Inside the Big 5: Penn’s TJ Power on last season: ‘I felt smooth again’

By AARON BRACY

May 30, 2026

Big5Hoops.com

(Editor’s Note: This story also appears on the Bracy Sports Media Newsletter. Click HERE to subscribe for free and have my content delivered to your email inbox.)

A 6-foot-9 forward with a silky outside shooting touch, it was no surprise that TJ Power chose Duke over North Carolina, Virginia, Iowa, Notre Dame after a standout prep career at Worcester Academy in Massachusetts.

Once in Durham, North Carolina, though, Power did not experience the on-court success for which he was accustomed, averaging just 2.1 points and 0.7 rebounds in 26 games as a freshman in 2023–24. While good buddy and fellow Blue Devils rookie Jared McCain followed that season by being selected No. 16 overall in the 2024 NBA Draft by the 76ers, Power was searching for his next move. With limited minutes in his one season there and Duke about to usher in a pair of heralded prospects in Kon Knueppel and Cooper Flagg, Power transferred to Virginia for his sophomore season.

Things did not go well in Charlottesville, either, beginning with the surprise retirement of head coach Tony Bennett less than a month before the start of the season. Power appeared in 24 games for the Cavaliers, averaging a mere 1.3 points and 1.0 rebounds. The former five-star recruit’s confidence was shaken after two unexpectedly disappointing college experiences. It was time for another fresh start.

Third Time a Charm

Like many college coaches, Fran McCaffery had coveted Power out of high school. Then at Iowa, McCaffery unsuccessfully sold his free-flowing offensive system to Power. Hired at his alma mater Penn in March 2025 after being let go by Iowa, McCaffery needed players after the Quakers combined for just seven conference wins the previous two seasons. And Power needed a team.

This time, Power was sold on McCaffery. It did not take long for the Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, native to feel like coming to Philadelphia was a great decision. In spite of an elbow injury that slowed him some during last preseason, Power steadily began to feel like himself again, his confidence and his game starting to return. He was comfortable in McCaffery’s wide-open attack. More than that, though, McCaffery helped to free Power’s mind.

“It was just like the mentality he let me have,” Power told me recently in a phone interview. “I can be as aggressive as I need to be and not have to think about if I’m coming out of the game, or if I’m doing something right or wrong. I think he just wanted me to trust myself. That was the biggest part where I was able to tap into a big part of my game.”

Smooth Again

Through three games to open last season, Power produced in ways he had not in his previous two seasons. But it was in the Quakers’ fourth contest of 2025–26, at home against Saint Joseph’s in a Big 5 matchup on Monday, November 17, 2025, that he finally felt like himself once again. By halftime, Power had 18 points and seven rebounds. Before, he was so caught up in not making a mistake that he never was able to take in the moment. Now, though, he was reacting to the fans’ cheers, chest-bumping with his teammates, and taking in every single bit of the joy of competing that had been lost for two seasons. Power ended up with 23 points and 15 rebounds in the Quakers’ impressive 83-74 win.

“It kind of felt like up to that point, I was in fight or flight mode on the court sometimes, where I was really trying not to mess up, and it was hard for me to take in the moment,” Power said. “That game, especially in the first half, I was flowing. I was able to just like get lost in the game.

“It was like the first time I felt comfortable on the court in my college basketball career. I was able to enjoy the moment and the crowd and the competition level. I felt smooth again.”

Buoyed by the performance, Power continued to play well. With McCain seated behind Penn’s bench, Power had 18 points to help the Quakers beat Drexel at a packed DAC on November 21, leading Penn to the Big 5 Classic title game against Villanova. While the Quakers lost the game—and took a big blow when leading scorer Ethan Roberts suffered a concussion that would bother him all season—Penn was on its way to regaining its footing as a factor in the Ivy League.

“It was like the first time I felt comfortable on the court in my college basketball career. I was able to enjoy the moment and the crowd and the competition level. I felt smooth again.”

A Power-ful Performance

Prognosticators did not expect much of Penn last season, picking the Quakers to finish seventh of eight teams in the Ivy League. That was not a surprise considering Penn had placed second-from-the-bottom in each of the prior two seasons. But the proud program rebounded behind Power, Roberts, and McCaffery, qualifying as one of the top four teams for the league’s postseason tournament, Ivy Madness.

After upsetting Harvard in the semifinal without Roberts, Penn was tasked with trying to take down league favorite Yale, once again without Roberts, in the conference tournament title game. A berth in the NCAA tournament was on the line when the teams tipped off on March 15, 2026, in Ithaca, New York.

What happened next will be remembered by Power and Penn fans for forever. Power played the game of his life, accumulating 44 points and 14 rebounds in the Quakers’ shocking 88-84 overtime win. He produced one of college basketball’s season highlights by draining a game-tying three-pointer at the regulation buzzer to lift Penn into the extra session.

Power had come a long way from averaging roughly two points per game at Duke and Virginia.

“I always felt like I had performances like that in the tank,” Power said. “For it to come out in that stage was poetic for me and my family.”

“I think I was so lost in competing, kind of like what I talked about with St. Joe’s,” he added. “Yale was like that on a much higher level. It was like nothing else in the world mattered except trying to win that game.”

With Roberts out, Power knew he would need to provide more scoring. Not even missing his first two three-pointers deterred him from continuing to fire. It was not a selfish approach, but one he knew the Quakers needed at that time.

