By JP Pelzman
NEW YORK – After draining his fourth three-pointer of the first half to put his team ahead by 28, emotional Seton Hall junior guard Myles Powell wore a ho-hum expression as he made his way back up the court.
Maybe Powell has run out of ways to punctuate his greatness, much like the rest of us have run out of words trying to explain it.
Powell’s 29 first-half points in a 73-57 Big East tournament quarterfinal victory over Georgetown on Thursday night were almost overshadowed when he came up gimpy late in the game after being thwarted on a drive to the basket.
“I’m fine,” Powell said later in the locker room. “I’m 100 percent. I’m good for (Friday).”
Of course, Powell was more than good in the first half, he was spectacular. He broke the record for points in the first half of a Big East tourney game. Creighton’s Doug McDermott scored 27 in the first half of a quarterfinal victory over DePaul in 2014.
“It was like throwing a rock in the ocean,” Powell said of the first half. “When you have teammates like that, that are cheering you, they want you to do good, they’re giving you the ball and a coaching staff that told me to keep (shooting), I feel like I have the best teammates and the best coaching staff in America. They help me keep my confidence up even when I’m not having nights like this.
“This is going to sound crazy,” coach Kevin Willard said. “That's what I see every day. So I don't think it's any different. … I'm just as surprised we haven't seen more of that. I think he's played unselfish all year, which is maybe one of the reasons. Any time he steps on the floor, I expect to see that. So do his teammates, to be honest. It wasn't like we were shocked in the locker room. It was kind of just Myles being Myles.
“He got hot in the first half, and everything he shot, he made,” said Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing, whose 19-13 team figures to get an NIT bid.
The win certainly solidified the NCAA chances for The Hall (19-12), which is on a three-game winning streak after a three-game slide. But Quincy McKnight said the NCAAs aren’t on the Pirates’ radar at the moment.
“We’re not thinking about that yet,” he said. “We’re just focused on the Big East tournament right now.”
As for the show Powell put on, McKnight said, “He had a point to prove. Say it like that. He had a point to prove.”
He was referring to the fact that Powell lost out on Big East player of the year honors to Marquette star Markus Howard, who poured in 30 points against St. John’s on Thursday. The Pirates will play the Golden Eagles Friday night with a spot in the final at stake.
“That’s no knock on (Howard),” Powell said of his displeasure at not getting the award. “He’s my guy, we talk about things outside of basketball, so congratulations to him. But I worked hard for it too.
Even though Willard took a good-natured swipe at Powell’s defensive intensity, or lack of same, when Powell has three fouls, the Pirates’ leading scorer also was proud of the fact he had eight first-half deflections, one of which he turned into a steal and crowd-pleasing dunk.
Powell credited playing alongside defensive stopper McKnight, saying, “He’s one of my best friends and I just try to feed off his energy on the defensive end.
The Pirates limited Georgetown to 36 percent shooting in the first half and forced 10 turnovers. Sandro Mamukelashvili credited the scouting report by assistant coach Grant Billmeier for the Pirates’ success.
“He did a great job scouting them,” Mamukelashvili said, explaining how the Pirates were ready for all of Georgetown’s tendencies. “I just want to give credit to him and the coaching staff because they deserve it.”
As for scouting Marquette, Willard said, “The good thing is we just played them on (Feb. 27). The reviews will be quicker. The guys will understand what we're doing. We'll make some adjustments offensively and a few tweaks defensively, but for the most part, we have to deal with one of the best players in the country.”
But guess what? Unless that foot somehow swells up, so will Marquette.
COMMENTS?
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
NEW YORK – After draining his fourth three-pointer of the first half to put his team ahead by 28, emotional Seton Hall junior guard Myles Powell wore a ho-hum expression as he made his way back up the court.
Maybe Powell has run out of ways to punctuate his greatness, much like the rest of us have run out of words trying to explain it.
Powell’s 29 first-half points in a 73-57 Big East tournament quarterfinal victory over Georgetown on Thursday night were almost overshadowed when he came up gimpy late in the game after being thwarted on a drive to the basket.
“I’m fine,” Powell said later in the locker room. “I’m 100 percent. I’m good for (Friday).”
Of course, Powell was more than good in the first half, he was spectacular. He broke the record for points in the first half of a Big East tourney game. Creighton’s Doug McDermott scored 27 in the first half of a quarterfinal victory over DePaul in 2014.
“It was like throwing a rock in the ocean,” Powell said of the first half. “When you have teammates like that, that are cheering you, they want you to do good, they’re giving you the ball and a coaching staff that told me to keep (shooting), I feel like I have the best teammates and the best coaching staff in America. They help me keep my confidence up even when I’m not having nights like this.
“This is going to sound crazy,” coach Kevin Willard said. “That's what I see every day. So I don't think it's any different. … I'm just as surprised we haven't seen more of that. I think he's played unselfish all year, which is maybe one of the reasons. Any time he steps on the floor, I expect to see that. So do his teammates, to be honest. It wasn't like we were shocked in the locker room. It was kind of just Myles being Myles.
“He got hot in the first half, and everything he shot, he made,” said Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing, whose 19-13 team figures to get an NIT bid.
The win certainly solidified the NCAA chances for The Hall (19-12), which is on a three-game winning streak after a three-game slide. But Quincy McKnight said the NCAAs aren’t on the Pirates’ radar at the moment.
“We’re not thinking about that yet,” he said. “We’re just focused on the Big East tournament right now.”
As for the show Powell put on, McKnight said, “He had a point to prove. Say it like that. He had a point to prove.”
He was referring to the fact that Powell lost out on Big East player of the year honors to Marquette star Markus Howard, who poured in 30 points against St. John’s on Thursday. The Pirates will play the Golden Eagles Friday night with a spot in the final at stake.
“That’s no knock on (Howard),” Powell said of his displeasure at not getting the award. “He’s my guy, we talk about things outside of basketball, so congratulations to him. But I worked hard for it too.
Even though Willard took a good-natured swipe at Powell’s defensive intensity, or lack of same, when Powell has three fouls, the Pirates’ leading scorer also was proud of the fact he had eight first-half deflections, one of which he turned into a steal and crowd-pleasing dunk.
Powell credited playing alongside defensive stopper McKnight, saying, “He’s one of my best friends and I just try to feed off his energy on the defensive end.
The Pirates limited Georgetown to 36 percent shooting in the first half and forced 10 turnovers. Sandro Mamukelashvili credited the scouting report by assistant coach Grant Billmeier for the Pirates’ success.
“He did a great job scouting them,” Mamukelashvili said, explaining how the Pirates were ready for all of Georgetown’s tendencies. “I just want to give credit to him and the coaching staff because they deserve it.”
As for scouting Marquette, Willard said, “The good thing is we just played them on (Feb. 27). The reviews will be quicker. The guys will understand what we're doing. We'll make some adjustments offensively and a few tweaks defensively, but for the most part, we have to deal with one of the best players in the country.”
But guess what? Unless that foot somehow swells up, so will Marquette.
COMMENTS?
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
