His nickname is “The Show.”
Not coincidentally, one only earns such a nickname by putting on a show for the fans, for the team and for the opponent.
California forward Leon Powe has proven his worthiness of such a nickname in just his first season with the Golden Bears.
The freshman from Oakland, Calif., was named the Pacific-10 Conference’s Player of the Week on Monday after the terror he brought to USC and UCLA last week.
Powe is only the 20th freshman in league history to receive the honor.
He is the Bears’ leading scorer and rebounder and will lead his team into McArthur Court tonight in the hope of starting Cal’s first winning streak all season.
Powe scored 14 points against USC Jan. 22 and grabbed eight rebounds on the night of his 20th birthday. Against UCLA on Saturday, he electrified the crowd with 19 points and 14 rebounds, accounting for his league-leading eighth double-double of the season.
Powe had 12 points and eight rebounds in the final eight minutes against the Bruins.
“It’s like having another point guard in the lineup, and that’s helped us,” California head coach Ben Braun said. “He’s an extra ball handler. He’s certainly a scorer, but he’s a fierce competitor.”
Senior center Amit Tamir also put on a show against UCLA when he scored 19 points. Tamir is averaging 11.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. He is 17 of 40 (42.5 percent) from the three-point line in Pac-10 play.
Oregon head coach Ernie Kent isn’t worried about what Powe and Tamir bring to McArthur Court.
“The thing everybody has to understand is that there’s going to be a lot of talk about Tamir and Powe,” he said. “I’ve got two big guys in (Ian) Crosswhite and (Mitch) Platt that are big bodies and playing very well that (Tamir and Powe are) going to have to defend, also along with a Player of the Year candidate, an All-American candidate and a Wooden award candidate (Luke Jackson) on my team, along with the top three-point shooter (James Davis) maybe in the country.
“So there’s a lot that’s going on for Oregon, too, that people tend to forget.”
Oregon holds a record of 35-2 at McArthur Court over the last three seasons. Cal and Arizona are the only two teams to win during the span. In the last three seasons, Cal has won five of six contests against the Ducks.
“I don’t think anything makes it easy to play at Mac Court,” Braun said. “We’re feeling probably like any team would feel after two games back-to-back where we feel good about our wins, but we know these wins don’t guarantee us anything in Oregon at all.”
Cal (8-8 overall) and Oregon (9-5) are tied for fourth in the Pac-10 with 4-3 conference records. As Pac-10 play reaches the midway point, a lot is on the line for both teams.
The Bears bring a strong defensive and rebounding front to Oregon. Only two opponents have managed more than 70 points against Cal this season.
Cal ranks third in scoring defense in the Pac-10, allowing opponents an average of 62.4 points per game. Conversely, the Ducks are averaging 79.1 points per game.
In rebounding, an area where Oregon has struggled lately, Cal is averaging 13.1 offensive rebounds per game, nearly four more per game than its opponent.
Powe is leading the conference averaging 9.7 rebounds per game.
Today, he’ll bring “The Show” to Eugene.