Jasmine Powell announces decision to join Lady Vols as a transfer
Minnesota transfer Jasmine Powell announced her transfer to Tennessee on Wednesday via Twitter.
Jasmine Powell (4) of the Minnesota Golden Gophers in a game vs. the Ohio Bobcats. Photo/Kelly Hagenson
The Lady Vols have added further depth to their 2022-23 roster with the addition of Minnesota transfer Jasmine Powell. She announced her decision to join Tennessee for her senior season on Wednesday through Twitter.
TMC🏁🙏🏽🧡 pic.twitter.com/2ygQcia6DN
— Jazzy❤️ (@jazzy3gang) March 3, 2022
Powell will join 5-star prospect Justine Pissott as the only announced incoming players to join Tennessee for the upcoming season. Pissott is the No. 11 overall recruit and No. 2 wing in the country according to ESPN.
Pissott and Powell assist in making up for the departing production of Rae Burrell, Alexus Dye and Keyen Green.
Powell played almost three seasons for the Golden Gophers where she excelled before entering the transfer portal in January. Her impressive sophomore campaign resulted in All-Big Ten Second Team honors (coaches). She started all 18 games she appeared in that season averaging 14.5 points, 5.4 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game.
Before entering the portal this season, she averaged 12.4 points, 5.7 assists and 4.4 rebounds in 19 played games.
Offensively, Powell has the ability to stretch the floor with three-point shooting. In each of her three seasons, she has shot over 30% from behind the arch for a career average of 32.3%. This will mix well with a Tennessee offense that likes to pound the ball inside while stretching the defense with capable shooters on the perimeter.
Powell is also a very effective passer. She has improved her assist numbers in each of her seasons at Minnesota. In her final season as a Golden Gopher, she recorded 45 more assists than any other player on the team. This stat becomes even more impressive when taking into account that she played 11 fewer games than the next six players finishing behind her in the category.
She will become another on-ball weapon for Kellie Harper’s stifling defense. Similar to Jordan Walker, Brooklyn Miles and Kaiya Wynn, Powell has the ability to stay in front of quick guards and run a full-court press. This is statistically shown through her 1.4 steals per game over the last two seasons.
Powell walks into a good situation at Tennessee where Harper’s past three transfers have seen success as a Lady Vol. Walker and Green joined the program for the 2020-21 campaign where they both made instant impacts. Walker worked her way into a starting point guard role that she has held down with consistency since. Green had both her seasons cut short due to injuries but has carved her way into a leadership position that has been valuable to the team. Dye transferred for her final year of eligibility where she started every appearance averaging 8.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in 2021-22.
Powell will join Tennessee for the upcoming season with two years of eligibility remaining.
Featured image courtesy of Gopher Sports/Kelly Hagenson
Ryan Sylvia is the Sports Editor at TNJN. He is a senior at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville majoring in journalism and electronic media. Although he spent most of his life being raised outside of Philadelphia, he was born in Knoxville, and he is happy to be back home. Ryan has had a love for sports from an early age, and he found his love for writing in high school while taking journalism classes. He hopes to find a job involving both his passions as a sports journalist after graduation. To reach Ryan, email him at rsylvia@vols.utk.edu
