cole256 said:

I feel the wanting things to go right.....he never was our best player though. That's sort of my point. You guys treat Flannigan like a step child and was so in love with a guy who wasn't as good as him. That's weird.

Its the backup QB being the most popular guy on the team deal. People did not see Powell struggle like they saw Flan struggle at times. We kind of did at the beginning of SEC play but that was so long ago that folks don't remember it. Had Powell kept playing and struggled at times like the rest of the team he would be remembered a little differently. 

[TexasTiger 12,876]

1 hour ago, ellitor said:

N & yes. Hence my skepticism. Had there been character issues causing an agreed split they likely would not have been surprised.

Bruce has known him since he was what— 14? Seems to me any significant character issues would have been vetted before now. 
He’s a college freshman during a pandemic experiencing a helluva a scary injury. And he can apparently pursue his dreams anywhere he wants. I have no idea why he’s leaving, but I would understand if he has to a negative association with where’s he’s been the last few months even if no one did anything wrong.

[cole256 17,080]

Just now, gravejd said:

Its the backup QB being the most popular guy on the team deal. People did not see Powell struggle like they saw Flan struggle at times. We kind of did at the beginning of SEC play but that was so long ago that folks don't remember it. Had Powell kept playing and struggled at times like the rest of the team he would be remembered a little differently. 

But we really did. We just didn't acknowledge it. Or maybe Powell was good at playing mistakes off. The gonzaga game showed where everybody was at. Besides Memphis when we played the real deal athletes Flannigan was by himself with a bunch of talented but scared guys. 

I get hyping your guys up but not at the expense of the others. Especially not the guy that walk up to the bullies and swing first. That's crazy to me

[gravejd 3,270]

Just now, cole256 said:

But we really did. We just didn't acknowledge it. Or maybe Powell was good at playing mistakes off. The gonzaga game showed where everybody was at. Besides Memphis when we played the real deal athletes Flannigan was by himself with a bunch of talented but scared guys. 

I get hyping your guys up but not at the expense of the others. Especially not the guy that walk up to the bullies and swing first. That's crazy to me

Gonzaga game was a long time ago too. If Flan would have been injured shortly after that game maybe he would be thought of like Powell. But he played the whole season and we saw him struggle a good bit at times. 

I mean there are a lot of reasons people think Powell is more important or better player. 

1. Team was awful when he went down and before Coop came back
2. Powell played fewer games and fans did not see him struggle as much
3. Powell nicely fills some holes we have in shooting and ball handling
4. Powell was a Freshman and probably surprised some folks on how well he did

To me its no question that Freshman Powell was better than freshman Flan. Is freshman Powell better than Sophmore Flan....probably not IMO straight up but he filled some holes we had nicely. 

IMO its not crazy talk for people to be excited about Powell, bummed he left, and make statements like he was our best player. I don't think he was the best player but i can see why people think that way. 

[cole256 17,080]

4 minutes ago, gravejd said:

Gonzaga game was a long time ago too. If Flan would have been injured shortly after that game maybe he would be thought of like Powell. But he played the whole season and we saw him struggle a good bit at times. 

I mean there are a lot of reasons people think Powell is more important or better player. 

1. Team was awful when he went down and before Coop came back
2. Powell played fewer games and fans did not see him struggle as much
3. Powell nicely fills some holes we have in shooting and ball handling
4. Powell was a Freshman and probably surprised some folks on how well he did

To me its no question that Freshman Powell was better than freshman Flan. Is freshman Powell better than Sophmore Flan....probably not IMO straight up but he filled some holes we had nicely. 

IMO its not crazy talk for people to be excited about Powell, bummed he left, and make statements like he was our best player. I don't think he was the best player but i can see why people think that way. 

No Powell just got playing time as a freshman and flanningan didn't I see nothing that says Powell was ever better.

1. Yes we were better against suck teams. And it would have been laughable if Flannigan sat those games and Powell was by himself.

2. Powell had like 4 good games out of all he played, and only one of those was against a decent team. He was horrible against sec teams but nobody talked about him for whatever reason

3. He absolutely does. Everybody on this team fills holes. There's no players that does it all. 

4. Nobody thought Flannigan was going to be the best player on this team but yet here he is.

 

Flanningan struggled when he struggled because everybody focused on him. He struggled alot less than Powell when they both played. I'm not saying not to miss Powell but if anybody fantasized that he's better than flanningan because of play this year didn't watch the games. 

Nobody crowns a guy for 3 good games against suck teams but us. At least let him play a good game against one SEC team first....meanwhile you have a guy on the team that shot just as good as him but was a better scorer and defender but we don't celebrate him? That's stupid.

[cole256 17,080]

53 minutes ago, AuburnMike86 said:

 

He was good but very up and down scoring wise.

To me his value was in his three point ability and the threat of his three ball while he was on the court. He also played very hard, rebounded well from the guard position and passed well. Very high IQ player.

He wasn't the best player but he was incredibly valuable.

 

He was valuable. Other guys are very valuable in their roles too. Everybody plays hard. All of guards showed a high IQ. If Powell is going to become a more consistent shooter and show he can score when he's the priority and not the secondary option then maybe he can grow to be what people are hyping him to be. 