“Our team got really close over that year, and we kind of pushed each other to the point where it was ultra-competitive, super selfless, we’re giving everything we have to each other,” he said. “When Ethan went out, me giving myself to the team meant I had to be a little bit more aggressive.”

Power also credits his faith for the game of a lifetime.

“Another piece in that is I put a lot of trust in God, especially leading into that weekend,” he said. “I wasn’t really attached to winning or losing. Obviously, I wanted to win. I wanted to just give everything I had and put my trust in the Lord and let the results take care of themselves. It was cool to see Him come through in that way.”

A Shot for the Ages

As good as Power had been, Penn still trailed 75-72 with 5.9 seconds remaining in regulation. Power caught the inbounds pass near the Quakers’ free-throw line, needed just three dribbles to reach the three-point line on the right wing, pulled up and perfectly swished a shot for the ages to force overtime.

 “Every kid always thinks about hitting the game-winner, or whatever,” Power said. “Honestly, I didn’t think they would let me get the ball. And then when they let me get the ball, I thought they were going to foul. When those two things didn’t happen, I just kind of took off. Once I got close to the three-point line, I was in a really good state of mind. I was like, ‘If I get one off, it’s probably going in here.’”

Yale’s Casey Simmons was seemingly within inches of blocking the shot with his left hand.

“Great defender and really athletic,” Power said of Simmons. “He jumped and he was in the air. I kind of had to pause for a second in mid-air and let him pass me by. And I had to put a ton of arc on the shot. When it went in, I honestly didn’t even celebrate. I was so locked in to that moment and I knew we had to go to overtime. When I watch it back, my hands get sweaty and stuff because it’s like still a crazy moment for me.”

NBA Still the Goal

While Power was lighting up Yale, former Duke teammates McCain, Tyrese Proctor, and Kyle Filipowski were establishing themselves in the NBA. Meantime, Flagg and Knueppel were starring in the league in which Power always has dreamed of playing. And that is still his apsiration.

“It’s a thousand percent still my goal,” Power said of the NBA. “Nothing’s changed.”

NBA scouts certainly loved what they saw against Yale. Power’s season averages of 16.4 points and 7.6 rebounds and, especially, his knockdown rate of 43.2 percent (79 of 183) from three-point range surely impressed those tasked with evaluating college prospects. There is the question about the level of Ivy competition, though. Some might point to the NCAA tournament when Power struggled to six points and one rebound in Penn’s 105-70 loss to eventual Final Four entrant Illinois in the first round as evidence. However, Power had been stricken with a severe stomach virus that had him laid up in the hotel room for two days, taking IVs just to be able to get on the court. He had not picked up a basketball in days and clearly was not himself against a very tough Illini squad.

Program-wise, playing in March Madness was huge for the Quakers.

“It was cool for these guys to realize how much their work really means, and just to have something tangible to look back on and we worked toward a goal all year long,” Power said. “Then we got to that moment to experience that together. It was super cool.”

On a personal level, it was not the most memorable for Power.

“I was just kind of grateful to get on the floor and be out there,” he said. “But I was real foggy and stuff.”

No Limits

This summer, Power is focusing on building muscle and improving his ballhandling and strengthening already strong areas of his game.

“I love being in the gym; that’s my favorite part of basketball, development,” he said. “There are a lot of ways I want to get stronger physically. My ultimate goal is to play in the NBA. I need to fit that prototype and get stronger, faster, more athletic. And just build on that so I have a good base for the season.”

He knows opponents will be keying in on him even more next season at Penn, and he plans to be ready.

“I want to be more consistent with my three-point shot,” he said. “I think that’s my best skill. I want to be able to get it off quick and in different scenarios. I think I’ll have a lot more attention, so I’ll need to be able to get to my spots and be efficient with those.”

Power will be leading a Penn team in 2026–27 that will need to replace Roberts’s scoring and Cam Thrower’s playmaking. But he believes the Quakers have the talent to be good again. Winning the Ivy League title again will be something that Power and Company will be eyeing, but it will not be a goal. That would be too limiting.

“I don’t want to put any limits on our team,” he said. “We can do anything that any other college team can do. These teams we’re trying to beat, like Illinois, they have big goals. Why not? Why can’t we have these goals, too? At least striving for them is how we grow the most. Obviously, we want to repeat. I just want us to be as best as we can. Even if we repeat as champions and that’s our goal, then once we accomplish that we’re going to feel like a sense of complacency. No, we can push through that even more and make some history here.”

And Power has the same thing in mind for himself.

“I don’t want any limits on our team, and I don’t want any limits on myself,” Power said. “I can accomplish anything I want to here, and that’s kind of the mindset I have for this next year. I have so many limits that other people have placed on me, and I just want to push through those in a big way this year. That’s kind of my plan.”

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Aaron Bracy has covered sports in Philadelphia for nearly three decades for various publications and as a freelancer for the Associated Press. His first book, A Soaring Season: The Incredible, Inspiring Story of the 2003–04 Saint Joseph’s Hawks (Brookline), can be ordered HERE. His second book, Are You Kidding Me? The Incredible, Inspiring Story of Allen Iverson and the 2001 Philadelphia 76ers (Brookline) is scheduled to be published in February 2027. You can preorder it HERE. Follow Bracy on social media HERE. Contact him at bracymedia@gmail.com.