Post by hchoops on Jul 11, 2022 20:23:33 GMT -5
From The Athletic
Were we actually ever a possibility for him ?
College basketball recruiting: 2-sport standout TJ Power is one of EYBL’s big risers
By CJ Moore
4h ago
3
Save Article
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — TJ Power, one of the best scorers in high school basketball, also is a 6-foot-8 southpaw pitcher with an 87-mph fastball and three other pitches in his arsenal. The two-sport star from Massachusetts wants to follow in the footsteps of fellow New Englander Pat Connaughton and play both basketball and baseball in college.
Power was the talk of the EYBL this weekend after he put up 41 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in a Saturday night win over Houston Hoops. In six games in Kansas City, he averaged 23.6 points and shot 45 percent from beyond the arc. He already was a high-major recruit — Virginia, Iowa, Notre Dame, Wake Forest and Boston College have been in pursuit for a while — but the blue bloods are now entering the picture. The top-65 prospect got an offer from Kansas on Saturday and also recently talked to UCLA.
Power was the best three-level scorer I watched this weekend. Most of the top players in this class have a similar look: long, skinny and skilled. If you look at recruiting rankings, you’re going to find the guys at the top who could potentially fit the NBA game and it’s all about potential. But Power is more polished and physically ready for the college game than most of those guys. He’s a tall guard who is strong enough to play as a college four. He shoots righty, and the fact he does things with both hands — remember, he throws lefty — is obvious watching him handle the ball. He’s got some shiftiness to him and he can create for himself off the dribble going either direction. He has some burst too. On Sunday, he slashed across the lane from left to right and made a wrong-footed righty finger roll with his right-hand level of the rim. He’s crafty when he comes to a stop too, using pivots and up fakes to eventually get to his shot.
There’s a maturity to Power’s game that allows him to score even when his shot isn’t falling. As an example, he scored 17 points in a game Sunday when he shot it poorly and his team, which has a thin bench, looked tired.
Power’s priorities when it comes to picking a school are fit and the ability to play baseball as well. He’s already visited Virginia, Notre Dame, Iowa and Boston College.
The one advantage Notre Dame has is that Connaughton has already done what he wants to do.
“I haven’t talked to (Connaughton) personally, but just seeing the framework at Notre Dame and what he did there is definitely appealing, knowing both coaching staffs can make it work and he had a lot of success, so that would be cool,” Power told The Athletic.
He also likes how coach Mike Brey’s system is built for skilled players like him.
“Coach Brey stressed I can play with a lot of freedom there,” Power said. “Be able to kind of be versatile and show my offensive skill set, which is huge. That brand of Notre Dame is hard to pass up.”
Iowa is the high-major school that has been recruiting him the longest, and you can imagine Power as the next go-to guy in Fran McCaffery’s up-tempo offense that is making a habit of producing All-Americans lately. Power is more guard than big man, but similar to Keegan Murray, McCaffery could go through Power inside and out.
At Virginia, Power would be a fit running off a lot of screens in Tony Bennett’s offense.
“I really like Coach Bennett,” Power said. “We’ve got a good relationship. He really stresses player development, which is huge for me. And it’s a winning culture. They play a great style that I think fits me.”
Boston College seems like the long shot on his list, but there is the allure of staying close to home.
“A lot of opportunity to play early, and kind of be the one that stays close to home and get that place jumping,” he said. “So that’s obviously super appealing too.”
Then, there’s the newbies to his list like Kansas and UCLA.
“I definitely have strong relationships with the ones that have been around, but I’ll entertain those schools for sure,” Power said. “They’re big-name schools and I worked really hard to kind of get that recognition, so I’m gonna see it through for a little bit.”
Power hopes to make a decision before the fall. By that point, he’ll probably have moved up to five-star status. And if he hasn’t, my bet is he’ll have a bigger college impact than a lot of the players ranked near the top. And like the five-stars, there’s some NBA appeal as well. He’s got the size, skill and athleticism that could one day translate to that level.
The worry back when Connaughton was in school was that he would play baseball. As a big lefty, baseball scouts will surely be coming to see Power. But he shares something else in common with Connaughton.
