Blue Bloods enter recruiting picture for TJ Power, but he still loves UVA’s Tony Bennett

By Jerry Ratcliffe

The ante for 4-star forward TJ Power just went up after his recent performance at the EYBL Session 4 in Kansas City last week.

Power, a 6-foot-8 star from Worcester Academy in Massachusetts, averaged 23.7 points and 8 rebounds per game, while shooting 42.2 percent from the field. In one of those games, he poured in 41 points and pulled down 15 boards.

If you think that caught the eye of more college recruiters, go to the head of the line.

While already holding offers from Virginia, Iowa, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and others, all the “Blue Bloods” of college basketball jumped on the Power bandwagon this past weekend.

North Carolina, Duke, UCLA and Kansas all offered Power, and while he was somewhat overwhelmed to be contacted by all four programs, he still hasn’t forgotten the schools he liked heading into last week, especially UVA and Iowa.

“It’s been crazy,” Power told Joe Tipton of On3 this week. “The way it’s built up, I’ve been able to build a lot of strong relationships and have seen a lot of schools that I really like. I’ve played well the last few weekends and it kind of changes when the blue bloods come in.

“I definitely value the relationships I still have and I’m going to look into those places hard still, but I’m also excited to build new relationships with these new schools and explore these other options.”

While the blue bloods have now entered the picture, that doesn’t mean Power has abandoned the schools he liked early on, including Virginia.

When Tipton asked the blue-chipper who were the coaches he had the best relationship with, it was no surprise that UVA’s Tony Bennett was the first name out of his mouth.

“I would say Coach Bennett at UVA and Coach McCaffrey at Iowa,” Power said. “I have the best relationships with them. Also, I have a really good relationship with Coach Cooley at Providence. Those are like the head coaches that I feel like the most comfortable talking with and have a lot of trust with them right now.”

Power also said that his priorities for a school are primarily academics, and then in terms of basketball, a place where he can be “versatile and be free,” somewhat in the mold De’Andre Hunter played at Virginia, using his size to get to the right places on the floor.

Power also wants a program that is known for its player development. Is there a better place than Bennett’s Virginia in that department? Look at all the players the Cavaliers have developed in the past five or six years, many of which are now in the NBA.

Power visited UVA on May 24, about a week after Bennett made the offer. Presently, he hasn’t announced any plans to narrow his list with so many new offers coming in, but said he will likely make a commitment in late September or early October so recruiting won’t interfere with his final high school season.