10 year old Ariel walks into the Altadena bedroom of her big brother Aaron Powell (Campbell Hall) and gives him that subtle smile and softly punches him right on his 6-1 athletic shoulder as only she playfully can and says, “Which rapper are you listening to in those earbuds big bro? Are you playing back the music you just recorded? Play the music out loud and dance, just please show me some moves.”

Before each of Aaron’s Campbell Hall games, he plays five hard driving songs that get him hyped up. So little sis knows what it takes to get him turned up and she also knows he’s the best big bro a sister could ask for. He won’t often refuse her requests because he sees she has that passion to learn like he did at her age.

As she grows up Ariel wants to find out from Aaron how to get that juice in her tennis game, that pure stroke softball game, just like big bro.

Just how good a prep basketball player is Aaron? ESPN has him being ranked a 4-star player in the class of 2024 point guards. Aaron appreciates that others have noticed him but you would never know it by how he acts.

A-Powell is 100% humble and doesn’t feed into the hype, just like my fav rapper in the 90’s Public Enemy would say, Don’t Believe the Hype. Aaron Powell is the sequel. 100.

Most kids would love to have such rankings, crazy attention, so many, many D1 offers from great hoop programs across the country. Aaron takes nothing for granted, he appreciates all programs that pursue him. He shows them all respect because he’s open at this point and sees himself going anywhere in the country to play.

The best thing Aaron has going for him is his supportive family, that inner circle that constantly reminds him to be true to his own craft.

How many youngsters do you run across in AAU that never feel big-headed, are always down to earth because of an unbelievable inner circle of trainers and mentors? Aaron’s support group always reminds him that rankings are just the beginning of the journey.

That’s Aaron Powell 24/7, 365 days a year. I wish all prospects and kids growing up in today’s world had his humble mentality.

Back to Ariel, she is asking for more then just dance moves as she chills with her brother, she wants advice. Aaron might be only 16 years old but if you have been lucky enough to talk to him, it’s easy see he’s wise and comes across as an old soul and sooooo smooth in convo, confident without being cocky. You’d swear he’s been walking this earth for 500 years.

Ariel asks him, “How do I get my game on in tennis and softball? Aaron responds, “You have to work really hard, head down, be on your grind and just believe in yourself or no one else will. All you want is within your grasp if you just trust in God’s plan. Be loyal to your family and friends, then everything will work out.”

They hug each other that much tighter, both still remembering it hasn’t been that long ago, just 2 years since their family went through the ultimate test of faith. They all pulled together stronger than they ever thought they would have to when their mom Mia overcame breast cancer.

What is more challenging to a brother and sister than almost losing their mom? What is more important than family?

Aaron Powell? There’s a good reason his sister is picking his brain about cool ideas to emulate. Aaron is way more than just an athlete, he’s more a go-getter than 99% of teenagers I’ve ever met and I’ve known 10,000’s working for californiapreps.rivals.com and evaluating prep age kids for 2 decades!

When I see Aaron flashing down court on the break, he is that guy everyone in high school wants to be around. He’s also full throttle into entrepreneur mode and dipping his hand into NFT’s currently. At the same time he’s working seriously on his rap album.

How can he have much time left over? How much time is left over to explore new creative ideas to be different from other kids that are pressure-packed at schools like Harvard-Westlake, Mater Dei, Crossroads, etc that get homework piled on them on top of high school basketball and AAU?

Not much, right?

But kids like Aaron, and all the others, I take my hat off to. Aaron says, “I love Campbell Hall because I see my close classmates push themselves to great heights. I’m excited to see others work to transform society in business, culture, their life choices in college and work with their passion that powers them.”

Aaron has so much swag and impact, you need to think of him like rapper NBA YoungBoy, a quiet avalanche of destruction because he is non-stop energy, creative flow and unstoppable on the court and off of it.

On the rare occasion he has a moment free to relax, you can find Aaron at the arcade, on a trampoline, or maybe even at a friend’s house listening to a favorite rapper Moneybagg Yo who sings his popular song Rookie of the Year. You catch Aaron’s vibe and feel his dreams come through on some of the lyrics:

“If you ain't got no check for me don't check for me, respectfully (nah)

I can't let my kids down, I'm building up my legacy (yeah)

Ain't competing with nobody, I'm just tryna be a better me (me).”

