Powe Says He's Ready for National Spotlight

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">DALLAS - Cal's Leon Powe and Memphis' Rodney Carney are two of the top players in the country, and both are playing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament today at the American Airlines Center.

During Thursday's media session, Powe was asked if he was familiar with Carney's game.

"Oh, yeah. I like him. I like his game," Powe said.

Down the hall in the Tigers' locker room, Carney said he's never heard of Powe.

Think there's a chance he's heard of Duke's J.J. Redick or Gonzaga's Adam Morrison?

Powe has been named second-team All-America by ESPN.com and the United States Basketball Writers Association. But of all the players who earned first- or second-team honors, Powe arguably is the most unknown. The NCAA Tournament is Powe's chance to introduce himself to the rest of the country.

"He's probably the least-known guy on the first or second team," Cal forward Rod Benson said.

"That's what's great about a postseason tournament. People will definitely know who he is after this."

Powe, one of 22 finalists for the Wooden All-America Team and Player of the Year, is one of only three players in the country to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds per game (20.7 ppg, 10 rpg).

"A lot of guys would call everyone in their hometown if they did that in one game," N.C. State coach Herb Sendek said. "He does that every night."

The Pac-10 is the only major conference that doesn't have a television contract with ESPN, and many of Cal's games are played when the rest of the country is getting ready to call it a night. As a result, Powe's monster season has been kept a secret nationally.

"I know they've heard about me, but I don't know if they've really seen me up close on TV," Powe said.

"They haven't seen me a lot because we've been on Fox (Sports Net) and we play on the West Coast. Everybody is watching now. I'm just trying to show people that I'm a solid player, that I can do a couple things down there in the paint."

N.C. State saw a lot of Powe on tape this week, but for many Wolfpack players, it was their first look.

"I had never seen him play this year," Wolfpack forward Ilian Evtimov said. "I had not heard of him before."

N.C. State guard Tony Bethel said he's stayed up late and watched Powe on television before, but admits only college basketball junkies like himself are familiar with his game.

"We get some West Coast games, so I've seen him late at night," Bethel said. "I know so much about college basketball, I know who he is. But if you just asked anybody who Leon Powe was, they probably wouldn't know."

Powe has talked all season about the importance of reaching the NCAA Tournament, and Thursday he appeared to be having the time of his life. But there have been times this season when Powe reacted to a high-profile game by coming out too excited and his performance suffered.

Not only is this the biggest Cal game in three years, it's Powe's chance to show the rest of the country what it's been missing. His NCAA Tournament performance also could affect his stock with NBA scouts -- Powe, a redshirt sophomore, is considering a jump to the NBA after the season.

"Naturally, you're going to be excited," Powe said. "You want to play extra hard. I'm going to want to do that. That's the kind of player I am. I've done that a couple of times this year. I just have to calm myself down and take my time."

Once they saw Powe, the Wolfpack players compared him to one of their conference foes, Boston College forward Craig Smith, an All-Atlantic Coast Conference first team selection averaging 17.3 points and nine rebounds per game. In two games against N.C. State this season, Smith averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds.

The Wolfpack see their fair share of accomplished big men in the ACC with Smith, Duke All-American Shelden Williams and Wake Forest's Eric Williams.

"There are a lot of good big men in the ACC. You face one every week," said Wolfpack center Cedric Simmons, who will share the defensive assignment on Powe.

"I watch West Coast basketball late at night. I've seen Cal maybe three times. If you're a college basketball fan, you know who Leon Powe is."

Powe was named the most outstanding player of last week's Pac-10 tournament, in which he averaged 26.7 points and 11.3 rebounds. Included in that was a 41-point performance in a double-overtime win over Oregon in the semifinals.

"When you score 41 points, your name rings around the country," Evtimov said. "He's really a scoring machine for them, especially lately."</div>

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