Wings Up Player Profiles: Nick Powell

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Nick Powell is now in his junior season for UNCW, and while he may be just a walk on to some, he knows his role on the team is important to the success on game day.

“My job is just to work hard you know in practice, try to push the guys and keep up with everybody,” Powell said. “We’ve got a lot of talent so for me to be any kind of mentor off the court is really my responsibility.”

They’re often the unsung heroes, but being titled a walk on, sometimes can bring along with it a negative connotation.

But this team loves to have Nick Powell as much as Nick loves to be a part of this team.

“I feel just as part of this team as everybody else,” Powell said. “Day in and day out these are my friends.”

No, he doesn’t always get the minutes on game day. It’s the work done in practice that makes him crucial to the wins this season.

“I mean you know, it just depends on whatever team we’re playing, I’ll be the scout team for that team so to speak,” Powell said. “It definitely helps me learn the offense, learn the defense of the other teams and help prepare the rest of my team.”

Last season Nick Powell and the Seahawks took on Duke in the big tournament — a team he watched a lot growing up in Greensboro.

“It was a great experience being able to go to the tournament, play against a team I loved as a kid, you know it was a lot of fun so,” Powell said.

Nick is always learning in practice and striving to be better. That drive comes from his teammates and of course, his coach.

“Coach Keatts definitely pushes us the hardest,” Powell said. “Probably players in my position, Chris Flemmings, guys like that push me to work hard every day.”

The season is far from over and with the Seahawks facing off against the Cavaliers, Powell knows he needs to continue to grow and get better to help the team get back to glory.

“I mean I know what I got to work on,” Powell said. “I got to change my body, continue to do that. You know, get better at defense, things like that but you know I feel like I’ve also improved to get myself a chance to play a little bit.”

UNCW takes on UVA this Thursday at 12:40 p.m. The game will be broadcast on truTV.