He brings the firepower, literally.
Junior forward TJ Power won his first Ivy League Player of the Week honor on Monday after a standout performance in the Quakers’ historic win against Princeton — the first in eight years. This is Power’s first Ivy award after receiving weekly honors in the Big 5 twice earlier this season. He is the fourth Quaker to be recognized by the conference this season, after sophomore guard AJ Levine, senior guard/forward Ethan Roberts, and freshman forward/center Dalton Scantlebury.
This past weekend, Power paced the Quakers offensively with a game-high 18 points, stepping up as Roberts and senior guard/forward Michael Zanoni — typically the other two parts of Penn’s three-pronged offensive attack — were held to just five combined points. The Shrewsbury, Mass. native was efficient from the field and beyond the arc on Saturday, shooting 55% and 50% respectively, and filled the stat sheet with seven rebounds and three assists.
“It was a group effort … [but] I feel comfortable being aggressive and trying to get some points on the board for us,” Power said post-game. “In a game like this, it's really all the other plays that we had to do.”
In the final minutes of the matchup, the Tigers cut Penn’s lead to one point. Power came in clutch, hitting a huge corner three, which turned out to be the winning points as Penn made a stop on Princeton’s final possession.
During conference play, Power has been the most consistent scorer of Penn’s triple threat, notching double digits in all but one game, as well as over 20 points in theQuakers’ win at Dartmouth and narrow loss at Columbia.
RELATED:
Penn men's basketball snaps 14-game losing streak against Princeton, winning 61-60
Guevarra | Give Penn men's basketball's AJ Levine his flowers
After playing limited minutes at Virginia and Duke, Power is shining with the Quakers. He currently leads the team in total points, made three-pointers, and rebounds. At the beginning of the season, many had high expectations for him because of his high-profile stints and five-star rating coming out of high school. He is the program's first former five-star recruit in history.
