Two former area prep stars, Joliet’s Roger Powell and Proviso East’s Dee Brown, have made it through the final cuts with the Utah Jazz. Both players were starters for the Illinois team that made the NCAA championship game in 2005.
Brown was a second round pick by the Jazz in 2006. Powell was undrafted last year, but won Rookie of the Year honors in the CBA. George Mikan, who retired in 1956, was the last Joliet-born NBA player.