HBCUs have been on Powell’s mind
HBCUs have received increased visibility with high profile recruits over recent months. Top sophomore Mikey Williams has multiple HBCUs in his top ten. Howard actually landed a five-star recruit in Makur Maker. But don’t think that Powell is following anyone’s lead.
“I’ve been thinking about that since I was in like seventh or eighth grade,” Duncan Powell said about attending an HBCU. “It recently became a trending topic to talk about going to HBCUs, but back in eighth grade I would say ‘I might mess around and go to Southern or Prairie View.”
He didn’t end up at either of those SWAC schools, and he won’t be playing in the MEAC, either. Powell’s first season will coincide with A&T’s move to the Big South Conference in the fall of 2021.
Earlier this year head coach Will Jones told HBCU Gameday he hoped the move to the Big South would allow A&T to get a higher-caliber player out of high school.
“We’re gonna continue to recruit JUCOs and transfers when we can but we’re really focusing our efforts on going out and trying to sign some of the better high school players in the country and we’re going to a league that’s going to allow us to do that,” Jones told us in the spring.
Powell told us that the family ties and comfort had a bigger impact, but did acknowledge it helped.
“I know the Big South is much better with competition in basketball,” he said. “It’s a higher level conference in the eyes of the NCAA. So that plays a role.”
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