By R.L. Bynum
After spending freshman season at West Virginia, former UNC guard Jonathan Powell is transferring to Pittsburgh, the Mountaineers’ arch rival.
Powell made the announcement in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday evening. It was Pitt’s second commitment of the day after former BYU forward Dominique Diomande also committed to the Panthers.
Powell, a 6–6 forward, played all 33 games for the Tar Heels off the bench, averaging 4.8 points per game while making a career-high 35.5% of his 3-point attempts.
“My sophomore year is something I’ll always value, and Carolina will always be part of me,” Powell posted on X on Monday when he announced he was entering the transfer portal.
Powell always brought high energy off the bench with rebounding and hustle plays.
He tied his career-high with 17 points on Dec. 13 in the 80–62 home win over USC Upstate. He scored double-figure points twice during the ACC season: 15 on Feb. 28 in the 89–82 home victory over Virginia Tech, when he scored a season-high four 3-pointers, and 12 on Feb. 2 in the 87–77 home win over Syracuse.
He scored 17 points twice during his freshman season with the Mountaineers, Feb. 10, 2024, in a 79–45 win over N.C. Central and on Jan. 4, 2024 in a 69–50 victory over Oklahoma State.
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Roster assuming all players with eligibility other than Caleb Wilson, Luka Bogavac, Isaiah Denis, Derek Dixon, Kyan Evans, Jonathan Powell, James Brown and Zayden High return and the players in the incoming freshman class hold in their commitment, which would put UNC six under the 15-player limit. The class for next season is listed.
| No./ Stars | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 star | Freshman | Dylan Mingo | CG | 6–5 | 190 |
| 5 star | Freshman | Maximo Adams | SF | 6–7 | 205 |
| 4 star | Freshman | Malloy Smith | CG | 6–5 | 190 |
| 40 | Junior | Ivan Matlekovic | 5 | 7–0 | 255 |
| 4 | Senior | Jaydon Young | G | 6–4 | 200 |
| 13 | RS senior | Henri Veesaar | 5 | 7–0 | 225 |
| 15 | Senior | Jarin Stevenson | 4 | 6–10 | 215 |
| Walk-ons | |||||
| 25 | Junior | John Holbrook | 4 | 6–8 | 230 |
| 32 | Senior | Evan Smith | 2 | 6–1 | 195 |
In transfer portal
| Player | Class next season | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luka Bogavac | Senior | W | 6–6 | 215 | |
| James Brown | Senior | C | 6–10 | 240 | |
| Isaiah Denis | Sophomore | G | 6–4 | 180 | |
| Derek Dixon | Sophomore | G | 6–5 | 200 | |
| Kyan Evans | Senior | G | 6–2 | 175 | |
| Zayden High | Junior | C | 6–10 | 230 | |
| Jonathan Powell | Junior | G | 6–6 | 190 | Pittsburgh |
Key offseason dates
Last Tuesday — Transfer portal opened
Thursday — Deadline to request evaluation from the NBA Undergraduate Advisory Committee
11:59 p.m. April 21 — Transfer portal closes
11:59 p.m. April 26 — NBA early-entry deadline
May 8–10 — G-League Combine in Chicago
May 10 — NBA Draft Lottery
May 10–17 — NBA Draft Combine in Chicago
May 27 (11:59 p.m.) — NCAA early-entry withdrawal deadline
Week of June 22 (date to be determined) — NBA Draft
Photo via @jonathanp0well1
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