JU's jack of all trades: Gyasi Powell making contributions for Dolphins across the board

Quietly, almost unnoticed by anyone outside the Jacksonville University men's basketball program, sophomore guard Gyasi Powell has emerged as one of the most indispensable players on the team.

It didn't come easy. And he's earned every minute of playing time through sheer hard work, the product of coach Jordan Mincy's rugged practices, an even more strenuous off-season program, hours of developing square eyeballs watching video and hanging on every word over the last two years from Mincy, a former NCAA Division I point guard who demands offensive and defensive skills from his guards, and more importantly, leadership.

"He has come a long way," Mincy said of the Bishop Snyder graduate who is the only First Coast product currently getting meaningful playing time for either JU or the University of North Florida. "He understands what he needs to do, has worked in the weight room to get bigger and has gotten better. He's a student of the game and has a strong work ethic. We're very proud of him."

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Powell's minutes have increased from 19 per game last season to more than 30 this year and he's started 16 of 21 games for the Dolphins (12-9, 5-5 in the ASUN) entering Thursday's 7 p.m. home game against North Florida (8-14, 3-7) at Swisher Gym.

Powell is fourth on the team with 9.8 points per game, fifth with 4.1 rebounds, second with 2.5 assists and third with 0.7 steals. Powell, who was primarily a slasher last season in a role where he was counted on for some instant energy off the bench, has upgraded his perimeter game and is tied for second with teammate Jordan Davis with a 46.7 field-goal percentage and leads JU in 3-point shooting at 45.5.

Last year, Powell shot 34.2 percent overall and 22.7 from the 3-point line.

"After last year my main focus was to get those percentages up," said Powell, who speaks in measured, thoughtful tones, usually weighing the question for a few seconds before responding. "I needed to push myself to shoot at a higher level. That came with more game reps and taking higher percentage shots."

That progress was made with hours in the JU Performance Center, arriving at 6 a.m. most summer days to not only shoot thousands of balls but work on mechanics, and fundamentals, and watch video.

"I put the work in and I trusted the work," he said.

Making an impact

Powell has developed a knack this season for coming up with big plays — and a lot of little ones — when the Dolphins need someone to step up:

• At home against Lipscomb, JU trailed 26-19 at the half and shot 28 percent in the first half. Powell opened the second half with a three-pointer, added a two-point jumper, then another three, and assisted on a three-pointer by Dylan O'Hearn to give the Dolphins the lead for good in a 51-44 victory.

• JU trailed 28-27 at halftime at Jacksonville State before Powell started the second half with a three-pointer, assisted on a Kevion Nolan three and an Osayi Osifo dunk, and had four defensive rebounds in a 68-62 victory.

• The Dolphins were down at 42-34 at the half at home to Queens and for the third time in five games, Powell started the second-half scoring with a three-pointer. He then made a steal that led to a Jordan Davis three-point basket, hit another three and blocked a shot that led to a Mike Marsh basket, with JU going on to win 77-70.

• And even in games where Powell doesn't make an impact scoring, he won't beat himself or his team. In last Saturday's 74-64 victory over Central Arkansas, Powell had only six points but for the fourth game in five, and for the sixth time this season, he committed no turnovers.

"Too many times, with this generation, they're all about offense first," Mincy said. "Gyasi is about defense, then anything he can do to help the team, and he doesn't care what it is."

Growing up Navy

Powell, the youngest of Glenn and Nichole Powell's five children (he has four older sisters), is a Navy brat and proud of it. His father is a veteran of more than 20 years and rose to Commander, serving on destroyers and cruisers.

"I was raised to not expect anything to be given to me," Powell said. "I had to work for whatever I got. I grew up approaching school, chores, work a little differently. There was an expectation to do things the right way and I never questioned it."

After the family lived in Virginia, Alabama and Tennessee, Glenn Powell retired and moved the family to Jacksonville. He's the dean of Somerset Academy on the Northside and his wife is the cheerleading coach at Orange Park High School.

Glenn Powell said his first love in high school was football but said his son gravitated towards basketball. The basics of the game seemed to come naturally to Gyasi.

"When he was six or seven years old, he seemed to get it right away ... how to set his feet, square his elbow and shooting the ball," Glenn Powell said. "He tried different sports such as baseball and soccer, and he digressed a bit from basketball. But by the time he got to the 10th grade, I knew that was his sport."

Powell became a star for both Bishop Snyder — playing for former JU Dolphin Russell Powell (no relation) — and in AAU ball in Orlando. As a senior with the Cardinals, he averaged 20.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.3 assists and was first-team All-First Coast by the Times-Union.

Russell Powell said Gyasi was naturally gifted but never took that for granted.

"He lives in the gym and he outworks everyone around," Powell said. "I knew once he got a chance to play at a college the level of JU that he would progress. He's got great parents and they've instilled that work ethic in him."