The quintessential thing to know about Aaron is his earnest and hardworking father, Jasen Powell, who has worked as the lead medical athletic trainer for the LA Clippers for the last 24 years. Jasen is about the most humble and down to earth person I’ve ever met. Aaron gets his down to earth sensibility from Jasen and Jasen’s awesome wife Mia, a nurse.

Jasen is the kind of person that drives a 2010 Toyota Camry that has 270,00 miles on it. These folks aren’t into the flash.

Jasen met Mia when they were both playing basketball at Cal Poly Pomona 30 years ago. Both studied hard, Jasen to be a trainer, Mia to be a nurse. Both seeking to be healers is what you have to respect. But what you also have to respect is that when they stepped on they court they were killers.

That might be a bit paradoxical but get to know them both and you’ll realize they are both all-in kind of people, both so committed to being great parents, helpers in the community, pillars for many lives that they touch.

The immense passion these parents have for hoops got passed down to Aaron. It wasn’t pushed on him as a youngster, but he embraced it.

Jasen is that polite well spoken man that hails proudly out of Oakland. Hear him talk about his journey and the importance of family values, “I played with tough competition in Oakland. There was no backing down from anyone, it was gritty out there. You just had to earn you reputation in street ball and wherever all the toughest comp came together to play.

“In our time, JR Rider, Jason Kidd, just so many tough and skilled players pushed you to be your best. That brought my game up and it’s a tribute to all those I battled to play my hardest and they gave me their best game time in return.

“The hard streets of Oakland is a place where nothing is given and nothing can be taken for granted. So our family teaches a very strong work ethic, and being respectful is important. We’re so proud of Aaron, he takes care of his academics, visualizes his dreams, and trains so hard. We remind him to have fun with the game.

“As long as Aaron keeps working hard and just remembers to be humble, his plans will succeed. Our family believes it’s very important to be down to earth and good people in this world. Our family tries to help others, it’s good karma. It’s all about God’s plan and trusting our inner circle of people we lean on.”

What makes Aaron such a special player? From a talent evaluator’s perspective, he runs his high school squad and AAU team JL3 Elite with deft efficiency. Speed is his ally and his strong yet nimble body carries him fast in transition right to the rim. He’s at the defender’s neck without having to put up crazy numbers to win each game for his team.

He’s an unselfish player that has talent surrounding him and he facilitates. His strength is that he puts his teammates in the right positions to score. Aaron is fearless, he goes up vs. all defenders with aggression. He stays consistent and has low turnovers against elite defenders.

Aaron has good change of direction, he has an effective jump shot which has range and proper form. He is especially crafty at the rim.

But it’s the intangibles, his presence, his tenacious defense, his leadership that puts him ahead of his peers. His strong foundation comes from his circle of advisors that give him a sounding board that keeps him improving constantly.

Simply put, Aaron is a high major player on a level with other established west coast 2024 players I’m high on like Vyctorius Miller (Oakwood) and my guy Isaiah Elohim of Sierra Canyon. who I was honored to write his story:

Click: Isaiah Elohim-the Quiet Storm

I feel confident in projecting that these 3 will lead the way on the west coast in national prominence for years to come based off their drive and skills.

To be accurate, I see these 3 players as carrying the torch from other phenom kids that had tremendous recent careers in SoCal like Illinois commit Skyy Clark and UCLA bound Dylan Andrews.

To be honest, my analysis sees Aaron playing fluidly like D-Andrews.

What makes me qualified to know this, the reader might ask? I’ve spent 100s of hours with the Clark fam, dozens of hours with Dylan. These are my guys and I wrote in-depth life stories on them.

I feel so very lucky that LA trainer Marcus LoVett Sr. introduced me to the Powell fam. I’m rarely so transfixed with a local player’s journey but there’s this excitement inside me to see where it will go. If there’s that one special PG you want to follow this year, A-Powell is the one to consider to go out and see indeed.

