Hubert Davis Proved His Belief In T.J. Power By Issuing An Offer
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T.J. Power went on a rampage last weekend at the EYBL event in Kansas City. It wouldn't be totally accurate to say the basketball world sat up and took notice. The 6-foot-9 forward already had plenty of offers that stood as proof to his abilities.
An impressive group that consisted of Boston College, Brown, DePaul, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Harvard, Indiana, Iona, Iowa, Marquette, Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn, Penn State, Providence, South Carolina, Stanford, UCONN, UMASS, USC, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Xavier, and Wake Forest.
That was before Kansas City. Individual 40-point games are almost rare as a unicorn in the ultra-competitive EYBL. Power did just that in a 41-point barrage against the Houston Hoops. He was 11-for-19 from the field, 3-for-7 from deep, and 16-for-22 from the foul line to go along with 15 rebounds, and five assists. He also had 33, 10, and six against Seattle Rotary in which he was 5-for-6 from downtown, and a perfect 8 of 8 from the charity stripe. Power also had 24 points and eight boards against Team Thad as well as 23 points and six rebounds versus City Rocks.
In those four games, Power shot 52.7 percent from the field, 48.5 percent from three-point territory on 16 of 33 shooting, and 83.3 percent from the foul line. The marksman also showed his ability to put the ball on the floor by getting to the line 42 times in four games.
Once he returned home, the blue bloods came calling. Offers from North Carolina, Kansas, and UCLA immediately ensued.
Tar Heel Illustrated spoke with the rising senior just hours after the UNC offer:
THI: Start out by giving us a self scout.
POWER: "I would say I'm a versatile wing with size that can shoot, pass, and dribble. I think I have great court vision. I would say that's honestly the favorite part of my game is getting my teammates involved, and seeing the floor well. My shot has come a long way. I think I can space the floor, and really knock down shots. I'm kind of a guy who can be plugged into any lineup, and make plays right away."
THI: You have the reputation as a great outside shooter, but your BABC coach, Leo Papile, says that is part of what you do, and not solely who you are. He says it would be unfair just to label you as a shooter because you do so many things well.
POWER: "Yeah, I totally agree. I've developed my game as a basketball player. Shooting I think is the more prolific thing that people see, but I'm in there getting rebounds, and playing good defense, and making the right plays."
THI: You are a multi-sport guy. You played quarterback, a great left handed pitcher, but you shoot it right handed. Is basketball what you've chosen or will you play two or three sports in the future?
POWER: "I don't play football anymore. That was earlier in my high school career. Basketball is going to drive the bus wherever I go. That's my passion. That's what I love the best. It's just that I've had a lot of success as a left pitcher. I think I could play both in college. To me, wherever I go for basketball, it's going to be like having dialogue with the baseball side see about an opportunity to try to pitch there. But it wouldn't be a deal breaker if I couldn't, especially at the level I'm trying to play basketball. I understand that is a large time commitment, but I think it would at least be cool to try it."
THI: Coach Papile said even if you got the opportunity to come out of the pen as a left handed pitcher, that might be something that would interest you.
POWER: "Yeah, for sure. I think just being a pitcher makes it easy. If I was a field player, that's a lot more time, but I have balance in my whole life, so I think I could make it work at the next level. Just be that guy who could be mid-week, or couple of innings here and there, and get some outs."
THI: Let's go to last weekend. You went off. You had 41 against the Houston Hoops, 33 against Rotary, and you were in the twenties in other games. This happened at a live period event in front of college coaches. It sounds like great timing.
POWER: "Yeah, I would say so. I was just kind of waiting on that. I've been working hard. I think it was just that back against the wall moment where I kind of flipped the switch, and played lot more aggressive. I really found my shots, and just rose up and hit them. It felt good, and my confidence was at a high. I thought I played well."
THI: You hear about the basket looking as big as the Grand Canyon when a player is feeling it. When you were in that 41-point game what did it feel like?
POWER: "That game was a close game the whole game. My mentality was to get to my spot and get one up, because I had been hitting. The rim looking bigger I wouldn't say that. I definitely felt confident, and I knew when I caught the ball I could kind of just go and make a play. That's what I tried to do."
THI: After you get back home, you get the blue blood offers from Kansas, UCLA, North Carolina. Do those kind of offers feel any different?
POWER: "Yeah, but I think just for me in this process it's going to be about the right fit. So as exciting as those schools are, it really is like a cool experience. I have relationships with prior schools and places that I think my game really fits. So with these new schools, I think it's just about building a relationship, learning how they play, and learning how I would fit in that. If I do fit, I think it would be really cool to play at these schools. It's just about if it's the right spot for me."
THI: Academics are a huge issue for you. You have Ivy League and Public Ivy offers, as well as others like Stanford and Notre Dame.
POWER: "Academics are huge for me and my family. I've always surrounded myself with academically, and I think I just want to set myself up for life without basketball if that's what it comes to. The brand of the academic side of the school is going to be a factor in my decision for sure in going to a place that can set me up."
THI: You just announced the North Carolina offer this morning. Had there been a previous relationship with the coaches before, or did this just come out of the blue?
POWER: "No, it just came out this weekend I would say."
THI: Walk us through the offer process.
POWER: "I had a couple of assistants follow me on Twitter and ask for my number, and said that Coach Davis will be reaching out. So later that night Coach Davis called me. We had a long talk. We talked for like 15 minutes, and didn't even talk about basketball. It was just about life, and my background, my upbringing, and his background, and his upbringing, and his journey to UNC. That was cool, and then we got into the basketball side of things. Toward the end he extended the offer."
THI: How did he break it to you that the offer was there?
POWER: "He talked about the roster, and situations of how they are going to recruit people. Then he said, 'To show how much we believe in you and your recruitment, I'd love to give you an offer from North Carolina."'
THI: What kind of gut feeling did you get about Coach Davis from the discussion?
POWER: "I loved our conversation. You wouldn't know you are talking to the head coach of UNC Basketball. Like I said, we just talked about family, and things that are important to us, and what we like to do. So, I thought it was super cool. He's relatable and funny. I'm excited to have more talks like that."
THI: What comes to your mind when you hear about North Carolina Basketball?
POWER: "Winning I would say (laughing). Just playing in that arena, and playing on the biggest stage there is, and basketball country. All the things that are kind of the dream of a kid growing up playing basketball. It would be fun to be a part of something like that for sure."
THI: When I think of a guy in the 6-9 range who can do a lot of things and stretch the floor, Brady Manek obviously comes to mind. What did you think of how he was used in the tournament run, and if so would that be something that would be attractive?
POWER: "Yeah, I think the first thing with him was that he had the ultimate green light. Whenever he touched it, and he was open it was going up. There were no repercussions. Coach Davis is going to let them play. I think we're a little bit different. I think he is a little bit bigger, more of a center. I think I can move better. I'm more like a wing specific player. It was good to see the mentality of how he played."
THI: At your size, people might think you are more of a four. But at the next level, do you see yourself as a three or positionless?
POWER: "I see myself as being more positionless. If anything like a wing, a player who can draw the defender out than attack. Right now I probably have to play a lot of four sometimes just because of the size and my surroundings. But I have the ability to play the wing at the next level."
THI: Are you thinking about visits after Peach Jam?
POWER: "I think when I get back from Peach Jam, I'll start setting up stuff. I don't have any visits set in stone or anything, but a bunch of schools have reached out and sent me dates. Whether it's the last week of July or early September, I would definitely like to get out and see a few places.'
THI: Where have you visited so far?
POWER: "Last fall I took an official to Iowa. Then this summer I took officials to Virginia and Note Dame."