By Michael Letendre 

BRISTOL – The loss of Julius Powell, Bristol Central’s senior center on the boys basketball team, will certainly hurt the depth of the squad this season. 

And that young man certainly deserves a better fate after all the hard work he put into the program over the past three seasons. 

The Rams understood that the middle belonged to Powell and he would have put together some tremendous nights as one – if not the – of the tallest players in the CCC South. 

Central, with Powell in the mix, was thinking more than just eight wins this season. 

“I think if Julius was around, we had some goals that were higher than eight wins,” said Central coach Tim Barrette. “Obviously, losing Julius is going to make that a little more difficult.” 

Powell showed his skill in small bunches last season, usually when 7-foot-2 big man Donovan Clingan got into a little foul trouble. 

There was an eight-point explosion against East Catholic over the Rams’ second game last season – helping Central keep and even extend its lead. 

He played important minutes at the Springfield Central game and was more than just a mop-up center at the end of games during his junior campaign. 

Powell averaged around 2.4 points-per-game but he was certainly more valuable than just a hoop or two every night. 

He played excellent positional defense and knew where to be on the court. 

Powell stayed out of the way of the senior scorers, helping snare a few rebounds to start the break or give the Rams another possession on that championship squad. 

It was going to be his turn and Powell would have cleaned up at center for the program. 

“He would have been All-Conference,” predicted Barrette of Powell. “He was a walking double-double.” 

But, just like when he was laid up in football, Powell will be there – on and around the bench and at practice – pumping his teammates up and giving invaluable advice during games. 

And that’s what a true senior leader brings to any successful team, injured or not. 

Powell will help the team build chemistry and he still has plenty of work to do for the defending champs.