The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
As Jim Calhoun builds St. Joe’s, a Connecticut D-III rivalry blooms
NEW HAVEN — Jordan Powell is from Middletown, born in Middlesex Hospital. He is from Arizona and North Carolina and Windsor High, too. And, oh yeah, Hill College in Hillsboro, Texas, and Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory, N.C.
Jordan Powell is the Everywhere Man.
“I told Jordan the greatest compliment I can give him is he knows who he is,” coach Jim Calhoun said after St. Joseph routed No. 19 Albertus Magnus, 98-79, Wednesday night at The Nest.
Knowing who you are leads to 22 points on perfect 10-for-10 shooting. Knowing who you are leads to 10 rebounds. Knowing who you are helps turn around the Blue Jays’ biggest woes in the GNAC championship loss to the Falcons here last March. St. Joseph didn’t get crushed on second-chance points 26-14 this time. No, this time in a Connecticut battle of conference unbeatens they carried the 46-31 rebounding edge and that led to scoring difference of 54-30 in the paint and 15-6 on second-chance points.
It took, oh, 10 minutes from the time Calhoun walked through the door at West Hartford in 2018 to realize a rivalry with Albertus and coach Mitch Oliver would blossom. Oliver’s Falcons have eight GNAC titles. The schools are only 38 miles apart. Calhoun wants to be king of the neighborhood. Of course, he does.
“It’s been great,” Cal
hounsaid. “I think it’s good for the league. I think it’s certainly good for St. Joe’s and good for Mitch. It’s nice to have somebody you can hate. It’s a good thing. I find that easy to do at times. No, he’s a good guy. I respect him. I respect what they’ve done here. They have been the best team. We’re kind of the new kids on the block and growing up pretty quick.”
Oliver, who won both meetings in St. Joe’s inaugural season, didn’t disagree. Even if he was left miserable by his team’s effort.
“We’re in a league where we were the only Connecticut team for a long time,” Oliver said. “Whenever you win in a league like that, you’re an outcast. It’s good to have another Connecticut team. He’s right. It’s a built-in rivalry. It’s like the Red Sox-Yankees. I think he’s a Red Sox fan. I’m a Yankees fan. It’s good for the league. You want an NCAA Tournament atmosphere.”
The Nest was packed Wednesday. The atmosphere was loud. And, then? Oliver just kept repeating his team got outtoughed. Out-toughed on 50-50 balls. Out-toughed on the boards. He didn’t like it one bit. The Falcons are one of the top teams in the nation in offensive rebounding. Not on this night.
Delshawn Jackson, who had a career-high 36 points in a game littered with 61 total fouls, is a terrific Division III player. Strong. And with Jaecee Martin, who transferred from Division I Sacred Heart, Calhoun has a terrific guard tandem.
“Two best guards in the state, not high school,” Powell said. “I’m talking college.”
Powell gives St. Joe’s a 6-foot-7, 185-pound a Spider-Man dimension. The junior transfer knows his game is to run the floor like few bigs can. Knowing who you are also mean knowing people who know you.
“The best guys you get sometimes are the ones your guys tell you about,” Calhoun said. “One of the best things about being in Hartford, is DJ, Tyree (Mitchell), Jaecee knew Jordan. There was a chance he’d go to a low D-I. We convinced him to come here. He’s a great kid.”
Powell said Martin and Jackson talked him up and showed Glen Miller and Calhoun film on him. Even last year, he said he’d finish a game at Catawba and run to his laptop to watch St. Joe’s.
“Next thing you know, Coach Calhoun called me,” Powell said. “Best call of my life.
“I’ve been playing with these guys, against these guys, AAU with these guys, since before high school. I knew it was coming together since I was playing JUCO last year. We have a brotherhood. And coach Calhoun to top it off? There was no question. I feel very blessed, very lucky.”
Powell lived in Middletown through middle school. His freshman year he was in Arizona, his sophomore year in North Carolina. He popped up on state basketball fans radar with outstanding play as a junior and senior for Ken Smith at Windsor High.
“And then Texas and North Carolina in college,”
Powell said. “I’ve had a lot of experiences on and off the court. Moving around, I’ve met a lot of people. I’ve made a lot of connections.”
Calhoun wanted to keep the Falcons out of the paint, a major problem in the GNAC championship game. He also wanted to run his offense and make Albertus play defense.
“If you play them up and down, that’s when they’re at their best,” Calhoun said. “We’re a pressing team and we didn’t press. The biggest thing was what we call our ‘controlled fast’ game. We want the break, if he don’t have, it don’t go 1-on-1. Move the ball.
“We’re an open court team. Albertus is an attack team. We’re different. We’re going to set a lot of screens, cuts, even Princeton-stuff with back-door cuts. They come at you more like an NBA team.”
It’s a style that fits Powell well. He’s averaging nearly 15 points for the season and 20.5 in the conference.
“I take pride in my speed,” Powell said. “At 6-7, 185, I know I’m not a center, but I’ll play any position for this team. I know at my height and speed, I can outrun guys on the court. That’s from Coach Smith at Windsor, rim to rim.”
Rim to rim. Endlessly. He’s everywhere.
“He’s a wonderful kid. He has more energy than anyone,” Calhoun said. “Watch the way he runs. That’s the way he is. It’s 2 a.m., he’s still going. He’s learning. He’s learning about getting yelled at, those sorts of things. He just bounces right back. The biggest mistake people make is harp on what a guy he can’t do. He doesn’t have the muscle. He can be a better defender. He also can run the floor and finish.
“I told him I think he can play in Europe if he puts some weight on. He’s actually a good-three-point shooter. I’m not going to let him do that right now. But he’s a terrific player. He’s the fastest big guy I’ve coached who can run the floor like he does. He doesn’t miss shot around the rim.
So now the Blue Jays have won 15 in a row. They’re 16-2 overall, 4-0 in the GNAC. They’re a problem for opponents. They are a team that the voters have to start looking at for the Top 25 in the D-III poll.
“That’s up to them,” Powell said. “We already believe we practice and play harder than anybody. We already know how good we are and how good we can get. This was a big wake up call for (Albertus).”
Yes, it was.