CCBC freshman Yazid Powell scores 81 points in honor of late Kobe Bryant
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Community College of Beaver County freshman Yazid Powell has been a Kobe Bryant fan for his entire life.
He idolized the Los Angeles Lakers legend growing up. He went to high school a stone’s throw from the playground where Kobe played. He mimicked his moves any chance he could, and he has defended him in several debates about the best player in NBA history.
So when the CCBC men’s basketball team got together Monday, they wanted to come up with a way to honor Bryant after he and eight others, including his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, died in a helicopter crash Sunday morning.
The late Kobe Bryant was our own Yazid Powell’s favorite NBA player. Last night, Yazid scored 81 in the @CCBCedu win over @bc3edu in tribute to a giant of basketball gone far too soon. We’re proud of you, Yazid — way to show your #MambaMentality & make us #TitanProud! #IAmATitan pic.twitter.com/EtpJkxcHzE
— CCBC Student Life (@CCBCTitans) January 29, 2020
The Titans decided on having someone score 81 points because of how Bryant scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors on Jan 22, 2006, which to this day is still to this day is one of the greatest feats in NBA history. As to who it would be, that was an easy decision.
“It was never really a doubt who the No. 1 Kobe supporter on the team was,” CCBC coach Bryen Spriggs said. “Everybody likes Kobe, but Yazid is just head and shoulders above everyone else in terms of supporting an individual and having the love for him.”
So Powell was chosen, and later that night, he followed through. The 6-foot-4 guard played 31 minutes, converted 35 of his 52 field-goal attempts, made seven 3-pointers, four free throws and scored his team’s first 71 points in a 147-61 victory over Butler County Community College.
He scored 75 in the first half and scored his 81st point early in the second half when he converted a layup after being fouled. After receiving a few quick hugs from his teammates, Powell stepped to the line and purposely air-balled his second free-throw attempt to stay at 81 points and complete something he never thought he would be in the position to do.
“Never,” Powell said when asked if he ever thought he would be in a position to score 81 points. “It’s hard. I mean, the most I’ve ever scored is 44, and that was hard for me. So, 81, phew. It’s really a blessing.
Tonight I scored 81 points in the honor of my idol, favorite player, and someone who is the reason I start playing basketball this mean so much to me I want to thank my teammates and coaches for allowing me to accomplish this ??❤️ #DaTicket4200 #RipKobe #RipGiGi ?? pic.twitter.com/f7RAeXfYOV
— ZID (@zidpowell) January 28, 2020
“Kobe is my favorite player. I’ve looked up to him all my life, and it was really tragic how he died. It hurt me. I was gonna bust out crying. And my teammates made it happen for me. They know how I feel about him, and they made it happen.”
The Titans (18-2), ranked sixth in the NJCAA Division II, average 106.6 points and have scored over 100 points 11 times this season. Powell, who borrowed No. 24 from teammate Chris Greene for the game, saw his scoring average rise from 12.7 to 16.3 points. Butler County Community College began paying extra attention to him as his point total grew.
“Once they saw he was getting going, he started facing double- and triple-teams and things like that,” Spriggs said. “They started to scheme against it. It was just the stuff you’d expect to see when you have a kid that’s just rolling.”
This all for Kobe??❤️ #RipGiGi #Daticket4200 #CCBCTITANS (twitter wont let me post the full vid) pic.twitter.com/zsWqnrIguw
— ZID (@zidpowell) January 28, 2020
Powell came to CCBC from Overbrook High School in Philadelphia, which produced another NBA legend, Wilt Chamberlain, and one of Powell’s first questions for Spriggs was if the Titans had No. 24 available.
Greene normally wears 24 and as an upperclassman, he didn’t want to give his number up. But Monday was a special occasion, and Powell didn’t even need to ask.
“That meant a lot to me,” Powell said. “It showed me that he’d give me the shirt off his back. He’s like a brother. He was like, ‘Just take it.’ He’s a Kobe fan, too, so he knew how much it meant to me.”
Over the past few days, teams and players have been dedicating performances and moments to Bryant. Several teams took a 24-second shot-clock violation to honor No. 24, and others have taken an 8-second backcourt violation to honor Bryant’s first number in the NBA.
It wasn’t just a single person’s accomplishment. The Titans did it as a team.
Rasheed Browne tallied 24 assists, and eight Titans recorded at least one. Tyree Corbett grabbed 21 rebounds.
“It was great that Yazid got the 81 points, but the amazing thing to me was how all of the guys rallied together and made the sacrifices of their own individual games,” Spriggs said. “They did it for the betterment of a brother and for a goal and that’s what we’re all about here.”