Mick McCabe

Detroit Free Press

There will be an empty seat in Banker Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis Tuesday night when Connecticut attempts to win its fourth consecutive national championship.

The empty seat belongs to Aerial Powers, who attended Sunday’s semifinals but drove back to East Lansing because she had a meeting with her Michigan State teammates today to tell them she is passing on her final year at MSU to enter the April 14 WNBA draft.

“I was at the Final Four to enjoy some basketball and there were a lot of people questioning me on what I was going to do,” Powers said. “I thought the responsible thing and the respectful thing was to keep quiet until I told my team. I drove from Indiana and told them before it got out.”

Although she has longed to play in the WNBA, this was not an easy decision for Powers, a wing player who is the program’s all-time leading scorer, prepped at Birmingham Detroit Country Day and becomes the first player in the state to leave early for the WNBA

But the meeting with her teammates was not the most difficult meeting for Powers. The real gut-wrenching moment came when she told MSU coach Suzy Merchant she would no longer be her coach.

“Obviously, I know she wants me to stay and I went to her house,” Powers said. “We sat down and talked. It felt like I was in a relationship and was about to break up with a boy. I was sitting there and didn’t know how to start the conversation.”

Once the conversation began, Merchant was able to tell Powers how happy she was for her former star.

“The kid is a pro kid and I’m happy for her,” Merchant said. “I want to coach her for 20 more years, but we’re still going to be a talented team. I’m excited for her. I’m not disappointed or upset or anything. I’m very happy for her.”

Powers, 6-foot, is likely to be among the first five picks selected and will become the highest MSU player chosen in the draft, topping Kristin Haynie, who was the No. 9 selection in 2005.

The down side of playing in the WNBA is there will be no million-dollar rookie contract. The average rookie salary in the WNBA is $36,500 and rookies sign non-negotiable three-year deals.

WNBA players have to play overseas to supplement their incomes. The team Diana Taurasi plays for in Russia paid her not to play in the WNBA last season.

“It’s not about the money to me,” Powers said. “I wouldn’t mind an overseas experience. I know some people have problems with it, but you know me, I’m very outgoing and I like new things and I’m excited for the experience.”

Merchant said it was apparent Powers was torn about leaving MSU with a year’s eligibility remaining.

“She has mixed emotions because she loves being a Spartan and she loves being near her family and knows what the next level is about,” Merchant said. “I also knew from the moment we recruited her and signed her, she’s been a pro-driven kid. Some say it, this kid lived it. There’s a big difference.”

This season Powers averaged 21.8 points and 9.2 rebounds and became MSU’s all-time leading scorer with 1,817 career points, bettering the mark of 1,780 of Liz Shimek. Her 697 points this season topped her school record 678 points she scored as a sophomore. Her 937 career rebounds makes her No. 4 in MSU history.

Early entries into the WNBA are rare, but the league allows players who are 22-years-old in the year of the draft to forgo remaining eligibility. She missed the entire 2012-13 season after tearing her Achilles tendon in October of her freshman year.

A year ago, Jewell Lloyd passed on her senior year at Notre Dame and became the first pick of the draft and the rookie of the year for Seattle.

Powers, who turned 22 on Jan. 17, will graduate next month with a degree in communications.

“I was very 50/50 for the longest of times,” Powers said. “I weighed all my pros and cons for staying and my pros and cons for leaving and I was in a good position all around. But I want to chase my dreams in the WNBA.”

The loss of Powers will have no effect on MSU’s current recruiting class, which is ranked No. 12 in the country by Hoopgurlz.com, although the Spartans are still actively recruiting a couple of players.

In addition to point guard Tarryn McCutcheon of East Lansing, MSU has signed Mardreika Cook of Muskegon and Nia Hollie of Minnetonka, Minn., who are both highly-regarded wing players.

Merchant said she will be at Powers’ side during the draft in Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

“Aerial handled herself so well,” Merchant said. “The fact she wanted to meet with her team and face-to-face, says a lot of about the character of her and what she’s about. I’m excited to go out there and be happy for her.”

Contact Mick McCabe: 313-223-4744 or mmccabe@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mickmccabe1