A lonely season

The first four-year school to show Powell early interest was Davis & Elkins, an NCAA Division II program in Elkins, W.Va., and a member of the Mountain East Conference. But when all sports came to a crashing halt in March of 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic Powell was unable to take other planned visits to schools and decided to stick with the Senators and coach Daniel Mondragon.

Powell made an immediate impact. He started all 15 games as an off-ball guard and averaged 16.4 points, third on the team.

While Powell speaks highly of his teammates and the Davis & Elkins program, he said it was a dismal experience. COVID-19 protocols in West Virginia prohibited fans from attending the games and for the first time in his life, his family couldn't watch him play basketball.

Elkins is tucked in the Northeast corner of West Virginia and has a population of less than 7,000, so there was a bit of a culture shock. And with a 12-hour drive to Jacksonville and back, Powell couldn't exactly head home on the spur of the moment.

"Yes, I was homesick," he said. "My family couldn't watch me play ... really no one could come to the games except the girls basketball team. It was very difficult."

Glenn Powell said he and his wife and daughters missed Gyasi just as much. But he wonders if surviving that one year wasn't good for him in the long run.

"That year was just as tough on us as it was on him," Powell said. "We're a very close-knit family and we're always there for each other. We had to settle for watching him on streaming broadcasts. But I think it made him tougher, more humble. He's always been a good young man but I think he learned not to take the little things for granted."

Sharing Mincy's vision

Once the 2020-21 season ended, Powell put his name into the transfer portal. Within 48 hours, someone noticed: Russell Powell, his high school coach at Bishop Snyder, who immediately made a phone call to Jordan Mincy.

Mincy was trying to stitch together a roster that was depleted by players transferring by bringing in others off the portal. They included Osayi Osifo from Florida and Jordan Davis from Middle Tennessee but when Mincy watched tape of Powell's games at Davis & Elkins, he saw a lot of good qualities that he believed would fit at JU.

"Coach Powell reached out to me and said it was a chance to get a pretty good player," Mincy said. "He was a freshman but had bit-time numbers in a respected league and I thought we could put some weight on him. Then I talked to his parents and talked to him, and we had some great conversations. He's extremely intelligent and I could tell he understood the game."

Powell said he was sold on JU once Mincy started talking about his vision for the program -- especially the parts which had little to do with ball screens and defense.

"He said he was going to turn it around ... he had a vision," Powell said. "Not only did he want to win this league but he wanted to bring the JU community together, and bring the city of Jacksonville to JU. I liked his vision."

Powell had a few more nibbles but he was sold.

"It was Jacksonville ... it was home," he said.

Rapid adjustment

Powell averaged 4.5 points per game last season and played 15 minutes or less in 11 games. But as the conference season wore on, Powell found a role on the team: an offensive spark off the bench, mostly slashing to the basket and disrupting in pressure defense.

"I knew defense was going to get me on the court and keep me there," he said. "We have a lot of talent but I was playing well in practice and I knew if I could hold my own against Kevion [Nolan] and Jordan, I could play at this level."

Russell Powell said Gyasi worked out his shooting issues the same way he always did.

"I used to tell Gyasi that if you're in a slump, get in the gym," he said. "But I also told him if you're shooting well, get in the gym anyway. He always took that to heart."

With his shooting work in the off-season and putting on an inch and about 10 pounds of muscle, Powell has been able to get more physical on both ends of the court and the payoff has been starting the last 16 games.

He's not overly concerned with how many points he scores. Powell thinks leadership first, defense second and everything else takes care of itself.

It's the leadership Mincy wants to see. Nolan and Davis are both in their final seasons and Powell is the heir apparent to be Mincy's quarterback.

"He's a guy who will be back and be an all-league player," Mincy said. "He can be every bit the leader that Kevion is."

Indeed, Nolan has been pushing Powell to take on that role this season.

"Kevion got on him against Kennesaw and told him, 'you need to be more vocal ... push me,'" Mincy said.

Powell said he'll do whatever his coach needs from him.

"If it's being more of a leader, I'll be that," he said. "Score more points? Be a better defender? I'll do that. He's [Mincy] very tough on the guards."

Glenn Powell sees a bright future for the next two seasons with Mincy on the bench and his son directing the team on the court.

"I've always been very impressed with coach Mincy, his maturity, his ability to fully engage with the kids," he said. "He gets it that culture is the key and I'm pleased he saw that in Gyasi. He's a better man than he is a coach."

And Gyasi Powell said success is sweeter when it's been earned.

"I've had to compete for everything I've gotten in basketball," he said. "Every minute of playing time. Every shot. I had to prove I could play in a program like this and I'm going to keep proving it."

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Bishop Snyder graduate Gyasi Powell making an impact for JU Dolphins