Top 2023 UNC target says Duke offer was ‘surreal’ moment

The UNC basketball program received good news on Monday when its top target in the class of 2023 included the Tar Heels in his top five.

Four-star forward [autotag]TJ Power[/autotag] announced a list of UNC, Duke, Virginia, Boston College and Iowa. He has visited all five programs, however, UNC and Duke are the two newest programs to get involved.

Power took one-day official visits to both North Carolina and Duke at the end of July — both junior year official visits.

Moving forward, Power isn’t sure if he will take any of his five potential senior year visits, according to Rivals’ analyst Travis Graf.

“I don’t (have any visits coming up). I’ve visited all five of those schools, so I might go back out, but I really haven’t planned it out yet. Right now, I don’t really see myself getting back out anywhere, but obviously that can change.”

The 6-foot-8 forward from Worcester (MA) Academy is aiming to make a decision in September and if he doesn’t take any visits, it could come down to a battle between the Tar Heels and Blue Devils. It has been noted numerous times that both programs could be the teams to beat.

If that’s the case, the Blue Devils could have an edge, according to another report from On3.com’s Joe Tipton.

“Power says it was a “surreal” moment when Duke offered,” Tipton said. “He grew up watching the Blue Devils and followed the player’s journeys at Duke. Power also sees the fit in Durham, saying he “could be a core guy at Duke” and compete for “national championships right away”.”

Power is ranked No. 21 nationally in the On3 rankings for the 2023 class, the highest of any rankings platform.