When Illinois coach Bruce Weber heard the news last offseason, he was stunned.
Forward Roger Powell, one of Weber’s five returning starters for the 2004-05 season, had declared himself eligible for the NBA Draft.
Coming off a junior season in which he was an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention selection, Powell surprised more than just Weber with the decision.
The move shocked Illinois fans and even a few of Powell’s teammates.
“Everyone is trying to make moves in their lives,” Illinois guard Dee Brown said. “He’s just trying to feed his family, I guess, and make that next level.”
But the whole fiasco turned out to be all for not when Powell pulled his name out of consideration and announced he would be back for his senior season at Illinois.
“I wasn’t going anywhere at all,” Powell said. “I just wanted to put my name in there just to get a buzz and see some things.
“There was no thought process as far as leaving or anything.”
While Weber certainly was glad to have him back, he did hold some resentment toward Powell for his handling of the situation.
Normally a player at Illinois who wants to test the draft waters and also wants to leave the option open of returning works with the school’s compliance office to ensure all NCAA regulations are followed.
But in this instance, Powell subverted the entire process.
“We talked about (his declaring for the NBA draft), but then he didn’t tell me he did it,” Weber said. “I wish he would have communicated more, and I expressed my displeasure with his lack of communication.”
Weber and Powell talked soon after he declared his eligibility, and Powell informed his coach that he wasn’t even considering leaving early.
Powell said he just wanted to gain some publicity for himself and possibly to work out for a few NBA teams.
But after contracting mononucleosis a few days later, the idea of being able to showcase himself for NBA teams was nullified.
Powell was then able to return to Illinois and retain his NCAA eligibility because he did not sign with an agent and did not accept any advertising contracts.
“You still worry that they might screw up and take something from an agent,” Weber said. “That was the part that I was so upset about. They think they know the rules, but all of sudden the player goes to dinner with an agent and the agent pays. Well, technically, it’s a violation, and he can’t come back.”
Brown said he was glad to have his teammate back and to know that the team’s starting five would be held intact for the upcoming season.
“There was no hatred there,” Brown said. “It was all love because you can’t blame a man for trying to make moves in his life.”
Already this season Powell is making an impact for the Fighting Illini. The 6-foot-6 senior is second on the team with 5.1 rebounds per game and fourth on the team with 12.8 points per game.
“Roger gets the job done as an undersized big man,” Brown said. “He brings energy to the team, a lot of maturity and a lot of dirty work back to the table.”
Reach Zach Silka at [email protected].
