Growing up, Powell was always taller than everyone else.
With the advantage, elementary and middle school coaches often forced him to play in the post. He worried that he wouldn't be able to develop his ball-handling skills while in the frontcourt.
So, he grabbed stools from inside the house and placed the furniture outside in the driveway to mimic different dribbling drills he found on YouTube.
After breaking his right wrist — which required extensive surgery that takes months to heal — he didn't take time off. Instead, Powell learned how to dribble with his left hand.
By age 11, people started to notice.
Northwood men's basketball coach Matt Brown saw Powell play for the first time during a summer camp at the high school in 2016.
The coach approached Northwood's athletic director. Brown asked a simple question.
“Who is that?”
At that time, Powell was known as Deuce Powell's little brother. Deuce already played on Brown's team.
The youngest Powell was already 6-foot-1, matching the height of the oldest. He was tall, skinny and fast.
“He was very confident in himself,” Brown said. “Very cocky. He knew that he was the best player on the floor, even though he was going against a lot of older guys.”
As the rest of the camp continued, the head coach envisioned a future a couple years down the line. He had one thought.
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“Oh man, I hope he comes here.”
***
Pittsboro is home to less than 5,000 people.
There are only two high schools in the town, Northwood and Seaforth High School, with the latter opening in 2021.
Still, even with 900 students, Northwood's gym was always full. After every single game, Powell often didn't return home for another 25 minutes.
He was busy talking to people who traveled just to see him. He was busy signing autographs for kids. Some people even went as far as to call Powell the “Prince of Pittsboro.”
He set the standard. He built a relationship with a community offering him its full support. Brown believes he is the best player to ever come out of Chatham County.
During his four years as a Charger, Powell scored 1,744 points and led his team to state championship appearances in 2021 and 2023. Despite the national attention as a top-15 recruit, he stayed at Northwood all four years.
In his first year at Northwood, the Chargers faced Terry Sanford High School in a playoff game on the Bulldogs' court. Brown said it was one of the largest crowds and student sections Northwood faced following COVID.
The students started taunting Powell, calling him “string bean” and “twig.” In response, he rattled off eight straight points, turned to the crowd, brought a finger to his lips and shushed them. The Chargers won 43-41.
The following game, in a final four matchup against West Carteret, the Chargers were down by 12 with three minutes to go.
Drake hit 3-point shots on back-to-back possessions. His 16 points guided Northwood to a 72-69 overtime victory against the Patriots.
Among trophies, paperwork and various books, Brown has a printed picture taped to the wall on the left side of his desk.
”Drake Powell - North Carolina” is written across the top with “McDonald's All-American“ below in large silver letters.
Powell is posed holding a basketball in his Chargers jersey.
“[He's] the kindest, gentlest person you’ll ever meet,” Brown said. “Smiling walking down the hallways like he's a normal person. You would never know the kid was going to Chapel Hill or some McDonald's All-American. He never big-timed anybody. Never had an ego about himself.”
In his office, Brown pauses and looks at the picture for a moment.
“Yeah, he's pretty special.”
***
After being named a McDonald's All-American in January, Powell posted the same graphic that's taped to Brown's wall on his Instagram account.
The caption is simple: “Cherice & Dedric.”
That's his why.
Following countless morning drives to the YMCA to put up shots in a silent gym, time traveling to rec league games, tournaments and the investment that his parents have put into his career, Powell wanted to say thanks for it all.
“Drake is the type of kid that just wants to make me and his dad proud,” Cherice said. “And we tell him we're proud of him, but that's also one of his goals. He wants us to be proud of him. And so I think that post was just, ‘Look what I did with your help. I hope you're proud of me.’”
***
An hour before the Blue-White Scrimmage begins, Brown and his family are already seated in the Dean E. Smith Center's reserved family and friends section.
“We were the first ones in, and we got right up to that big court so I could hear him,” Brown said. “I could see him.”
Brown, his wife and his two children had never been to a North Carolina game before. Powell put the first points on the board during the scrimmage.
The head coach noticed that Powell had gotten better. He learned how to change his pace, and the rhythm of his shot improved. Just five months removed from wearing a Chargers jersey, Powell looked different.
“[He] acted like he belonged, and he does,” Brown said. “He belongs on that court.”
Head coach Hubert Davis is beginning to see some of the things Brown saw early. Powell never brags or lingers on a single moment of success for too long.
“For a guy to be as talented as he is,” Davis said, “he is equally and probably even more humble.”
It's clear that Powell has always possessed a natural talent. He started playing basketball at five years old. Before his first recreational game in 2010, he laid out his headband, his shoes and his jersey. Powell struggled to fall asleep.
As Powell embarks on his collegiate career, he's now laying his uniform out at North Carolina. This time he's just 30 minutes away, in front of 20,000 people. But his reasoning is all the same.
He's doing it for the place and the people that shaped him.
“I want to make a story for myself,” Powell said. “But at the same time, I want to be able to please them.”
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