Transformational Not Transactional

Valpo’s Roger Powell Jr’s Building Project

(St. Louis, MO) – Roger Powell Jr is determined to be transformational not transactional as a Valparaiso’s head basketball coach. ‘The Rev’ has boundless energy and loves to mentor his players and help them grow as men and on the basketball court.

During our mid-September conversation Powell seems unfazed by having to completely rebuild his roster. He’s genuinely excited for former stars Cooper Schwieger and All Wright as they transferred to higher profile programs.

His recruiting of numerous freshmen, landing just two Division 1 transfers cuts against the grain of your typical Missouri Valley Conference team. Heading into his third head coaching season, half of Powell’s new players are freshmen or redshirt freshmen. After winning seven games during his first season and fifteen last year, Powell insists his current team is ready to take the next step into contending in MVC.

Transformational Not Transactional

Powell’s deep Christian faith informs his coaching philosophy. Rejecting the notion of ‘using players’ to get ahead, he wants to be transformational not transactional. He loves helping players develop, grow and mesh with one another.

While losing great players is difficult, he sees the silver lining in what Schwieger and Wright achieved.

During summer and early fall workouts he’s been teaching the new Beacons ‘Valpo basketball’. He wants Valpo’s style of play to become second nature for his players. Instilling those values into his team will allow them to play ‘fun, fast and free, with a lot of faith’.

His personal Christian faith provides him with a solid purpose. The cultural foundations and the team’s ‘DNA Wall’ are drawn from biblical truths. Those truths are the things he leans on and teaches his team. Powell says that solid foundation will help him be a successful head coach.

The third-year head coach enjoyed a hugely successful assistant coaching run prior to his time back at Valparaiso.

Freshmen and D1 Transfers

Powell is bullish about recruiting high school players and prioritizes recruiting in the states of Illinois and Indiana. Jayden Watson is a redshirt freshman and six other first year players are on this year’s roster.

Fourteen of Powell’s 17 players hail from either Illinois or the Hoosier State. Two of his freshmen (Carter Hopoi and Sader Servilus) are foreign born and have valuable international experience.

He loves developing players and Beacon players have won the last two MVC ‘Freshman of the Year’ awards. Powell thinks recruiting local can be a huge asset for Valparaiso.

At least four Valpo rookies are ‘three-star recruits’. While Hopoi and Servilus have been productive internationally, Bolingbrook’s J.T. Pettigrew and Rockford’s Rakim Chaney have been tearing it up close to home. The 6’3 Chaney averaged 25 points, seven rebounds and five assists during his prep school season at 212 Academy. Pettigrew set the Bolingbrook school record in rebounds and blocks.

6’9 Kobe Walker averaged a double-double last season and Cameron Webster is his school’s all-time leading scorer.

Powell landed two, accomplished Division 1 wings in Tulsa’s Isaiah Barnes and Texas A&M Corpus Christie’s Owen Dease. Each come to Northwest Indiana with solid credentials and some sorely needed perimeter size.

Barnes was a top-150 player coming out of Chicago’s Simeon Career Academy. After two years at Michigan and two at Tulsa, he is coming home. He and Dease are each 6’7 and averaged over nine points-per-game last year.

Powell is putting a lot of faith in those two veterans.

Players Seizing an Opportunity

Two NAIA players (Kyonte Thomas and 6’9 Shon Tupoula) bring more veteran experience. Tupoula averaged a double-double for now Valpo assistant Jesse McClung at St. Mary of the Woods. Powell first saw Tupoula when his team played a preseason exhibition against the Beacons.

A pair of Division 2 players from UIndy are making the move to Valpo. Great Lakes Valley Conference all freshman team member Tucker Tornatta and fifth year guard Brody Whitaker bring needed size (Tornatta) and experience (Whitaker).

The golden nugget in the recruiting class could be point guard Mark Brown Jr. The 5’11 Brown is ranked as the 61^st best junior college player in last year’s class.

Head to YouTube to watch our entire conversation or to Valley Hoops Insider Podcasts to enjoy the audio-only version.

Guard Justus McNair is the lone returning Beacon that saw significant playing time last season. He appeared in all 34 Valpo contests and enjoyed a successful rookie campaign.

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