Walking on the street in downtown Seattle, Rashaad Powell got the call of a lifetime. On the other end was former Seattle SuperSonics great Jack Sikma. Sikma was then an assistant coach with the Sonics and had an offer Powell couldn’t refuse: A chance to try out with the team.

“I almost dropped my phone right there on the street and started screaming,” Powell said. “That’s ultimately my goal is to get an opportunity to play in the NBA.”

But that goal isn’t as set in stone as it used to be. The 30-year-old coach and security officer at Renton High recently earned his masters in teaching yet is still balancing the new career path with an old one: basketball.

Playing career

After graduating from Renton High in 1999, Powell went to Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Ore. for two years. He then transferred to the University of Idaho, joined the basketball team, and went from walk-on to starter by the third game of the season. A shoulder injury soon after forced him to redshirt for the season. He played for the Vandals for two more seasons before graduating.

Since then, Powell played for teams in the CBA (Continental Basketball Association), ABA (American Basketball Association) and IBL (International Basketball League). Internationally, he’s played in Chile, Dubai, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Indonesia.

Despite all of the professional appearances, it was a fluke set of circumstances that led to Powell’s chance to try out with the Sonics. Powell went to the Renton Community Center to play basketball every day. Over the years he struck up a friendship with a local man, Dave Moore. One day, Moore told Powell that he knew Sikma and would ask if Powell could get a tryout.

“I didn’t believe him,” Powell said. “I mean, what were the chances of him calling up Jack Sikma and getting me in there for a tryout?”

Regardless of his doubt, Powell gave Moore his number. Sikma called later, and Powell spent a month with the team in 2006. For Powell the experience was magical. Until then, his friendships with local players like Jason Terry and Jamal Crawford, who had made the jump to the NBA, were his closest connection to the league.

“It was unbelievable,” Powell said. “To actually be in that setting and have the opportunity to play with those those guys… it was amazing, something I’ll never forget.”

Powell, who plays all over the court but mostly shooting guard, gravitated to Ray Allen, one of the NBA’s top shooting guards.

“He wasn’t above approach at all,” Powell said. “He really took me under his wing so to speak. I was like a sponge learning from him.”

Since then Powell has played in a number of leagues and he’s currently leading his IBL team, the West Coast Hotshots, into the playoffs. The Hotshots are 8-9 and Powell is third in the IBL in scoring at 29.7 points per game. He’s also 10th in the league in rebounding, at 8.0 per game.

It’s all about Renton

Powell recently completed his student teaching and earned his master’s of arts in education/secondary teacher education from the University of Phoenix. His interest in teaching has led to a new way of analyzing future basketball opportunities.

“It would depend on what I have going on with school and work,” he said. “It would have to be right compared to the work schedule that I have.”

He even turned down a couple of playing opportunities overseas while he was finishing his student teaching. Now, his dream job is teaching and coaching.

“I would love to be here,” he said. “If you asked me that question three years ago, I would say I still want to go to the NBA.”

And he doesn’t want to coach and teach just anywhere. Powell has been offered several coaching positions around the district and league but has turned down each of them down. One reason is his relationship with Renton head boys basketball coach Rick Comer. Comer coached Powell when he played as an Indian and now gives him an excellent example.

“I learn from Coach Comer on a daily basis,” Powell said. “He has such a wealth of knowledge to give. I can’t ask to learn from a better person than that.”

Powell said Comer also allows him a great amount of freedom to coach and work with the players. That relationship, combined with his love for the school, has kept Renton High as a big part of his goals.

“Whether I’m the assistant coach or the head coach it doesn’t matter,” he said. “This is my alma mater. I like it here.”