Even if less than half of college basketball players should not be labeled student-athletes…
Here’s one reason why college basketball is great. Appreciate the true hero of the first half of the decade…I’m serious…It’s Cal’s Leon Powe. If you need to learn a background on why, check out Malcolm Moran’s feature on Powe in today’s USA Today.
Powe is a contender for Pac-10 Player of the Year. He’s a McDonald’s All-American from the hard-@$ Oakland Public School League who chose to stay home to be a model to help raise and support his five siblings after his mother’s death before his senior year at Oakland Tech. During his senior year at Tech he dealt with the death of his mother, who was a longtime drug abuser and died early at the age of 41.
He also lost his home to a fire during this time,and what makes his story more amazing is that before the fire he was homeless for a lengthy stints during high school and middle school. The homeless period presented him with several stays at various foster care homes in Oakland while leading Oakland Tech to Oakland Public League titles and the California State Championship Game.
Then, he blows his knee out after a great freshman year at Cal. After reconstructive surgery and a bone graft that keeps him out for the ’04 season, he has a stress fracture in his right foot to start off this season.
Geezus…Where’s the crying towel?…Not for this guy.
He’s leading Cal with averages of 20.8PPG and 9 RPG, and he’s on pace to finish his degree in Social Welfare next year.
I’m rooting so hard for Powe to not only get to the NBA to take care of his family, but also to provide a tremendous example of why college basketball is good for urban youth. This is a classic case of what Temple Coach, John Chaney, has been talking about for years. Sometimes basketball saves a life because people utilize the gift of education.
All you have to see for proof are cases from the past and present such as Leon Powe, Rumeal Robinson, Mark Macon, and David Noel.
Right now, Oakland and the Bay Area desperately need people like Leon Powe. Root for Leon to get his degree…Hell, if Sergey Brin and Larry Page want to donate to help a Bay Area story, send a check to Leon after he’s done. This guy will know what to do with it.
After hearing Powe’s adventures at Oakland Tech, I was intrigued. After Powe passed up Kansas to stay in Oakland, I became a major fan. After North Carolina’s Quentin Thomas, who was Powe’s former high-school teammate, told me how cool Leon Powe was as a person, I became an avid fan. With Powe’s comeback from a devastating knee injury last season, Powe is now one of my all-time favorites.
Pull for Powe in a “Pre-like” Way!
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Leon Powe
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