UNC Basketball Recruiting: TJ Power narrows recruitment to five programs

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - APRIL 02: Head coach Hubert Davis of the North Carolina Tar Heels talks to the press after defeating the Duke Blue Devils 81-77 in the 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal at Caesars Superdome on April 02, 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - APRIL 02: Head coach Hubert Davis of the North Carolina Tar Heels talks to the press after defeating the Duke Blue Devils 81-77 in the 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal at Caesars Superdome on April 02, 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Four-star forward TJ Power has narrowed his recruitment down to five programs. Is the UNC basketball recruiting team still in the mix?

Not many high school prospects had as good of a summer as four-star forward TJ Power put together.

With some very impressive performances throughout the AAU circuit, Power saw his stock rapidly rise. At this point, 247Sports ranks Power as the top player coming out of Massachusetts, as other sites rank him much higher on their overall rankings lists.

As he’s set to begin his senior year at Worcester Academy, Power is zeroing in on the schools he has the most interest in. On Monday, the 6-foot-8 forward narrowed his recruitment to five schools, which included the UNC basketball recruiting team and three other ACC schools.

Power has tabbed Boston College, Duke, Iowa, North Carolina, and Virginia as his five finalists. Although he doesn’t have an official commitment date in mind, he hopes to make his decision sometime between mid to late September.

Here’s what Power had to say about North Carolina in a recent interview with On3:

"“Coach (Hubert) Davis explained to me how I can use my versatility to do different things in their offense and contribute early in a big way. The opportunity to do that at a place as historic and successful as UNC is very important to me. They play at a fast pace and I just think my game could add to their explosiveness.”"

The Tar Heels will have some tough competition in this recruitment. Boston College makes sense given that they are his “hometown team,” while Power seems to have good relationships with the head coaches of both Virginia and Iowa.

However, there may be two factors that go in North Carolina’s favor.

For starters, Powers stated in his interview with Joe Tipton of On3 that the way the Tar Heels used Brady Manek “caught his eye.” As a player with a very similar skillset, it makes sense to see why Power instantly felt as if he’d fit right into Hubert Davis’ system.

The second factor is that he mentioned how he has extended family that are Tar Heels fans. It’s possible that the program’s history (and family encouragement) may lead him to North Carolina.

This is a big recruitment battle for the UNC basketball recruiting team, as they’ve seemed to have put an emphasis on trying to get him to Chapel Hill. We’ll have to wait and see if Davis and the Tar Heels can get the job done.

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