J.D. Powell is in his seventh season with the College of Charleston men's basketball program and was promoted to Associate Head Coach in May of 2019.
This summer, he was named one of the top men's basketball assistants in the Colonial Athletic Association by Jeff Goodman and Watch Stadium Basketball Insider and invited to participate in the Collegiate Coaching Consortium co-hosted by Athletic Director U and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).
“J.D. has been a valuable member of our program,” CofC Head Coach Earl Grant said. “He is a terrific coach and has worked extremely hard to help move Charleston Basketball forward. I’m excited to see his continual impact on our program for years to come.”
With 21 years of basketball experience, Powell has been involved in every aspect of rebuilding the storied program at The College since joining Grant's staff in 2014. The Cougars went from winning just nine games in 2014-15 to 92 games over the next four seasons. A key component to that success has been the development of players including 11 all-conference honorees and back-to-back NBA Draft picks in 2019 and 2020. Retention has also been a cornerstone of the team's success with 24 graduates and just six transfers.
During the 2018-19 season, the Cougars posted a 24-9 overall record with non-conference victories over Rhode Island, VCU and Memphis. Two players – Grant Riller and Jarrell Brantley – were named to the All-CAA First Team. Known for their defense, the Cougars led the CAA in scoring defense for the fourth-straight year holding opponents to 68.6 points per game. CofC also ranked No. 17 in the nation in turnovers per game (10.5 avg.) and No. 16 in free-throw percentage (76.4%).
In 2017-18, the Cougars made a memorable run that included the program’s second-straight 25-win campaign, an impressive 26-8 overall record and 14-4 mark in Colonial Athletic Association play. The co-regular-season champions earned the No. 1 seed in the CAA Men’s Basketball Championship and defeated No. 2 seed Northeastern in an overtime thriller to punch the program’s first ticket to the NCAA Tournament since 1999.
During his first year as an assistant coach, CofC compiled a 25-10 overall record, reached the CAA Tournament championship game and earned a Postseason NIT berth in 2016-17.
Powell previously served two years as director of men’s basketball operations for the Cougars, who went a much-improved 17-14 overall in head coach Earl Grant’s second year at the helm of the program in 2015-16. They also finished the season ranked No. 8 in the nation in scoring defense holding opponents to an average of 62.0 points per game – the seventh-lowest average in the program’s NCAA Division I era.
Charleston went 9-4 in the non-conference action including an upset of preseason Top-25 ranked LSU and projected No. 1 NBA Draft pick Ben Simmons at TD Arena. In addition, the Cougars claimed first-ever road wins at Navy, at James Madison and at Towson, while picking up the program’s second-ever CAA Tournament win against Delaware in the first round. CofC had seven players earn all-conference honors including Jarrell Brantley, who became the first Cougar freshman to be named conference Rookie of the Year since 2006.
Prior to CofC, Powell served as an assistant coach at The Citadel under head coach Chuck Driesell from 2010-14 and as an assistant coach at Charleston Southern University under head coaches Barclay Radebaugh and Jim Platt from 2004-10.
With a keen eye for talent, Powell served as recruiting coordinator for the Bulldogs and was instrumental in signing two of the highest-rated recruits in Citadel Basketball history in 2013 Southern Conference All-Freshman Team selection Matt Van Scyoc out of Green Lake, Wisconsin, and three-star recruit Jake Wright, the fifth-ranked player in the state of Minnesota by ESPN.com in 2014. Marshall Harris III, a 2010 signee from San Antonio, Texas, led the SoCon in assists per game as a sophomore.
On the court, Powell was in charge of post player development including All-Southern Conference standout Mike Groselle out of Plano, Texas, and SoCon All-Freshman Team selection Brian White out of Richmond, Va. Groselle closed out his career as The Citadel’s all-time leader in double-doubles.
Prior to his time at The Citadel, Powell’s work with player development, recruiting, scouting and academic success of Charleston Southern student-athletes garnered CoSIDA Academic All-America honors for Giedrius Knysas in 2008-09. He also mentored a pair of Big South Freshman of the Year recipients in Omar Carter (2007-08) and Jimmy Sexton (2008-09) on Barclay Radebaugh’s staff.
During the 2004-05 season, Powell was a key part of then-head coach Jim Platt’s staff that led the Buccaneers to wins over Liberty and High Point and a berth in the Big South Conference championship game. He also helped sign the No. 1-and No. 2-rated recruiting classes in the league in 2006, 2007 and 2008 by Rivals.com.
Powell got his start in collegiate athletics as a graduate manager with the men’s basketball program at Furman University for two seasons from 2002-04. His duties with the Paladins included day-to-day team operations, post player development, director of film and co-director of the Larry Davis Basketball Camp. He also worked in basketball operations for the NBDL’s Greenville Groove in Greenville, S.C.
A 2001 graduate of Clemson University with a bachelor’s degree in speech and communications, Powell went on to earn his master’s degree in technology and human resource development at his alma mater in 2003.
He played for the Tigers from 1998-2000 – a two-year stretch which included a runner-up finish in the 1999 Postseason NIT under head coach Larry Shyatt. An ACC Honor Roll student, Powell began his time at Clemson as a team manager, but later became a walk-on and eventually earned a scholarship.
A native of Westminster, S.C., Powell is married to the former Kerri Tucker of Greenwood, S.C. The couple has three sons, Jack (9), Tucker (8) and Hampton (5).