At the age of 6, Aaron was lucky to have that super special first trainer Marcus LoVett Sr. who has been a premier LA trainer for the last 20 years with his We Win program that has so many players in it. Aaron has grown up getting nurtured by players like Marcus LoVett Jr. and other great ballers in the program.

It’s LoVett Sr.’s “real” factor, his humanity and deep bag of skills that has me noticing Aaron’s skill set and mentality benefit greatly. Both the Powell and LoVett family are very close.

Let’s let Aaron describe his transformation with LoVett Sr. back then, “Marcus taught me how to be a dawg, but not to try and do too much. He’s family to us and we’re fortunate to have him be a resource that I use nowadays.

"I plan to use him on many occasions as I go to college and hopefully when I make a career in the NBA, that’s my goal. His deep spark laid the groundwork for me to get progressively better and better since I was 6.”

Now hear Lovett’s rich memories and affection toward Aaron and his family, “It’s been so rare to watch Aaron since the beginning, since he was 6 years of age. And look at him now, wow! We laugh at all the grind together, so many good times, us remembering everything.

“This business of being a trainer is about relationships. Relationships means being on all the time for my people. I pride myself on that. Jasen Powell being in the NBA family, he could’ve chose anybody for his 6 year old kid to start him off. So I was so grateful he chose me, it’s great we could be on the journey together.

“Their whole family stands for integrity. An important factor in achieving success is a positive father/son relationship, knowing that dad and son have each other. I had that with my sons and Aaron has it with his dad so strong together in addition to Mia being the most supportive kind of mom helping him strive for overall excellence.

“I could leave my kids with the Powells, they could leave their kids with our family for long periods of time, that’s the kind of trust we share in this world.”

Feature story on Marcus LoVett Sr. Click: Who tops the Mt. Rushmore of Relentless Obsession LA trainers?

Aaron has skills that remind me of my Camarillo neighbor I got to watch grow up and play against: Jaime Jaquez Jr. of UCLA. His sister Gabbi committed to play for the Bruins next year. Both of their parents, like the Powell fam, played together in college at Concordia.

This seems to me to be a testament to what parents with huge passion and support can do to nurture their kids, they can help them go FAR. I see Aaron having the same intense love for hoops as Jaime, with even more skills at the same age.

I’ve known Jaime since 6th grade and played with him 1,000’s times at our local 24 Hour gym. I even met him at the rim blocking his shot 5 years ago when I was 45 telling him, “Youngster, get that stuff outta here!”

So I told Aaron to dig deep in his bag of tricks “if we ever go 1 on 1 sometime playfully?” I asked him what kind of new moves he’d work on and he tells me, “That’s classified E, you’ll have to be surprised when I bring it.”

This Aaron Powell is one slippery dude, he’s probably too smart to let me block him anyways. Lol.

Point is? Which basketball player can you believe in this world, which player might do big things? I’m an oracle after writing so many stories on “Who’s-got-next” features!

So think Aaron, the player/future agent, Aaron the rapper, Aaron the NFT entrepreneur. There are just like 10 different ways this guy will blow up!

He’ll go far because he has such fantastic parents. Let me share such a touching quote from his mother Mia, “Aaron, he’s that kid that would make any mom proud and his sister Ariel, she so talented in all she does and we all support each other.

“I never need to have my name attached to my kids when they’re talked about, be that sports or anything. It’s enough for me to know I am their mom and for them to know I’ll always be there for them when they come home.

“I took a break from working to be there with them all the time so I could take care of them. I want to be there to make sure nothing slips through the cracks. A couple years ago I had breast cancer and my parents moved in, Jasen’s parents moved down from Oakland, John Lucas III was there for us all the time. So many stepped up to help us.

“Aaron plays the game with all his heart. He plays it as hard as I hug him and I never take him or anybody I love for granted when we hug each other nowadays. We are all in God’s plan, trying to do good for each other while we’re here on earth.”

#a mother’s love

Another huge part of Aaron’s life is that real-one coach and trainer who is that close family friend for him, John Lucas III. He’s now a coach for the Los Angeles Lakeers and played many good years in the L.