But as far as what was shown he showed to be a great role player and we sure as hell need all the shooters we can get. But we have guys that's on the team that should be shown alot more respect if Powell is this celebrated

[abw0004 10,113]

3 hours ago, tigeraddikt said:

But I thought the Spurs held KL out for business/market purposes? That would make no sense for AU to hold out JP in the same sense. The only legit reason (IMO) for JP to have beef is if AU administration caught wind of him flirting with Cal and held his ass out punitively. Then all bets are off, but even then...

See, I can completely guess, too!!!

The Spurs were officially holding him out because the team doctor said he was a no-go but his personal doctor said he can play.  

[Maverick.AU 13,279]

The mutual parting thing has me thinking about one perspective.  We have discussed how the injury and the isolation could have affected him psychologically. It also could’ve have made him want to escape everything tied to this whole situation, and that includes being at AU. If a guy doesn’t want to be here under circumstances like that then I think it makes it a mutual parting. I’m sure we will find out eventually but I think that is a logical perspective. Just because “mutual parting” is used doesn’t mean that JP did anything wrong. 

Edited March 10, 2021 by Maverick.AU

[cole256 17,080]

1 hour ago, abw0004 said:

The Spurs were officially holding him out because the team doctor said he was a no-go but his personal doctor said he can play.  

I understood it to be the opposite. The spurs wanted him to play but his doctors didn't think it was the best idea at the time

[cole256 17,080]

3 hours ago, Dunndone414 said:

 

"Kentucky, Louisville, Duke, Gonzaga, Virginia, UCLA, Georgia Tech and Memphis are among the schools expressing early interest in Justin Powell, sources tell KSR. The Auburn transfer will have his choice when it comes time for a final decision. Officially entered portal today." https://twitter.com/JackPilgrimKSR/status/1369685307382173698?s=19 

I don't know for sure but I wouldn't think this to be true

[Maverick.AU 13,279]

 

[abw0004 10,113]

23 minutes ago, cole256 said:

I understood it to be the opposite. The spurs wanted him to play but his doctors didn't think it was the best idea at the time

You are correct.  I had it mixed up

[ellitor 33,093]

Quote

Kentucky "officially" contacted Auburn transfer Justin Powell as soon as he hit the portal,

@Maverick.AU FIFY

[Aubie the Tiger 50]

30 minutes ago, cole256 said:

I understood it to be the opposite. The spurs wanted him to play but his doctors didn't think it was the best idea at the time

Spurs fan here.  The issue in this case was that KL was diagnosed with a chronic injury to his knee tendon that causes him pain whenever he plays.  The Spurs' position was that it would never heal, and the medical plan should be around managing the injury and his playing time over completely curing it.  KL sought a second opinion who told him if he feels pain, he should take his time and not play.  The situation escalated to the point that KL left San Antonio and refused to speak to any Spurs coaches or medical staff.  It has now been about three years since he was traded and KL still has the injury and sits about 25% of games for load management.   

There are several differences between KL and Powell's cases, but I think the most pertinent is that one injury is acute and the other chronic, which require different approaches.

[chizhead 618]

28 minutes ago, ellitor said:

@Maverick.AU FIFY

Yep, E, Go to the thread entitled" Hooks" on the 24/7 basketball forum. Page 3. I asked about the subject that I PMed you about. Look at the response. I find it interesting that Hooks has not said anything

[ellitor 33,093]

2 minutes ago, chizhead said:

Yep, E, Go to the thread entitled" Hooks" on the 24/7 basketball forum. Page 3. I asked about the subject that I PMed you about. Look at the response. I find it interesting that Hooks has not said anything

Thanks @chizhead but I don't think what you PMed me is an issue. Based on a couple posts from JGT this afternoon I think Justin's camp is using the whole ordeal to get Justin to a school they want him at. Supposedly contending we tried to bring him back to fast from the injury when all the reports are saying we did the opposite.

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,670]

59 minutes ago, Maverick.AU said:

 

We have to embarrass these clowns next season 

[mcgufcm 4,096]

If Powell ends up to UL or UK, I'll forever believe he leveraged Auburn. Period. He couldn't get an offer to them; then, he played better than expected and leveraged it to go where he wanted all along. We can debate whether that's okay or not, but I will always believe that's the real story here. 

[ellitor 33,093]

1 minute ago, mcgufcm said:

If Powell ends up to UL or UK, I'll forever believe he leveraged Auburn. Period. He couldn't get an offer to them; then, he played better than expected and leveraged it to go where he wanted all along. We can debate whether that's okay or not, but I will always believe that's the real story here. 

@mcgufcm May be his camp more than he.

[chizhead 618]

2 minutes ago, ellitor said:

Justin to a school they want him at.

So, its sounding like somebody got paid. 5 different schools in 6 years? Get a transfer guard,(PG or CG) or two from the portal and play bigboy ball and Powell will become an afterthought. AU is way bigger than any player

 

[mcgufcm 4,096]

1 hour ago, cole256 said:

I don't know for sure but I wouldn't think this to be true

I would believe that. Each team makes sense.

For example, Powell showed enough to know he could've been a starter and difference maker for UK this year. No question he fills a need for them. For another, UVA always struggles to score. You're telling me freshman Powell didn't look a LOT better than freshman Kyle Guy? Then, look at Gonzaga. They're losing Suggs, Timme, and Kispert this year. I mean, Kispert is what you hope a fully developed Powell is, right?