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Malvern's Powers accepts walk-on spot at Holy Cross

05/13/2016, 6:30pm EDT
By Jeff Griffith

Will Powers (above) accepted a walk-on spot from Holy Cross head coach Bill Carmody earlier this week. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Jeff Griffith (@Jeff_Griffith21)
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When former Holy Cross assistant Kevin Driscoll took the same job at NJIT earlier this offseason, Malvern Prep senior Will Powers’ connection to the Crusaders’ program was left up in the air.

Driscoll had been in contact with Powers about a potential preferred walk-on opportunity before taking the NJIT position--but Holy Cross head coach Bill Carmody reconnected with the talented guard a few weeks later and offered him a roster spot earlier in the week.

According to the 6-foot-tall guard, it was about six hours after Carmody officially offered him a roster spot that he made his decision. Combining a prestigious education with exposure to a Division-I program was simply too much for Powers to turn down.

“I was always in love with Holy Cross as a school...it has great academics which is probably my biggest priority,” Powers said. “I thought the academics, with the opportunity for me to play Division I and play in such a cool environment, I could not turn that down.”

Carmody’s impressive resume--which includes two decades on the Princeton coaching staff and thirteen years head coaching Northwestern--was yet another enticing factor for Powers.

“I’m really excited to play for him, I think he’s a great coach,” Powers said. “I think I can do well in his system.”

The Crusaders, who are set to enter their second year under Carmody, are fresh off of a Patriot League title and trip to the NCAA tournament, despite going 10-19 in the regular season.

Despite having talented pieces returning from that team like Patriot League tournament MVP Malachi Alexander, Carmody made it clear that there are still potential incentives down the road for Powers if he puts in the necessary amount of hard work.

“He said that ‘if you work hard, you’re not just there to be a walk-on, you’re there to earn your minutes,’ so if I work hard I’m hoping that down the road it will pay off,” Power said. “I think I can do well there, there’s a lot of guys from the Inter-Ac who are doing well in the Patriot League so I think could one day do well in it.”

Powers, who as a junior was known primarily as a 3-point sharpshooter, has developed into a very talented and well-rounded player under head coach John Harmatuk. It was during his senior year most prevalently that he grew into an all-around scorer and floor general that led his team with 19.4 ppg and earned a spot on the CoBL All-PAISAA first team.

“Definitely handling the ball and controlling the game a little more,” he said. “As a sophomore, even as a junior a little bit, I kind of hung around and let the game happen. As a senior I took over and was able to control the game, make plays, dribble and get to the rim, opened my game up from just shooting.”

This past season, in particular, Powers also grew into a leadership role as the most experienced player on a rather inexperienced roster. As a result, the Friars--who finished last in the Inter-Ac just two years back--went 5-5 in league play and came within just a couple baskets of beating their toughest conference foes, Germantown Academy and Episcopal Academy.

“We had a very young team so I thought with my experience I had to step up and show everybody the way it needs to be done. I definitely vocally became more active as well as on the court, I guess that comes with being an experienced player, playing with some underclassmen, you understand the ropes a little more, so you can teach the younger guys.”

As his future head coach made clear, however, there’s still a significant amount of work to be done as Powers prepares to leave for Worcester, Mass. in August.

“Definitely need to work on getting stronger and quicker for the next level, definitely improve my handle,” Powers said. “I guess those are the biggest things I need to get ready for the next level, handle and strength, speed.”


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