By james art 
Jonathan Powell had originally signed with Xavier but requested his release from his letter of intent in May, and it didn’t take long for West Virginia to enter the picture.
The 6-foot-6 guard scheduled a visit to Morgantown just days later and would then commit to the Mountaineers, giving the program a versatile option on both ends of the floor.
The first-team all-Ohio selection averaged 19.1 points per game last season and was the second-leading scorer in the Greater Western Ohio Conference. He put some of those skills on display on the trip to Italy, averaging 16 points per game in the three contests and making a total of 11 3-pointers.
Powell is an off guard who has the ability to catch and shoot effectively or put the ball on the floor and drive it to the basket. He is a confident and smooth shooter who fits what the Mountaineers wanted to find in a guy who can hit zone shots all over the floor.
He moves well without the ball and is effective on corner shots as a player who can space the floor. He can also score off the rebound and has the size to finish at the rim in traffic. And his size makes him an intriguing spot on West Virginia’s roster.
It’s hard to tell how that will translate moving forward, but so far Powell has looked the part in preseason practices according to head coach Darian DeVries.
“He’s done some really good things for us, and like a lot of incoming freshmen, he has a really good week and then he’s going to have a week where he just makes some of those mistakes,” he said.
But where the true freshman has looked the part is his overall approach to the game.
“He just wants to get better. He wants to try to be great, and when there’s someone who’s willing to adopt that mindset every day, those mistakes are easier to overlook because he’s just trying to do his best to improve as an individual and also help our team,” DeVries said.
And the hope is that this will continue throughout the year.
“He’s doing some nice things. I think he’s going to have a good first year for us if he has that type of mindset,” DeVries said.