Norman Powell knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but he was up for the challenge.
“I know it’s gonna be tough, there’s gonna be a lot of workouts, it’s gonna be a lot of grinding, but I’m ready for it,” Powell said on March 31, before his NBA pre-draft training was about to begin. “(I’ll be) doing what I do best, which is: work.”
That work paid off for Powell on Thursday night, as he was selected 46th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2015 NBA draft. Powell was later traded to the Toronto Raptors, who have three fewer guards on their roster.
After the draft was over, UCLA coach Steve Alford commended the very work ethic Powell had emphasized nearly three months earlier.
“I’m just really happy for Norman, too, because he’s worked so hard,” Alford said in a teleconference Thursday night. “He wasn’t on anybody’s draft board last year, so he moved up by just what he did: coming back into his senior year.”
This year, Powell emerged as UCLA’s leading scorer and team leader, galvanizing an unexpected NCAA Tournament run for the Bruins that ended in the Sweet 16. This fate didn’t seem possible for Powell just two years ago, when he averaged 6.1 points per game on 43.4 percent shooting from the field in former UCLA coach Ben Howland’s system.
But upon Alford’s arrival in 2013, Powell improved significantly, raising his Player Efficiency Rating (PER) from 10.6 in his sophomore season to 20.2 in his junior year and then 19.6 this past season. He increased his scoring rate in both seasons.
Alford doesn’t see Powell’s steady growth stopping at the collegiate level.
“His numbers have gotten better every year and you can only assume that’s going to continue to take place at the professional level,” Alford said. “If it does, i think he’s got the chance to stick around for a long time.”
Powell will face some familiar competition when he fights for a roster spot this summer. Joining him in the Toronto backcourt will be first-round pick Delon Wright, a shooting guard from the University of Utah who faced Powell many times in Pac-12 play over the past two years.
Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.