Dwight Powell Diary: LeBron Skills Academy (King City Classic), Day 5
One of the top bigs of the class of 2010 writes from Cleveland, OH.
Dwight Powell, a rising senior at the IMG Basketball Academy, is one of the top recruits in the country. He plays AAU with Grassroots Canada. Schools in the ACC, PAC-10 and SEC have expressed interest such as Vanderbilt, California, UCLA, Stanford, Virginia and even Harvard. The 6-9, 220-pound forward is spending a few days this summer participating in basketball camps, including the NBPA Top 100, Harvard Camp, Amar’e Stoudemire Skills Academy and LeBron James Skills Academy. Powell, also a 4.0 student, will give SLAM a first-hand account of the camps throughout the summer.—Franklyn Calle
The fifth and final day of our LeBron James experience ended well.
Although my team made it to the championship game, we couldn’t hold things together for the full 20 minutes, but it was a great experience anyway.
While waiting for my flight at the airport, I did a little recap of the experiences we all went through during the last week. We did a lot of things many kids across the country won’t ever get a chance to do, and for that, I am truly grateful.
We had a chance to play in some great facilities in Ohio, with the best of the best high school players from across the nation. We got some top-notch equipment thanks to Nike, which kept us clothed from head to toe in “swooshes.” We got a chance to play and do drill with the current NBA MVP, LeBron James, which is an experience of a lifetime right now for players like us. Plus, we got a chance to play the game we all love.
Another thing, we got all of the exposure anyone could need to get to the next level. Nike helped prepare us for media interviews and developed our skills, so we could perform in front of the many college coaches.
This camp gave us the means to perform and a platform to display our talent, and I’m unbelievably thankful. We were all part of a truly first-class basketball experience, so I thank all the coaches, staff, representatives, volunteers, and players for helping make that happen.
(Ed note) Since Dwight won’t hype himself, here’s what Scout Inc.’s Reggie Rankin said about Dwight’s play at the LeBron Academy:
“The 6-foot-10 Powell was impressive shooting the perimeter jumper on Wednesday. He has excellent shot preparation with a smooth release and follow through. He knocks down midrange shots and open 3s with ease. Powell plays with urgency, competes and is extremely mobile. He runs the floor with long strides, and can sprint the outside lane for spot-up jumpers or run to the rim. He is a scoring threat at all three areas of the fast-break offense. He is a matchup nightmare because he will post smaller defenders and pull less mobile posts to the perimeter.”
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