Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

10/13/2011 at 4:25pm

Image by Mark Wagner

Marshawn Powell is "happy" with the direction of the program under first-year coach Mike Anderson.

FAYETTEVILLE — Marshawn Powell grinned. Then his smile turned to full-fledged laughter.

Again and again it happened Wednesday as Powell chatted about the upcoming basketball season. Question after question, the 6-foot-7 junior forward seemed, well, downright happy.

Powell’s demeanor was quite a departure from last season when he battled injury and struggled — at times — with his attitude, his teammates and his coaching staff. It’s no coincidence that Powell’s confidence in the program and outlook began to improve about the time Mike Anderson was hired in March.

“I am happy, man. My situation is good. I can’t complain,” Powell said. “I have one of the best coaches in America. One of the prettiest gyms I’ve ever been in in my life. I’m ready to see it packed and filled to the top."

Optimism filled Bud Walton Arena on Wednesday. Media days tend to be full of hope and enthusiasm, but to see Powell expressing those sentiments was a shock after watching him brood his way through 2010-11.

Powell was slow in recovering from a broken foot and his production suffered. An all-SEC freshman a season earlier, Powell rarely looked like himself — on or off the floor — in what would be John Pelphrey’s last year at Arkansas.

Out of shape and out of sorts, Powell averaged 10 points and 4.5 rebounds as a sophomore and the Razorbacks went 18-13, failing to make the postseason. There were too few moments like Powell's 22-point, 10-rebound gem in an upset of eventual Final Four participant Kentucky. Recounting the struggles was one of the few times Powell wasn’t cracking a smile on media day.

“I can’t even sit here and lie to you guys and say I was well the whole season last year,” said Powell, who appeared in 28 games and started 18. “I wasn’t. My play showed it. My attitude showed it probably. Everything, you know. It wasn’t, it wasn’t one of my best years. I hate to look back on it to be honest.”

Honestly, Powell seems poised for a breakout year. When Arkansas begins practice Friday at 7 p.m., Powell will hit the floor at 220 pounds of primarily lean muscle. That’s down from the 235-240 he was last year, mass gained not in the weight room, but primarily as a byproduct of the foot injury that limited his conditioning.

As Powell struggled, it was easy to forget that his 14.9 points and 6.7 rebounds as a freshman put him in rare company. Scotty Thurman and Joe Johnson are the only players in Arkansas history to score more points in a first season than Powell. Sidney Moncrief was the only freshman with more rebounds.

Watching the rough time Powell had last year it would be reasonable to wonder how another offseason foot injury would impact his 2011-12 season. But Powell estimates he’s 90-95 percent after summer surgery and he hasn’t begged out of offseason work and even participated in the team’s recent run up Cleveland Hill near campus, a grueling half-mile incline that freshman Ky Madden described as “hell.”

“He is in the best shape he has ever been in,” Anderson said of Powell. “He hasn't complained about anything and he is doing well. He's been through the wars, and he's got to be one of those vocal guys. He started for the most part all last year and his role expands.”

Recapturing the scoring and rebounding form of his first year in a Razorback uniform are just part of what Anderson needs from Powell. Leadership can be his most important contribution.

Arkansas has depth issues with a roster made up of just 10 scholarship players and walk-on guard Kikko Haydar. There are four freshmen expected to play key minutes. Interior play is a question mark. The search for a shooter is ongoing. Powell is the only returning starter and Anderson wants the forward to be the cornerstone of what he describes as a "remodeling" of Razorback basketball.

Anderson’s reclamation project goes beyond the signs of physical progress at Bud Walton Arena. Visitors on Wednesday were instantly hit with the overwhelming smell of paint fumes. “Wet paint” signs lined the hallways and even without the odor, it was obvious a fresh coat had been slapped on the walls.

Work to spruce up the place began shortly after Anderson was hired from Missouri in March. Anderson, 200-98 as a head coach with six NCCA appearances, had crews provide a face-lift to his office and even the court got a fresh coat.

Nothing, though, points to the remodel work Anderson is doing like a conversation with Powell. Or a conversation with teammates about Powell, who guard Rickey Scott described as “a different person.”

Powell welcomes Anderson and the changes. He said he embraces the leadership opportunity that is his as the team prepares for its Nov. 11 season opener against South Carolina Upstate.

"I just can't wait,” Powell said. “I'm excited; I'm ready."

And for the first time in a while, Powell comes across as genuinely happy.

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ArkansasSporst360.com editor Chris Bahn has won several awards you’ve probably never heard of, but are kinda cool. Not, however, as cool as his two beagles, Hoops and Sugar, who you might occasionally hear join Bahn during his multiple weekly radio appearances in Fayetteville, Little Rock, Jonesboro and Fort Smith. For more details on those appearances follow CBahn on Twitter and check our Facebook page for ArkansasSports360.com.

Tagged: Marshawn Powell, Mike Anderson, John Pelphrey, Rotnei Clarke, Ky Madden, South Carolina Upstate, Bud Walton Arena, Arkansas Razorbacks