Southwest product Trelanne M. Powell happy to be part of Mercer staff

Trelanne M. Powell said the decision was a no-brainer.

When Mercer women's basketball head coach Susie Gardner offered Powell a position on the Bears' coaching staff, Powell couldn't say no ... even if she had just decided to remain at Francis Marion, an NCAA Division II program in South Carolina, for another season and even if she had just signed a new lease for a condo.

The chance to return to her hometown was just too strong to pass up for the former Southwest star.

"I was actually kind of shocked. It was a kind of a too good to be true kind of thing," Powell said. "But definitely, when I saw the job posted, I was like, 'I'm definitely gonna apply and see what my chances are.' When she called me, I was like, 'Oh my gosh. I don't know what to do.' But it was a no-brainer, really."

Powell graduated from Southwest in 2000. She played at Hiawasee Community College from 2000-02 and Columbus State from 2002-04 and then played at the professional and semi-pro levels for four seasons. She got into coaching in 2009 and was an assistant at Chattahoochee Valley Community College until 2011 before taking over as the program's head coach, spending three seasons in that position.

She was an assistant coach at Francis Marion for one season.

"I'm excited I get a chance to spend a lot of time with my family," she said. "I got to take my niece to the fair. I haven't been to the fair in a long time. That was fun. Being here with my mom, my dad and my sister, it's real different. I'm used to having to come and visit for holidays, but now I don't have to travel."

Gardner is entering her sixth season with the Mercer program. She joked last week that Powell is in charge of getting all her friends and family to the Bears' games this season.

Mercer is coming off its second 20-win season in the past three years, and the Bears open their season against Coastal Georgia on Nov. 13 at Hawkins Arena.

"Her primary responsibility when I hired her was, 'Hey, you're from Macon, call all your friends, get all your family, and let's get some people in the gym.' " Gardner said. "She's responsible for promoting things like 'Sunrise with Susie' and getting people to join our booster club. She's kind of the outreach coach right now. She joined us rather late, in late July, then she got married, so I've given her a little time to get her life acclimated.

"She's doing a great job with her energy and her passion, and I know she's super happy to be home in Macon."

Powell isn't the only Middle Georgia tie for the Mercer program this season.

The Bears signed former Mary Persons star KeKe Calloway and former Dodge County star Rachel Selph as part of this year's seven-player freshman class.

"KeKe Calloway is one of the most gifted, talented players on our team; I've told her that," Gardner said. "Without question, she's got all the skills that if you list all the skills that you want a basketball player to have, she's got quickness, she can hop, she can jump, she's got a handle, she can shoot the 3, and she can get to the rim.

Making the adjustment to the next level is what Calloway now faces.

"KeKe's biggest challenge is learning how to play at the speed that the college game needs to be played at," Gardner said. "She's kind of coasted throughout her high school career; she was so much better than everyone else. She didn't have to play hard.

"She and I have had multiple conversations, and she's very bright, she's very honest, she understands that she has these deficiencies, and she wants to be great."

And is putting forth the effort.

"But as she put it in her own words, 'I've never pushed my body to the point where it hurts this bad,' " Gardner said. "So she's learning how to handle that feeling. KeKe can be as good as she wants to be, without question."

Powell, Calloway and Selph are just three of the new faces for the program this year. There are five other freshmen, along with three other new assistant coaches as the entire full-time coaching staff turned over during the offseason.

"I'm not going to say it was that hard because with the freshmen coming in, that's a lot of new people, so we're all kind of new together," Powell said. "We all have a lot to learn about Coach Gardner, especially the staff, and how she likes things to be done. It's a work in progress, but I think it's just like any other program that you go into trying to get to know the players and the staff.

"It has its highs and its lows, but overall, I don't think it's that tough."

Patience is part of the transition.

"We're just kind of trying to take it one day at a time," Powell said. "We do have a very young team, a lot of talent, just trying to make sure we put everything together. But by the end of the season, I think we will be very satisfied with this group of kids."

This story was originally published November 4, 2015 at 8:57 PM with the headline "Southwest product Trelanne M. Powell happy to be part of Mercer staff ."