One of the top stock risers in the basketball recruiting world has been TJ Power, who told CavsCorner on Tuesday that he has locked in an official visit with the Wahoos that is slated to begin next Monday.

The four-star forward has had a terrific spring playing with BABC on the EYBL Circuit. Right now he is averaging 16.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. His shooting has been something he is working on and that has shown as he is hitting 48 percent from deep.

“It is just a mindset that I am playing with,” he told CavsCorner this week. “I am playing with a lot of confidence, playing more aggressively and that comes from preparation a lot. My shot has been falling and I have been working on that a lot.

“If my shot is going in,” he added, “my confidence really increases. I also have a lot more confidence because this is my second year on the EYBL.”

Shortly after the second live period is when Tony Bennett extended an offer to Power. It was one that meant a great deal to him.

“Getting an offer from Virginia meant a lot,” Power told CavsCorner. “I think Virginia is a school that I certainly have my eyes on. They are in the ACC and near the top of the league every single year and that is obviously really cool and I am really blessed to have the opportunity to play there.”

Soon after picking up an offer from the Wahoos, Power knew he wanted to visit Charlottesville soon.

“In talking with Coach Bennett, I really like him a lot,” Power explained. “I think we are really about the same stuff. He has a great culture there and he understands me on and off the court so I could not wait to set up an official visit there and I will get that opportunity next week when I get there on Monday.”

Assistant Coach Orlando Vandross has strong ties in his native northeast and he was the original point of contact between Virginia and Power, who attends Worcester Academy in Massachusetts.

“Coach Vandross is from Boston and has coached in Boston so we obviously have that connection,” he explained. “He is really familiar with my AAU coach and all of that really made me have a sense of comfortability with our conversations. After the second live period he came and visited me at school in the morning and had a great conversation.

“He has been the whole instigator in this relationship,” Power added, “and I have really enjoyed getting to know him.”

After that relationship between Vandross and Power grew stronger, Bennett started to gauge more and more interest in the 6-foot-10 power forward, who is ranked No. 65 overall in the Rivals150 for 2023.

“What really stood out to me when talking with Coach Bennett was us talking about different things defensively,” Power recalled. “Coach Bennett knows that I play with a high motor on both ends of the floor and Virginia has had a lot of players like that before which helps them buy into Coach Bennett’s defensive philosophy.”

Off the court, thew two have a lot of similarities as well.

“Coach Bennett is a family man and values important friendships like I do,” Power said. “I try to be a loyal guy and remain loyal to certain relationships I have and that is one thing I really see in him.”

The word “culture” is commonly brought up when talking about the Virginia program and Power spoke on the special culture that he sees in Charlottesville.

“I think I have a lot of qualities that would fit in the UVa culture,” he said. “Virginia has had guys that just care about winning and not worried about their stats and those are the type of players that have had success at Virginia so I think I could thrive under a program like that.”

The pack-line defense and developing players into being pros are two things that are part of the culture and Power spoke on both of those.

“I have had some coaches that have implemented the pack-line defense and I like it,” he said. “Growing up as a kid I have seen all of the success Virginia has had but one thing I have really learned in talking with Coach Bennett is that they really do develop pro players. At first, I was not too informed about that with Virginia but now I am, which is even more encouraging.”

The plan for Power is to head to Virginia on Monday right after playing in Louisville this weekend for the third session of the EYBL and being able to sit down with the Virginia staff is something he is really looking forward to on this visit.

“The most important thing for me when choosing a school is the relationships that I will be having with the coaching staff,” he said. “I want to be able to trust the people that I will be working with. As much as I want to see the school and get a feel for the campus and facilities, I think I am really going to evaluate how my conversations with Coach Bennett, Coach Vandross, and all of the other coaches.

“I am excited to sit down to watch film with them,” Power added, “and meet the strength and conditioning coach because I heard great things about him.