NEW YORK — Seton Hall freshman Myles Powell weighed as much as 240 pounds this summer after re-injuring the left foot he initially broke last October.
The 6-foot-2 shooting guard from Trenton, N.J., re-injured the foot in February, left South Kent (Conn.) soon after and arrived on Seton Hall’s campus in May.
From there on, he tried to drop as much weight as he could
“They brought me in to school in May, I started May 25th and they didn’t allow me to go home, I just stayed up there every day,” Powell told me Saturday night at the Sharette Dixon Classic at Gauchos Gym.
“Every day, Monday through Friday, I was just pushing myself every day,” he added. “The trainer that we have, Jason [Nehring], he pushed me every day, even when I thought I couldn’t, he pushed me every day.”
Powell had to drastically change his diet, going to grilled chicken, vegetables and water instead of fast food, juice and soda.
“I stopped drinking juice and soda, was drinking a lot of water, helped cut down a lot of weight fast,” he said. “A lot of grilled chicken, wasn’t really eating a lot of bread to cut down on carbs. Eating salads, not using a lot of dressing.”
What does he miss the most?
“Burgers, french fries, stuff like that,” he said.
The results speak for themselves.
Powell is now a svelte 195 pounds and ready to contribute to the Pirates in the post-Isaiah Whitehead Era.
“He’s lost about 45 pounds,” Pirates coach Kevin Willard said. “He’s probably the best offensive scorer as a freshman that I’ve ever coached.”
Seton Hall lost Whitehead, now a rookie with the Nets, and graduate transfer Derrick Gordon, but returns a solid core of juniors from last year’s Big East Tournament championship and NCAA Tournament team in Desi Rodriguez, Angel Delgado, Khadeen Carrington and Ismael Sanogo.
Powell is a shooter — he scored 19 points in Saturday’s Blue-White Game — and figures to help space the floor and add perimeter scoring.
“Every time I get the ball, Khadeen, Desi, Angel, they’re always yelling at me to shoot the ball when I don’t shoot the ball,” Powell said. “So having people that want you to shoot and want you to do good, just like them, it’s good.”
With the NJ Playaz on the Nike EYBL circuit in 2015, Powell averaged 18.5 points, 4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game in 20 games. Powell also shot 44 percent from the field and 37 percent from 3-point range.
“Myles Powell is the best shooter in the country, period,” Playaz director Jimmy Salmon said when he committed. “His game will transcend to the next level” at Seton Hall.
“Myles is a tremendous player with a tremendous feel for the game,” former South Kent coach Kelvin Jefferson, now an Old Dominion assistant, said then. “He is recognized by many as the No. 1 shooter in the country but he does so much more. He can handle the ball, really passes the ball and has a very high IQ. He plays with a chip on his shoulder and I think Seton Hall got a great player for the next four years.”
Seton Hall added former Wake Forest point guard Madison Jones to run the show, so that should help Powell adjust to the Big East.
“He’s a great player to play with, he’s very unselfish, he’s a pass-first point guard and I love playing with Madison,” Powell said.
“He’s definitely a veteran, he’s a leader, he shows it on and off the court, he’s probably one of our best defensive guys — along with JT [Jevon Thomas] — so on the defensive end and the offensive end I just love playing with him.”
Powell is also tight with Whitehead, and in fact drove to the Sharette Dixon Game from the Blue-White Game with him. And the Nets rookie is now passing on advice to the newest Seton Hall guard.
“Just to play, don’t worry about what’s going on,” Whitehead told him. “‘You’re going to have a lot of ups and downs.”
“So I’m just following his lead throughout his career,” Powell said of Whitehead. “I would like to do the same thing.”
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