PITTSBORO - Four games into his freshman season, Northwood High’s Drake Powell finds himself at 3-1. He is the team’s second leading scorer (11.3) and rebounder (6.3), and he is leading the team in assists (4.5) and steals (2.3). However, this athletic success is something the Powell family is used to.

“My family is all athletic. My mom played basketball like me and my brother, who is playing at Louisburg College now. My sister is playing volleyball at Virginia Tech. My dad played third base at UNC.”

Powell and his brother, Dedric, are only four years apart. But, according to Drake, they have some pretty good driveway matchups at the house.

“We can get pretty competitive against one another. I’ve gotten him a couple times, and that felt good, but he is just stronger than me right now.”

As you can see from his stats, Powell prides himself on having a well-rounded game, but he really looks to get his teammates going.

“I like to facilitate, create for others. If it is there I can shoot it. I really like to get into my mid-range jumper, I am comfortable there. I like to lead by example and try each game to be on every stat line.”

This summer was a unique one for many, and Powell was no different. While he was able to play in a couple of travel ball events, Powell mostly worked to improve his game.

“I worked a lot on getting to my mid-range shot. I worked on my handle a lot, but it was a lot of shooting work.”

Rivals Reaction

The first thing that stands out to you about Powell is his frame, he has legit size with incredible length. Watching him play, his description is pretty accurate. He is really lethal in the mid-range and has an assortment of ways to get to that elbow. He also fills a stat sheet. He acts as the primary initiator many possessions for this high school team, he is very unselfish, but also able to get to his shot. There is a lot to like here moving forward and Powell is tracking as one of the top players in North Carolina, for his class.