Gonzaga assistant Roger Powell accepts head coaching position at Valparaiso
Mark Few will spend the next few months filling no fewer than five, and potentially up to eight, spots on Gonzaga’s roster.
Now the longtime coach will also be tasked with replacing one of his most revered assistants.
Roger Powell, who just completed his fourth season on Few’s staff, has accepted his first head coaching position, stepping into the vacant role at Valparaiso. After multiple reports linking Powell to the Valparaiso position, the school confirmed the hire late Friday morning.
“My family and I are extremely blessed to have the opportunity to come back to Valparaiso University where my coaching career started,” Powell said in a release. “Now as the head men’s basketball coach, I have some unfinished business to attend to. It’s time to get to work, so let’s go Beacons!”
Powell becomes Valpo’s 23rd head coach and the program’s first Black coach, according to the school release.
The 40-year-old got his coaching start at Valparaiso as an assistant in 2011 under Bryce Drew, who now coaches at Grand Canyon, the school Gonzaga faced in the first round of this year’s NCAA Tournament.
Powell spent the first six years of his coaching career at Valparaiso, helping the Crusaders (now the Beacons) win 28 games in 2014-15 – the last time the school went to the NCAA Tournament – and a program-record 30 wins in 2015-16.
Valparaiso fired previous coach Matt Lottich last month after seven years with the program. The Beacons went 11-21 last season and posted a 5-15 record in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Powell was hired by Mark Few in 2019-20. He helped the Zags reach the national title game in 2020-21 after an undefeated regular season. Gonzaga posted a record of 121-13 over Powell’s four seasons as an assistant coach, advancing to the Sweet 16 of the 2022 NCAA Tournament and making a run to the Elite Eight this year.
The Joliet, Illinois, native was instrumental in Gonzaga’s recruiting efforts, especially in the Midwest, and helped the Bulldogs reel in a commitment from freshman forward and four-star recruit Braden Huff, out of Chicago.
Powell was the lead recruiter for Alex Toohey, a four-star forward from Australia, who’ll be joining the Zags this fall, and he helped bring a variety of transfers to Spokane, including guards Malachi Smith and Rasir Bolton.
The former University of Illinois basketball standout who had an NBA stint with the Utah Jazz before playing professionally overseas worked closely with Gonzaga’s forwards and centers during his time in Spokane. He developed a close relationship with eventual No. 2 NBA draft pick Chet Holmgren.
Powell, nicknamed “The Rev,” became a favorite among GU players, often mixing in with the Bulldogs during practice drills and scrimmages. A video posted to his Twitter account depicted senior forward Anton Watson taking a charge from the assistant coach during a practice earlier this season. Afterward, both Powell and Watson are shown diving on the floor for a loose ball.
When Powell made a guest appearance on The Spokesman-Review’s Take 22 Podcast with Watson in early March, the Gonzaga forward referenced the assistant’s popular motivational speeches, usually delivered before home games at the Kennel.
“That’s all from the heart, man, and obviously we can’t share right here what goes on in those huddles,” Powell said. “It’s cool, man. It’s how I’m feeling in the moment.”
During the podcast appearance, Powell also alluded to his desire to become a Division I head coach and credited Few for his mentorship over the last four years.
“I think one thing coach Few has really taught me is, No. 1, he’s comfortable in his own skin,” Powell said. “He’s going to do things the way he wants to do them, he’s going to coach, he’s going to recruit, he has a plan and it’s sustainable.
“For me, someday I’ll probably be a head coach, and I think these four years I’ve had with (Few) is going to prepare me to be a great head coach and it’s because of him.”