Derrick Powell Jr. 

Wanted: Student-athletes with a desire to play hard-nosed basketball for the entirety of games.

With basketball returning to Calhoun Community College for the first time in 22 years, the program is hosting tryouts on March 19 in the Kelley Gymnasium from 1 to 4 p.m.

According to head coach Derrick Powell Jr., there are some parameters to qualify for participation:

• Tryouts are open for high school seniors of the Class of 2022

• Tryouts are open for transfers who are not currently enrolled on a team.

• Tryouts are open for those aged 19-23 that formerly played for a collegiate-level program, and are not currently on a team.

• Current enrollees of Calhoun Community College

Drills will include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Ball handling drills

• 3-on-3

• 3-on-2

• 3-on-1

• Full court drills/transition offense

and defense drills

• 5-on-5

However, Powell says players shouldn’t bother showing up if they don’t care about their grades.

“If you don’t care about academics, don’t come out,” Powell said.

“They must understand that, regardless of what happened in the past, they are student-athletes. The ultimate goal is for them to graduate.”

Powell said his goal is for the team to have an overall GPA of 3.0, with 2.5 being the cutoff for mandatory study hall and 2.2 being the cutoff for team eligibility.

Powell has every intention of running a full-court man-to-man press for the entirety of his games.

Because of this, he needs players who are in shape, willing to work and know how to play defense.

“We get after it,” Powell said. “We also like to push the ball on offense, too.”

Powell says the coaches he models his game and philosophy around includes Bruce Pearl of Auburn University, Bucky McMillan of Samford and Mike Anderson, formerly of UAB.

Players are expected to be disciplined, which is unsurprising, coming from a coach who was formerly in the Navy, including playing ball for the Navy for one season.

He also has head coaching experience with Wetumpka High School and Calhoun High School.

He is also a coach for a two-time Mr. Alabama.

Participants are asked to bring their identification, proof of insurance with a physical, $10 for an entry fee and their “A-game.”

Lastly, he wants the community of Calhoun and the surrounding areas, such as Athens, Decatur, Tanner, Madison, Huntsville and so on, to support the Warhawks as they start down a new basketball path.

“If there is no community, then why is it called a community college?” Powell said. “I want the community, the fans, everyone to support the players. The fans are the sixth man.”