Virginia Basketball: Five-Star TJ Power Sets Decision Date

TJ Power will make his decision on Wednesday and it seems to be down to Duke and Virginia

TJ Power/Tipton Edits

Five-star forward and UVA basketball target TJ Power will announce his college decision on Wednesday at 5pm ET live on the 247Sports YouTube channel. Power will choose from five finalists: Duke, Iowa, Virginia, Boston College and North Carolina. 

A 6'8" power forward from Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, Power is ranked the No. 22 player in the class of 2023, the No. 6 power forward in the nation, and the No. 1-ranked prospect from Massachusetts. 247Sports rates him as a four-star, but the composite rankings across the various recruiting sites have Power rated as a five-star. Translation: TJ Power is very, very talented. 

Tony Bennett and the Cavaliers jumped in the mix for Power back in early May. Power took a visit to Virginia in June and has developed a strong relationship with Tony Bennett that persisted through the summer. 

TJ Power on his official visit to Virginia in June

UVA was considered the favorite to land Power until the blue bloods arrived, with Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, and UCLA all extending him offers in July. 

On August 8th, Power cut his list to five schools and Virginia made the cut along with UNC, Duke, Iowa, and Boston College. Power has described himself as a long-time fan of both UVA and Duke and naturally, those are the two schools who have continued to lead the way in the chase for his commitment. 

Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, it seems at this point that Duke has overtaken Virginia as the frontrunner to land TJ Power. There have been four crystal ball predictions punched in for TJ Power to commit to Duke on 247Sports. For what it's worth, three of those predictions came from Duke insiders, but the other came from an Iowa insider. These guys usually know what they're talking about. On3 has Duke's chances of landing Power at 95% as compared to 5% for UVA. 

Here's what TJ Power told 247Sports about Virginia and Duke, respectively:

Virginia: "I've been talking to them for a while and Coach Bennett and I are really close. We have the same mindset when it comes to player development and really being detailed in their approach to how to get better. And you've seen that with the players they've brought through there and over three or four years and developed in to NBA players. That's a big thing for me. And then obviously the winning culture. They win maybe more than anyone in the ACC so that's a big deal."

Duke: "I took a visit there after Peach Jam. And I really loved it. I think it's a beautiful campus. And I think Coach Scheyer, I had a great relationship. With him being a young coach and how he's trying to play there, he's trying to play positionless and have a lot of scorers who can pass the ball. And he said he wants to lead the country in assists and three point makes and both of those things really fit me. I think I can play different positions for them. And then obviously, the brand of Duke just playing at the highest level. Big reason I kept them in, but I can definitely see myself playing there."

With a rating of .9902 on 247Sports, Power would be the highest-rated player to commit to the Virginia men's basketball program in this era of recruiting tracking. But at this point, it seems to be a long shot for the Cavaliers. 

Power will announce his decision in a live show on the 247Sports YouTube channel on Wednesday (9/7) at 5pm ET. You can watch his commitment announcement here.

UVA currently has offers out to six remaining class of 2023 targets and each has Virginia in his most recent cut list:

PF TJ Power (Shrewsbury, MA)
SG Taison Chatman (Minneapolis, MN)
SF Andrej Stojakovic (Carmichael, CA)
CG Elmarko Jackson (South Kent, CT)
CG Elijah Gertrude (Jersey City, NJ)
SG Davin Cosby (Richmond, VA)

Virginia continues to search for a second verbal commit in the class of 2023 to accompany Blake Buchanan, Idaho's No. 1-ranked player, who announced his commitment to Virginia on July 3rd.

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Stay updated on all the latest Virginia basketball recruiting news, including offers, visits, and commitments here: Latest Virginia Basketball Recruiting News and Updates

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