Powe Now Out to Wow

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Leon Powe first had surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee as a high school junior, and then a second operation on the same knee as a sophomore at the University of California.

Though he came back last winter to become only the sixth player to lead the Pac-10 in scoring (20.5 points per game) and rebounding (10.1), some didn?t expect him to be drafted last week. He was taken by Denver in the second round then traded to the Celtics.

?He?s been through a lot in his life, and he?s risen above it,? C?s director of basketball operations Danny Ainge said yesterday of the 6-foot-9 power forward. ?He might have been the best low-post player in college basketball this year.?

Though Powe briefly considered withdrawing his name from this year?s draft, he also knew that considering his numbers, now was the time to make a move.

?I gave going back some thought, but there?s only so much I could do about past trouble,? he said. ?With 20 points and 10 rebounds (per game), I think it was a good time, in a way, to come out now.

?I know what I?m capable of, and how hard I worked to come back. This is a great organization, and I?m just happy to be here right now. I had two ACL surgeries at a young age, and I?ve been through a lot, but I can?t let it bother me.?

Family business

As the basketball world knows, Sebastian Telfair?s famous cousin - Stephon Marbury - blazed a trail for the 21-year-old point guard. Geography made that occurrence almost impossible not to happen.

?We lived on the third floor, and his family lived on the fourth,? Telfair said of growing up on Coney Island. ?When there?s someone you?re so close to who makes it in the NBA, you?re going to pick up things. It?s the drive to make it that I got from him.

?I saw that he was able to move his mother out to a better life. That?s what drove me.? . . .

When Telfair said he was impressed by the way the Celtics played defense, coach Doc Rivers snorted, ?He obviously wasn?t paying attention.?

Telfair still made his point.

?What I like about them is that they play defense together,? he said. ?They played the pick-and-roll really well. It will be good to know that when I?m guarding Allen Iverson or someone else, someone is going to stick out a body part to get in the way and help me.? </div>

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<div class="quote_poster">Quoting olskoolFunktitude:</div><div class="quote_post">Just playing devils advocate here but with 2 ACL surgerys behind him and already undersized to be a power forward in the NBA its not exactly a shock that there are celtics fans not yet drooling with anticipation of having this guy on the team. Im just gonna wait til i see him play til i decide what i think.</div>

He has a 7'2 wingspan to make up for his height. Two ACL surgeries hurt his draft stock, he doesn't have the explosiveness anymore, but Powe has adjusted by playing smarter.

The Celtics roster is stockpiled, so it's going to be tough for him to earn any PT. Also I'm not sure how he adjusts to being just a role player. He's always been the #1 and #2 option in highschool and at Cal.

What Powe can do is score in the post and clean the offensive glass. He can finish with either hand and has a very strong frame. Powe is patient and won't force shots, and does a good job of finding the open man when double teams come. I doubt he sees many double teams in the NBA, especially as a rookie, so he might have a chance to score fairly easy.

He also understands how to use leverage to box out taller players and get them off balanced when they go up for a basket.