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When Chris Howell entered the transfer portal after two seasons at Saint Mary’s, there was little mystery about where the former Torrey Pines High School star would continue his college basketball career.
In 2021, Powell earned CIF San Diego Section Player of The Year honors while leading Torrey Pines to a 30-1 record. His older brother, Mikey, is an assistant coach at UC San Diego where he still holds the program record for career assists (502).
So when UCSD coach Eric Olen invited Howell for a recruiting visit to a place, he already knew like a worn map. Sure enough, he committed to play for the Tritons.
“It’s been even better than I thought,” Howell said. “I knew it was a great group of guys coming in. I knew Coach Olen from before, from coaching my brother obviously, and it was just the right fit for me at this point in my life.”
Howell enjoyed his time at Saint Mary’s, but cited a need for connection with the International Churches of Christ and the desire for more playing time as reasons why he came home.
Good move.
Howell has started all 19 games for the Tritons (15-4, 5-2 Big West), who host UC Santa Barbara (12-6, 4-3 Big West) tonight at 7 p.m. (ESPN +). UCSD has emerged as one the fun stories in mid-major college basketball and has a solid chance to participate in the Division I NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.
On a team where Aniwania Tait-Jones (18.7 points per game), Tyler McGhie (17.2 ppg), Hayden Grey (10.7 ppg) and Nordin Kapic (10.6 ppg) handle most of the scoring, Howell picks his spots. He plays an excellent all-around floor game, averaging 6.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.0 steals per game while shooting 48.6% from the field.
The 6-foot-6 Howell is also an agile, long-limbed defender who can cover a point guard on one possession and bang in the paint against a much larger post player on the next.
Take this sequence from the Tritons’ Jan. 11 game against UC Irvine. Howell was guarding 6-7 UCI forward Devin Tillis in the post, fought through contact and laid out to make a steal on an entry pass.
On the ensuing offensive possession, Howell spotted up, gathered a pass and swished one of his eight made 3-pointers on the season.
“I am just obsessed with winning,” Howell said. “I just want to win. Whatever coach needs me to do to win, that’s what I like to do. Usually that comes down to the dirty work because we have a very talented team. So, that’s my role and I love being a part of it.”
Howell does it all with a smile that emerges several times a game. His teammates have noticed — so have the increasing number of fans filing into LionTree to watch the Tritons play.
“He’s a connector,” Tait-Jones said. “Always a positive guy. Positive attitude every day. He uplifts us. Just a great guy. He’s gonna make plays. He’s gonna dive on the floor. He’s gonna hit guys in the paint. … He does things other guys don’t necessarily want to do. He’s essential to us winning these games for sure. Very blessed to have him on our team.”
Howell and his teammates are fully aware that they can make history. With 13 games to go in the regular season, the Tritons trail first-place Irvine (17-2, 7-0 Big West) by two games. The Big West tournament looms, with a ticket to the big dance on the line.
“It’s always in the back of your mind, for sure,” said Howell, who participated in two NCAA tournaments with Saint Mary’s. “The goal coming in for all of us was: let’s go make history. That’s the approach we have. We want to do special things in a unique, special time, and I think we have the team to do it.”
Box: Thursday night’s games
UC Santa Barbara (12-6, 4-3 Big West) at UC San Diego (15-4, 5-2 Big West), 7 p.m. On the air: ESPN+
USD (4-16, 1-6 WCC) at Portland (6-14, 1-6 WCC), 7 p.m. On the air: ESPN+
Point Loma Nazarene (16-4, 9-1 PacWest) at Vanguard (11-5, 5-5 PacWest), 7:30 p.m. Streaming: Vanguardlions.com/sports.
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