BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – DeWayne “Pooh” Powell, who starred on the University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team from 1992-96, will be recognized as an Ohio Valley Conference Basketball Legend at the upcoming league tournament this week in Evansville, Ind.
Powell was a standout under the late head coach Cal Luther right as the then-Pacers were transitioning to the NCAA Division I level. Powell was the first (and only) UT Martin men’s basketball player to achieve All-OVC status in all four years as he was an OVC All-Newcomer as a freshman and followed that with three straight mentions on the All-OVC second team.
A Fort Wayne, Ind. native, Powell left as the program’s second all-time leading scorer (1,626 points) and to this day still holds the UT Martin record for three-point field goals made (302) and steals (263). He also ranks in the top-10 in school history in assists (330, fifth), field goals made (522, sixth) and free throws made (280, ninth).
Powell started in all 107 of his career games and helped lead the Skyhawks to their first-ever winning season in OVC play as a senior (9-7 in 1995-96). He was inducted into the UT Martin Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019.
The OVC started its tradition of recognizing men’s and women’s basketball legends from each of its member institutions in 2015. Powell is the eighth Skyhawk honoree in the initiative joining Tara Tansil-Gentry (2022), Mike Meschede (2020), Pat Head Summitt (2019), Jared Newson (2018), Jasmine Newsome (2017), Lester Hudson (2016) and Heather Butler (2015).
In addition to Powell, this year’s class of OVC Basketball Legends includes Eastern Illinois’ Jon Collins, Lindenwood’s Kallie Bildner, Little Rock’s Chastity Reed, Morehead State’s Julie (Magrane) Muntz, Southeast Missouri’s Antonius Cleveland, SIUE’s Raven Berry, Southern Indiana’s Stan Gouard, Tennessee State’s Oby Okafor and Tennessee Tech’s Kevin Murphy. This group will be recognized through video board recognition, PA announcements and a game program feature story during the 2023 OVC Basketball Championships, which takes place on March 1-4 at the Ford Center.