I noticed big time that John’s heart beams that “Allen Iverson Edge” in all that he does in terms of playing and training which made him successful in his pro career. His JL3 Elite AAU travel team that Aaron plays for is a manifestation of their tight bond.

I’ll let A-Powell explain, “John III is definitely that big bro/uncle to me. We have an easy relationship and are super tight. We can clown around one minute and the next moment he is giving me deep knowledge that helps me see the game so clearly.

“From working with him I’ve gained so much confidence. He is family to us, he leaned in so much with us when our mom went through cancer. I don’t mind the constant traveling back and forth to Texas to play AAU for JL3 Elite. That’s where I have family and my grandparents roots run deep in Texas.

“It’s an awesome team to be a part of because John has us bonded and in a groove. We have several good players, especially Mercy Miller, and we want to lock in and eventually win Peach Jam. We’re going to make everyone proud of us.”

John Lucas III is not just a great guy for Aaron, he helps train other prep SoCal kids I’ve known over the years like Jason Hart Jr, Cassius Stanley, and Josh Christopher.

John told me he appreciates helping youth. Feel these insightful comments he shares about the Powell family he is so close to, “Jasen and I talk a lot. He is elite at what he does and is a great guy. He’s such a family man, the whole family is tremendous.

“Aaron is so mature for his age and locks in. There’s no goofing around in him on the court, as he’s all business. We’ve known each other for so long, the fundamentals we started together have set in during our time together. It’s not an overnight process. Aaron commits to my philosophy that we owe to the fundamental history of the game. We need to pay homage to the game and we need to play it right.

“I’m all about taking a player out of their comfort zone in training and helping to put them in a harsh environment in sessions to get them to thrive in game situations. Aaron totally buys into this. He sees that when a player gets older and their body starts to break down, that entropy takes over naturally and the body will naturally lose athleticism.

“But those skills can endure with proper skill set training. The results we seek together with clients work because my clients see that there are no gimmicks and no shortcuts. You can not skip levels. I believe this game is at least 80% mental, there is so much potential for those that fully embrace the training. Aaron has so much potential.”

#wise words

Is the reader starting to visualize the special nature about Aaron? NBA pros are drawn to mentoring him, being a part of his journey because of the incredible person he is. Yes, I’ve seen first hand how Jasen is so personable, the kind of person you want to be associated with.

It’s important to point out that Aaron on his own merits is someone you can’t take your eyes off when he is on the court. And as a person he’s someone you want to follow. He’s multi dimensional.

Aaron draws in exceptional people who have climbed the mountain of success and want to support him. They see he is a sponge that wants to learn from them, maybe they see he will mentor others when he’s a full grown man, paying it all forward, all what is put into him.

You want an example of this? We all know Jamal Crawford as “J-Crossover”, viewing his amazing 6-man skills from afar. Aaron who has known Crawford since he was 8, calls him Uncle Jamal and wears #11 to honor Jamal. He texts him all the time. Hear Aaron explain, “Jamal tells me a lot to not worry, just play right and don’t lose my way. He’s such an uplifting person to me.”

Another great mentor who cares and impacts Aaron is NBA great Chris Paul who tells Aaron, “Just play the way that’s best for you. You don’t need to score 30-40, just develop an all around game and get all your guys involved.”

Yet another super former NBA player Jeff McInnis, who was a star at UNC, told Aaron, “Just be a dawg out there, always strive to be the biggest dawg out there. You remind me of Rob Dillingham of Donda Academy.”

Aaron also exhibits his local Altadena pride when receiving basketball help from Jeremy Majors, who was a stud PG at Pepperdine and has provided great support. Aaron says Jeremy helped and taught the game to him.

After seeing these high levels pros invest, doesn’t it perk your interest to watch Aaron in action at Campbell Hall or his JL3 Elite AAU? You know where I’m going to be sitting this upcoming summer and next prep season.

Aaron in his freshman year at Campbell Hall put up 15 points on Sierra Canyon and felt like he belonged out there. His prep coach Steve Tolbert has so much confidence in him and Aaron likewise loves the way his coach directs the team.

But then toward the latter part of his sophomore year he was injured for a big part of the season and spent much of his recovery time helping a freshman named Isaiah Johnson improve his confidence while learning to play the PG position and playing pesky defense.

