Roger Powell Jr. (born January 15, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player and current head coach of the Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball team. Powell was previously an assistant at Gonzaga. He played collegiately at the University of Illinois from 2001 to 2005, after having attended Joliet West High School, with a 2001 graduation. Powell played the forward position for his high school and in college. He graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in speech communications. Powell's father was a former Joliet Central High School and Illinois State player.
Playing career
High school career
Powell was a three-year starter and a four-year letter winner for Joliet Township High School. As a junior, he led the Steelmen to a 20-8 record averaging 19 points and eight rebounds. Powell helped his squad win the SICA West Conference as a junior and senior. Also as a junior, he earned a bronze medal as a member of the 1999 USA Basketball Men's Youth Development Festival North Team. Powell also made the Pontiac Holiday Tourney all-Tournament Team and was second team all state.
As a senior, Powell averaged 20.7 points and nine rebounds for a 25-5 sectional finalist that was ranked No. 3 in the Chicago area. He earned First Team All State honors at Joliet in 2001 from the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette, Associated Press and Illinois Basketball Coaches Association. He was considered a consensus Top 100 prospect in the nation and was fourth in voting for Mr. Basketball in Illinois. He played in the Wendy's All-Star Classic and earned MVP honors at the IBCA All-Star Game following his senior year.
Early college career
As a true freshman, Powell played in 27 games and averaged 2.9 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. In his first year, he scored a season-high 12 points against Western Illinois. He played a season-high 15 minutes against Loyola-Chicago where he scored five points and added five rebounds. His role was primarily to provide a spark off the bench which he did against Wisconsin, scoring six points on 3-of-3 shooting and grabbing four rebounds, three offensive. In the NCAA tournament, he provided four points and four rebounds in seven minutes of play in Illinois' first-round win against San Diego State.
In his sophomore season, Powell started 19 games including 10 of the last 11. He led the Big Ten in field goal percentage in conference games with a 64.1 percent mark. He was third on the team in scoring with 8.7 points per game. He scored a season-high 22 points versus Indiana on 9-of-13 shooting. He scored in double figures 13 times and scoring 15-plus points 9 times. He was slowed by a toe injury mid-season causing him to be out of the lineup for two weeks. He was named to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team leading Illinois with 16 points in the title game versus Ohio State. He participated on the Big Ten European Tour team and led the squad in scoring 14 points per game.
Late college career
In his third season with the Illini, Powell was an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection. Powell started 31 games on the season missing some time due to a concussion suffered in a Big Ten tournament quarterfinal game against Indiana. He averaged 11.6 points per game, putting him third on the team and 20th in the Big Ten. He also averaged 5 rebounds a game which was second on the team. He ranked third in the Big Ten in field goal shooting at 59.5 percent. He was also second on the team in offensive rebounding notching 75 on the season. Powell scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds at Wisconsin on January 24, 2004. In the 2004 NCAA tournament, he scored 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting in the second-round win over Cincinnati and followed that performance with a team-high 15-point, eight-rebound game in a Sweet 16 loss to Duke. Powell entered the NBA draft but did not sign with an agent and was not drafted allowing him to return for his senior season.
In his final season, Powell was named an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection by both league coaches and media. He was a member of the national runner-up Illini who tied an NCAA record with 37 wins. He started every game and ranked fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 12.0 points per game, and scoring in double figures in 26 of 39 games. He was second on the Illini and eleventh in the Big Ten averaging 5.7 rebounds per game. He was named Big Ten player of the week on December 6 following wins over Wake Forest (19 points) and Arkansas (19 points, 11 rebounds).