Powell finds a new home out west.
Former Tennessee and Auburn guard Justin Powell has found yet another new home today, committing to play for Washington State next season. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony broke the news on Tuesday, adding that he does expect Powell to be immediately eligible to play, despite the second transfer.
Big day for Washington State. Mouhamed Gueye, one of the best available transfers, withdrew his name from the portal. Washington State also secured a commitment from Tennessee transfer Justin Powell. ESPN news story with more details: https://t.co/hL5TOUD2VU
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) June 7, 2022
Powell was outstanding for Auburn as a true freshman in limited time. Concussions ended up costing him most of his season, but the sharpshooter connected on 44 percent of his three-point attempts during the 2020-21 season.
Moving on to Tennessee, Powell was expected to fill a big role for Tennessee, but that never happened. Powell started slow and saw his playing time dwindle as the season went on. Rick Barnes spoke out a few times about his effort on the defensive end, something that Barnes values greatly.
Still, the 6-6 guard hit 38 percent from deep. However, freshman guard Zakai Zeigler came in a stole the show, and Barnes couldn’t keep him off of the floor. Also stuck behind Kennedy Chandler, Josiah-Jordan James, Santiago Vescovi and even Victor Bailey Jr. at times, the minutes just weren’t available to Powell.
Tennessee returns Zeigler, Vescovi and James this season, while adding transfer Tyreke Key and four-star point guard B.J. Edwards to the backcourt. Five-star wing Julian Phillips and four-star wing DJ Jefferson are also in the mix, and it should be interesting to see how all of these pieces mesh together.
For Powell, this will be his seventh school in seven years, dating back to high school.