So you see it’s more than putting up big performances to Aaron thus far in prep, he loves to direct the offense and raise the win total. He’s proud to continue an excellent tradition at vaunted Campbell Hall High and wants to contribute as a mentor.

Aaron also wants to be known for being approachable at his school, spreading good vibes, being that guy you can always see smiling. He takes pride in cheering others up, putting in a smile even when he has a bad day to pull himself out of a bad mood, make a Tik Tok vid to blow off steam maybe.

Even though there’s a lot of pressure on Aaron, he works out 6 days a week, 2 hours a day, many extra hours of weightlifting, staying up past midnight for all the homework his high school piles on top of kids. It’s all gravy, it’s opportunity to show he’s got what it takes to change the world.

I’ll let him share, “It’s not pressure, it’s a chance to become an entrepreneur or sports agent after playing in the NBA, which is my goal. Getting good grades, a 3.8, that’s not hard for me. It’s not a grind, it’s what my folks taught me. It comes natural, it’s what is expected and I appreciate the opportunity and all that everyone does and sacrifices for me.

“People call me an old soul. I guess I am, but since the age of 13-14 I just see these dreams really strong in my head and I visualize all that is needed to live them out. All the offers I hold, I don’t take for granted any opportunity that comes in front of me. I’m willing to go anywhere in the country for the right fit to a program that has high goals like I do.”

A great mentor for Aaron is Deon Coleman. He’s a great varsity coach at a state of the art newly built school, View Park High in the inner city of Los Angeles. Deon? He’s the real deal in terms of reaching out to mentor legions of kids in LA.

Jasen says about him, “Aaron learns so much from Deon. He gets a lot of knowledge and together time from Deon. He makes such a difference in his life and is so close to our family.” I witnessed first hand Deon’s superior job helping run the Cal Supreme AAU program where he did a great job of nurturing kids like Bol Bol and Shareef O’Neal.

So feel Deon’s no half steppin’ words on A-Powell, “I’m all in when it comes to Aaron, his family is extended to mine. When you see such an incredibly rare youngster who is committed, who applies what you’re telling him, that the message that you’re delivering has been received, you just want to root for him.

“I try to help him see gametime scenarios in the world of basketball, what do you do with that possession late in the 2nd half, how to maximize each situation, 2 for 1 scoring opportunities as the clock winds down.

“Aaron has a great ability to compartmentalize things in his life, how he should approach making music, thinking about how should he be doing business besides basketball in his future, he has big dreams.

“I treat him like an adult because as a black man in today’s world, he will have a lot thrown at him. He needs to see how he will apply his energies. If he doesn’t visualize his plans to prepare, then distractions could cost him an opportunity. The circle around him is very strong and so are his ambitions.”

Just how unique is this family? Really special. Jasen Powell doesn’t like the attention on him. He’s that kind of guy giving 1,000 favors out, never asking for a thing. That’s what a person has to love about him. He contributes money to black colleges education funds in Oakland, paying it forward. He helps a program with seriously disadvantaged kids.

Jasen offers up Clippers tickets, he just mentors and tries to help out each person he comes across, which makes this story a call to action, a blueprint for how to successfully raise a child.

How many kids do I see out there that could be more successful if they were inspired to live out their dreams? Me, a teacher of 24 years, you can’t imagine how J-Powell and his wife Mia are such dream parents worthy of congratulations for the job they’re doing compared to so many others I’ve seen.

It’s not that they just support the materialization of a ball player, it’s that Aaron could be a NFT magnate, a rap star, a pro baller, all those and more, because he has that village, and its the undying love.

On getting to know them, the Powell family, they are the kind of parents that hold their kid accountable, nurture him, bring out his best.

I expect crazy dope things out of Aaron, wildly successful outcomes in the near and long term from him in many ways. Are you trying to create impossible expectations from him E-Woods? People might accuse me of gassing him up. No, and no.

Let me explain. When you’ve been a talent evaluator that’s seen 10,000’s of players, interacted with vast amounts of colleges to give them leads on elite talent, you get a 3rd eye. Even more, there is a select few, maybe 5, kids I’ve known since 2003 that I treasure knowing, that I have chosen to present as a role model to my elementary school classes in my past 24 years as a teacher.

