On Wednesday night, his senior night, Norman Powell didn't really have it going offensively. He'd scored over 20 points in eight of his previous 13 games, and had been really carrying the load for a team that only goes six-to-seven deep depending on the night. But some nights the ball just doesn't fall into the rim, and this was one of those nights for the 6-foot-4 guard.
So what did Powell -- the leader and lone senior in the rotation at UCLA, a team scratching and clawing for an NCAA Tournament berth -- try to do in order to help out as he shot 5-16 from the field?
"I just tried to pick up my defensive intensity," Powell said after the game. "Getting the guys going, enouraging them to get stops, doing the little things, like getting over screens and being the energy guy out there. Getting loose balls and getting rebounds, trying to find the open man and hope things open up. My layups weren't falling, so it was more about helping the team and getting the other guys going and getting open shots for the guys that were hitting."
It's those little things that Powell provides on a nightly basis for the Bruins. Not only will Powell be an All-Pac-12 player when the teams are announced next week -- after all, he's averaging 16.3 points-per-game on the season -- but he should also be an All-Pac-12 Defensive team member. He guards the opposing team's best player on the perimeter every night (or at least more than anyone else, given that UCLA coach Steve Alford switches defensive looks constantly) and is among the more effective players nationally on that end.
But it's not just that he's good defensively that makes Powell a different type of guy in this day and age where scoring and offensive statistics are paramount. No, it's that he legitimately relishes the opportunity to face off against the opposition's best every night.
"Ever since I've been [at UCLA]. I've been a lock down defender," Powell said with a smile after the Bruins' January 29 win over Utah, where he matched up with possible All-American Delon Wright. "The guy who guards the best player. I always have a chip on my shoulder no matter who is in front of me. To lock them down and take them out of what they want to do. I take a lot of pride in my defense."
That pride clearly shows in how he plays. At 6-foot-4 with a near 7-foot wingspan, Powell has the perfect frame to be a lockdown defender. And while that physical profile helps, it's mostly the effort Powell consistently gives on that end that makes him effective. Few players fight through and go over screens with the effectiveness that Powell does -- which helped against the ball-screen-heavy attacks of Utah and Stanford, who the Bruins went 3-1 against this year. He also never gives up on a play, recovering hard on the rare yet inevitable occasions when he does get beat off-ball.
"He's a senior, and he wants those matchups," UCLA coach Steve Alford said about Powell's defensive appetite.
Since his freshman year, he's been that type of defender. A guy that wants to be a leader and take on tough assignments. However, it's the work he's put in on the offensive end this year that has been the catalyst to turning around UCLA's season and getting them into the NCAA Tournament conversation.
Last year, Powell was oftentimes the fourth or fifth option on the floor for UCLA, as Kyle Anderson, Jordan Adams, Zach LaVine and even the Wear twins took on a lot of responsibility. But with all five of those players departing, it's been Powell this season who has stepped up when his team has needed it most. He's actually upped his scoring in Pac-12 play, averaging 17.2 points per contest (fifth in the conference) while scoring over 20 in half of the Bruins' 18 games. He's also doing it efficiently, knocking down 47 percent of his shots with a 50 percent effective field goal percentage during conference season.
He's been dangerously effective once he gets inside the 3-point line. He's making 45 percent of his shots from outside of five feet, utilizing a more confident stroke in the midrange, and making 60 percent of his shots at the rim, which he ferociously attacks regularly. Just look at this play against Oregon for the type of thing we're talking about.
Or how about this one against USC Wednesday night:
It's Powell, not potential NBA lottery pick Kevon Looney, who has been the impetus behind UCLA's turnaround, bringing them back from the brink of elimination.
Most wrote off the Bruins' NCAA Tournament hopes following their loss at Utah on January 4 that pushed them to 8-7. But now at 19-12, they're legitimately a viable contender for a bid after finishing fourth in the Pac-12 this season behind Tourney locks Arizona and Utah, and near-lock Oregon.
With a No. 50 RPI ranking and only two top-50 wins in hand, the Bruins are currently the third team out in Jerry Palm's bracketology projection. However, if they can pick up a win in the Pac-12 Tournament to reach the conference's semifinals, where they'll likely matchup with Arizona, that could lead to an interesting situation.
Powell agree that the team is peaking at the right time to make a run toward that bid.
"Honestly, with the way we're playing right now, we're playing great basketball," Powell said. "And for our resume, I think us holding it down at home and only losing one and getting key wins against Utah, Colorado and teams like that, I think we've done enough at this time to get some more wins in the [Pac-12] Tournament to secure down that spot."
The team is definitely playing well, given that it's won eight of its previous 11 games. If that kind of streak continues, the Bruins will likely have a somewhat surprising repeat appearance in the NCAA Tournament, where they'll try to match last year's Sweet 16 run.
And if that happens, they'll have their two-way senior dynamo to thank for it, as he's provided the spark the Bruins needed to push them back from the edge of a rebuilding season to turn it into a potentially successful one.