“Basketball,” he said, “is where my passion is.”
Were we actually ever a possibility for him ?
College basketball recruiting: 2-sport standout TJ Power is one of EYBL’s big risers
By CJ Moore
4h ago
3
Save Article
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — TJ Power, one of the best scorers in high school basketball, also is a 6-foot-8 southpaw pitcher with an 87-mph fastball and three other pitches in his arsenal. The two-sport star from Massachusetts wants to follow in the footsteps of fellow New Englander Pat Connaughton and play both basketball and baseball in college.
Power was the talk of the EYBL this weekend after he put up 41 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in a Saturday night win over Houston Hoops. In six games in Kansas City, he averaged 23.6 points and shot 45 percent from beyond the arc. He already was a high-major recruit — Virginia, Iowa, Notre Dame, Wake Forest and Boston College have been in pursuit for a while — but the blue bloods are now entering the picture. The top-65 prospect got an offer from Kansas on Saturday and also recently talked to UCLA.
Power was the best three-level scorer I watched this weekend. Most of the top players in this class have a similar look: long, skinny and skilled. If you look at recruiting rankings, you’re going to find the guys at the top who could potentially fit the NBA game and it’s all about potential. But Power is more polished and physically ready for the college game than most of those guys. He’s a tall guard who is strong enough to play as a college four. He shoots righty, and the fact he does things with both hands — remember, he throws lefty — is obvious watching him handle the ball. He’s got some shiftiness to him and he can create for himself off the dribble going either direction. He has some burst too. On Sunday, he slashed across the lane from left to right and made a wrong-footed righty finger roll with his right-hand level of the rim. He’s crafty when he comes to a stop too, using pivots and up fakes to eventually get to his shot.
There’s a maturity to Power’s game that allows him to score even when his shot isn’t falling. As an example, he scored 17 points in a game Sunday when he shot it poorly and his team, which has a thin bench, looked tired.
Power’s priorities when it comes to picking a school are fit and the ability to play baseball as well. He’s already visited Virginia, Notre Dame, Iowa and Boston College.
The one advantage Notre Dame has is that Connaughton has already done what he wants to do.
“I haven’t talked to (Connaughton) personally, but just seeing the framework at Notre Dame and what he did there is definitely appealing, knowing both coaching staffs can make it work and he had a lot of success, so that would be cool,” Power told The Athletic.
He also likes how coach Mike Brey’s system is built for skilled players like him.
“Coach Brey stressed I can play with a lot of freedom there,” Power said. “Be able to kind of be versatile and show my offensive skill set, which is huge. That brand of Notre Dame is hard to pass up.”
Iowa is the high-major school that has been recruiting him the longest, and you can imagine Power as the next go-to guy in Fran McCaffery’s up-tempo offense that is making a habit of producing All-Americans lately. Power is more guard than big man, but similar to Keegan Murray, McCaffery could go through Power inside and out.
At Virginia, Power would be a fit running off a lot of screens in Tony Bennett’s offense.
“I really like Coach Bennett,” Power said. “We’ve got a good relationship. He really stresses player development, which is huge for me. And it’s a winning culture. They play a great style that I think fits me.”
Boston College seems like the long shot on his list, but there is the allure of staying close to home.
“A lot of opportunity to play early, and kind of be the one that stays close to home and get that place jumping,” he said. “So that’s obviously super appealing too.”
Then, there’s the newbies to his list like Kansas and UCLA.
“I definitely have strong relationships with the ones that have been around, but I’ll entertain those schools for sure,” Power said. “They’re big-name schools and I worked really hard to kind of get that recognition, so I’m gonna see it through for a little bit.”
Power hopes to make a decision before the fall. By that point, he’ll probably have moved up to five-star status. And if he hasn’t, my bet is he’ll have a bigger college impact than a lot of the players ranked near the top. And like the five-stars, there’s some NBA appeal as well. He’s got the size, skill and athleticism that could one day translate to that level.
The worry back when Connaughton was in school was that he would play baseball. As a big lefty, baseball scouts will surely be coming to see Power. But he shares something else in common with Connaughton.
“Basketball,” he said, “is where my passion is.”