- Leon Powe
Infobox NBA Player
name = Leon Powe
caption = Powe in September 2007
position = Power forward/Center
nickname = The Show
height_ft = 6
height_in = 8
weight_lb = 240
league =NBA
team =Boston Celtics
number = 0
nationality = USA
birth_date = birth date and age|1984|1|22
birth_place = Oakland,California
college = California
highschool = Oakland Technical HS
(Oakland,California )
draft = 2nd round, 49th overall
draft_year = 2006
draft_team =Denver Nuggets
career_start = 2006
career_end =
former_teams =
awards = 1-time NBA Champion
(2008)Leon Powe, Jr. (pronounced |ˈpou(-ə)|) (born
January 22 1984 in Oakland,California ) is an American professionalbasketball player who is currently a member of theNBA 'sBoston Celtics .Personal life
Powe grew up poor in Oakland,
California . His father left him when he was two years old. When he was seven years old, the family's house burned down and they were homeless for years. He was taken away from his mother by the state of California and put intofoster care . In high school, Powe's mother died four days before he played in the state championship. [ [http://www.eastbayexpress.com/ebx/PrintFriendly?oid=284645 East Bay Express : Print This Story ] ] His life was featured byESPN in a segment during the2008 NBA Finals .High school career
Powe attended
Oakland Technical High School , where he averaged 27.4 ppg, 14.2 rpg and 3.1 bpg as a senior. With Powe in the roster, Oakland Tech was able to win the CIF Oakland Section Championship and also reach the CIF State Championships in 2002 and 2003. He was named a first-team Parade All-American and the Gatorade California Player of the Year during his senior year. A highly rated prep star, Powe was selected to play in theMcDonald's All-American game and became the first Oakland Tech athlete to have his number retired by the school. [ [http://calbears.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/powe_leon00.html Player Bio: Leon Powe :: Men's Basketball ] ]College career
Powe played his college basketball for the
California Golden Bears from 2003-2006. Although he was part of Cal men's hoops for 3 seasons, he did not play in his sophomore year due to a serious knee injury. During his freshman season, he earned the PAC-10 freshman of the year, leading the conference in rebounding.Questions abounded about whether Powe would be able to return to form following his knee surgery but he worked hard and rehabilitated to become a dominant force on the interior as he continued to improve his game. He produced 20.5 PPG and 10.1 RPG while leading Cal to a 20-11 record and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Powe was named California's most valuable player during a banquet in April 2006. Powe, who also was selected Cal's
MVP as afreshman in 2004, averaged 20.5 ppg and 10.1 rpg to become just the sixth player ever to pace the conference in both categories. Named a second-teamAll-American by theAssociated Press , theU.S. Basketball Writers andESPN.com , he was chosen to the All-Pac-10 team for a second time in 2006.Professional career
After his junior year, Powe decided to enter his name in the
2006 NBA Draft . Powe was selected by theDenver Nuggets in the second round as the 49th overall pick. The Nuggets subsequently traded him to theBoston Celtics . After playing for the Celtics summer league team, Powe was signed by the team to a 3 year contract. Although Powe did not reach the sum of 14 in his per game points, rebounds, and assists necessary to guarantee the second year of his contract, that second year became guaranteed by Boston not waiving him byJuly 1 ,2007 . Powe has a similar hurdle of 16 for the sum of the three statistics to guarantee the third year of his contract (2008–09). [http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/sports/colleges/cal/15071722.htm] [ [http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/articles/2006/08/06/blazers_coach_plays_defense/ Blazers coach plays defense - The Boston Globe ] ]2006–07 NBA season
Powe played as a fourth string center behind
Kendrick Perkins ,Brian Scalabrine , andMichael Olowokandi in his rookie season. After a rash of injuries submarined Boston's playoff chances, Powe received a limited opportunity to showcase his skills. He proved himself a capable defender who can alter shots and provide interior rebounding. OnJanuary 12 ,2007 , Powe made the most out of his 25 minutes and registered a career-high 12 rebounds against theToronto Raptors . OnApril 10 ,2007 , he scored 19 points against theAtlanta Hawks . Powe finished the 2006-07 campaign averaging 4.2 points and 3.4 rebounds in just over 11 minutes per game.2007–08 NBA season
On
January 29 ,2008 , Powe had a breakout performance that took place in Miami against the struggling Heat, as he effectively filled in the blank of the absent main contributorsKevin Garnett andRay Allen , scoring 25 points and grabbing 11 rebounds en route to a 117-87 blowout victory. [Steve Bulpett, [http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1069948 Celtics elect to win] , "Boston Herald ",January 30 ,2008 .] He also scored his career-high 27 points in the last game of the season against theNew Jersey Nets onApril 16 ,2008 . [Mark Murphy, [http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1087748&srvc=celt&position=6 C’s go through motions, gear up for postseason] , "Boston Herald ",April 17 ,2008 .]One of his most notable performances of the season came in Game 2 of the
2008 NBA Finals against theLos Angeles Lakers onJune 8 ,2008 , as he scored 21 points, which included several dunks, in only 15 minutes of play in front of a crowd chanting his name [Chris Forsberg, [http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/celtics_blog/2008/06/theyre_chanting.html They're chanting his name...] , "The Boston Globe ",June 8 ,2008 .] en route to a 108–102 Celtics victory. [ [http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=280608002 Celts withstand Lakers' late Game 2 run behind Pierce, defense] , "Associated Press ",June 8 ,2008 .] [Scott Tribble, [http://www.nba.com/celtics/playoffs2008/sidebar060808-powe-game2.html Celtics Build Lead with Heavy Dose of Powe-time] , "Celtics.com",June 9 ,2008 .] [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dime-080609 Daily Dime: Powe steps up for Celtics] , "ESPN.com ",June 9 ,2008 .]References
External links
* [http://leonpowe.blogspot.com/ Leon Powe Fan Site]
*NBA-profile
*basketball-reference
* [http://www.eastbayexpress.com/gyrobase/the_making_of_leon_powe/Content?oid=284645&page=1 The Making of Leon Powe]
* [http://calbears.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/powe_leon00.html Cal Bears Profile]
* [http://www.nba.com/draft2006/profiles/LeonPowe.html Draft Profile]
* [http://www.mreplay.com/search_result.php?search_id=Leon+Powe&search_typ=search_videos Videos of Leon Powe on mReplay.com]
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