Leon Powe: The Real Deal

by Fantasy Junkie on Sep 22, 2006 1:47 PM PDT in News

I know this story is a little old, but I loved watching Leon Powe at Cal and wished the Golden State Warriors had drafted Leon Powe. If not for the 2 knee injuries he'd have been a 1st rounder. And I'll admit it, I'm biased. I'm a big Cal fan and loved watching him hustle, rebound, and score his way into serious consideration for Pac-10 Player of the Year (He ultimately lost to Brandon Roy who isn't too bad himself). But I'm not here to tell you how good he was in college or his potential in the NBA. It's just good to see a local kid who's suffered through difficult times grow up and achieve success. So, I just wanted to share with you what he's gone through to get where he is today.

I'm sure some of you saw the Leon Powe article written by Scott Ostler over at SF Gate.com, "A Grown Man Taking Care of Business." But if you haven't read the article, it's definitely worth a read to know about Powe's story.

But it's not like Powe has never scuffled. Fatherless at 2, homeless at 7, eventually into the foster system. His mother, Connie Landry, died when he was a high school junior. He's had two major knee reconstructions.

...He's taking care of back-to-school expenses for his six siblings, ages 6 to 20...He's kicking in the dough for a free kids basketball camp he'll hold next month at Merritt College...Powe and mentor/friend Bernard Ward are founding an agency to place foster children and group-home children in top-flight schools.

..."You just got to keep working hard, there ain't nothing else about it," Powe says. "It ain't cars, it ain't money, it ain't none of that. This is a dream come true, you get to play in the NBA, you want to be the best player you can be. I know I do."

Also over at Celtics Blog, in their piece about Celtics Power Forwards, they had this to say about Powe.

I haven?t talked about the backups yet but there?s not much to discuss. The Grown Man Leon (Master) Powe is the backup to the backup. The guy behind the guy behind the guy. He is going to surprise some people this year and he?s a rock on the post.

Any Cal fans out there rooting for Powe? Think he should have won Pac-10 Player of the Year?

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Fan of Powe

Im rooting for Powe not as a CAL fan but of a fan of a guy getting what he has worked so hard to earn. He deserves every penny of his contract, and thats not something that can be said of every nba player. If he was competing with anyone other than Brandon Rookie Of the Year, he would get PAC-10 player of the year. Roy is amazing, I saw him in the tourney and in some summer league games and he is gonna be solid assuming Zach Randolph doesnt leech the life out of him.

Well theres always next year x12

by FoyledAgain on Sep 22, 2006 3:37 PM PDT reply actions

whoo!

Powe has an amazing work ethic and that guy is raw as hell. You can see how much he changes a team... I mean he was pac-10 rookie of the year i believe when he came out in 03, didnt play in 04 because of injuries and then in 05-06 he led Cal to the tourny. Hes going to be good and I am glad he overcame all those adversities.

by djchuckdeez on Sep 22, 2006 7:33 PM PDT reply actions

Al Jefferson vs Powe

Recently Powe went head-to-head against teammate Al Jefferson and didn't fair well.

http://celtics.bostonherald.com/celtics/view.bg?articleid=157963

Jefferson said he now weighs 258 - his high school playing weight. Some are skeptical.

But when he [Al Jefferson] took on rookie Leon Powe Thursday, certain qualities came right to the surface.
Powe, an outstanding post player in college, struggled against Jefferson, who blocked, altered or stripped all but one shot by the rookie.
"I felt like I could get higher - a lot quicker," Jefferson said. "I could really tell that I was moving quicker. I felt great.

by joe sez on Sep 22, 2006 9:29 PM PDT reply actions

The last pic

makes Powe look like a super buff version of GilbertZero.

Best of luck to him in the league, earning his place throughout such a lifetime of hardships.

5 PF's =/= 1 Antawn Jamison

by back2back51s on Sep 22, 2006 10:39 PM PDT reply actions

armpit

it looks like he got shot in his right armpit or something. and he looks like gilbert in the last pic as said above.

by the optimus dime on Sep 22, 2006 11:38 PM PDT reply actions

I'm actually at school here in Boston

(Northeastern) So I'll definitely try and catch Powe at a few Celts games. Maybe even buy a Powe jersey.

by jonathan on Sep 23, 2006 12:19 PM PDT reply actions

if only the 'town could buy the warriors

a la the people of Wisconsin owning the Packers.

Leon's the kind of guy who is looking out for an entire community. if oakland owned the warriors, this is a guy we'd want on our team, regardless. personally, i think he is going to be the next charles oakley (or larry smith) kind of guy. he may also be mayor one day.

more integrity than anyone i know...

Leon Powe could have been our next Larry Smith. Instead we have a couple more candidates for the next Joe Barry Carroll.

by OaktownWarrior on Sep 24, 2006 3:39 AM PDT reply actions