I knew DeMar DeRozan as a 7th grader, he played for me briefly on our SLAM Mag AAU team. Me so close to his dad Frank DeRozan who played in the NFL, he was a wise and thoughtful father to his son challenging him to 1 on 1 to toughen him up.

I told my class how Frank would tell DeMar to look beyond his incredible athleticism to dunk, he told him to develop a mid range game. And that son listened to his father and it made him widely successful. Aaron listens to his wise father so much too.

I often tell the great family togetherness stories when I’m around people of the Christopher family. Patrick, I saw him as a 14 year old kid grow to live out his dreams in the NBA briefly, then take destiny into his own hands to be an ultra successful fashion designer.

Patrick has this fabulous great inner circle with Jamal Boykin, who is an LA Lakers trainer I’ve known since he was a player in at Fairfax High. Also in Patrick’s circle is John Lucas III who helped train Patrick’s younger brother Josh, who likes to be called “J-Gup”. He helped him to live out his NBA dream.

Aaron has that same tight circle to help his NBA dreams along as well. Aaron is a dope guy, and has so much chill swag about him, as all the Christopher brothers. I appreciate all these guys who don’t try to pretend, they just act happy and be themselves.

Feature story: click: Josh & Caleb Christopher: Family Secret Sauce to Success

I wish I could’ve met Aaron when he was in 6th grade the age of Skyy Clark when I met Skyy. That’s when I went on a tear to sing S-Clark’s praises to so many kids at tournaments, blue blood D1 coaches, basketball insiders, and friends about his amazing personality, family, and his Herculean 7 day a week training regiment that went at least 6 hours a day.

He kept this up for years in junior high with elite trainers. The Clark family touched me with their deep spirituality and family togetherness.

Feature story: click Skyy Clark: Double Helix Future

I sing the praises of all these players and their families all the time because I could write a book on them about the inspiration they sparked in me. They made their mark on the game and I predict this is the trajectory that takes place for Aaron and that he will leave his mark in a unique way!

Click here for Aaron's Twitter page and see his vibe @aaron_powe11

The biggest thing I can say about the Powell family is that they meet life’s challenges. They met my passion in this story and actually surpassed it in their own way with their honesty! So it was an honor to capture their fantastic blueprint they are providing for Aaron.

My point is that Aaron and his family are made of this same stardust as all of those other all time fav players I’ve written about and still talk about a lot. I love to bring them up: Skyy, DeMar, Christopher fam and share about them often because they have a beautiful blueprint for others to learn from.

The Powell fam is right up there with them all. 100.

Aaron’s rich and busy life is throttled at such a high rev, with such ambition, that it’s easy to see Mr Aaron Powell will be very successful in life, in sports, on business, in music, in helping others achieve their dreams.

What is better than achieving your dreams and goals and then caring about your fellow humans enough to help them get theirs? As Jasen and Mia both say, “That’s the way this Powell family is, we try to help every chance we get.”

Aaron reminds me of a kid with tremendous personality named Brandon Jennings who became legendary in SoCal. I was proud to give him his first SLAM jersey in 03’, Brandon used to ask me, “I can’t wait to get my first call from the SLAM Mag.”

I looked at him and said, “I’m calling Ryan Jones, an editor friend of mine at SLAM, and I’m telling him I think you and DeMar (DeRozan) are so talented you should be in the Mag immediately. You will one day be on the cover because of your talent!”

Brandon said to me, “I’m only in 8th grade, how do you know all that E?” I told him, “It’s written in the stars bro.”

I’m also giving Aaron Powell a similar SLAM jersey that I gave Brandon and DeMar back then. Scoop Jackson, who is the most legendary SLAM writer ever, told me to bless the most phenom baller kids I could find in 2003 with such jerseys. And I’ve only given one to a handful of supreme ballers since.

What else I bet is written in the stars besides Aaron being in SLAM Mag in the future? The world will hug him as hard as he plays, does business, raps, and he’ll give it right back to them as hard as they can take it.