Penn HC Fran McCaffery’s Leadership Rebuilds TJ Power’s Confidence

After coming out of high school as a five-star recruit of the Duke Blue Devils and the No. 32 overall player in the class of 2023, University of Pennsylvania forward TJ Power seemed on the fast track to a professional career.

Rather than going one-and-done, Power averaged just 6.7 minutes off the bench with the Blue Devils, then attempted to reboot his career the following season under head coach and defensive guru Tony Bennett at Virginia. Bennett announced his surprise retirement on the eve of the 2024-25 season, however, turning the campaign into another false start for Power.

Now amidst a career year at Penn, the 6-foot-9, 220 pound forward set a personal best with 38 points on Friday, Feb. 27, helping the Quakers to a second half comeback over Dartmouth that moved them closer to a spot in the Ivy League tournament.

Versatility On Display

“It’s fun, just playing with a lot of joy. And I think the second half, our competitiveness as a team rose,” Power said. “And that’s a contagious thing. My mindset, when I see guys digging in, playing hard, that gives me life too.”

Power added 12 rebounds for a double-double, making 14 of 22 shots and six of eight three-point shots against the Big Green, showing the combination of accuracy and size that makes him a unique threat at the forward position.

“I never recruited anybody harder than him. I thought he was a great fit for our system,” said Penn head coach Fran McCaffery, who began recruiting Power during his sophomore year of high school. “His versatility was on full display tonight, and that’s what I wanted from him. We’re gonna play fast, we’re gonna flow right into our offense, he can get it off the glass and bring it himself, we can iso him at the elbow, we can clear a side for him, we can post him up.”

“The Ultimate Green Light”

After averaging less than two shots a game in limited action through his first two college seasons, McCaffery helped Power rebuild his confidence. “He needed somebody to believe that he was still there,” McCaffery said after the Quakers’ Nov. 17 win against Saint Joseph’s. McCaffery expanded on how he placed his faith in the junior forward, giving him the “green light” as a shooter and helping him to play freely.

“He’s got the ultimate green light, pull from three, shoot your pull-up, and you heard him say it. That’s what breeds confidence, and that’s ultimately my responsibility is to give my basketball players supreme confidence,” McCaffery said. “And you don’t do that jerking him in and out [of the lineup], high-five them when they make a shot then yell at them when they miss. I don’t, I’m not out there telling him ‘do this, do that.’ I want him to think for himself.”

Power said that his struggles over the past two seasons puts his ups and downs at Penn into perspective, helping him roll with the punches when things don’t go his way.

Drowning Out the Noise

“It’s been a lot of downs the past two years, I’ll say that. I think I had to learn a lot in those years and did some soul searching. And now it’s like I feel prepared. Losing a game this year it’s like ‘I’ve been lower than that,’ you know? I’ve been lower than that, and I’m ready to bounce back,” Power said. “I’ve had some games this year where I score in spurts and maybe I get out of the flow. So I think tonight was good because I stayed aggressive the whole game through the ups and the downs, and I’ve gotta put more games like that together.”

Power reiterated that he’s playing with joy, helping him manage the pressure he felt as a top-billed recruit. He also described McCaffery’s faith in him as genuine, explaining how that helped him find his footing.

“I don’t know if the pressure’s off: mainly I’m just not paying attention to it as much. I’m just having fun, playing with joy, and that kind of combats that pressure for me,” Power said. “And Coach [McCaffery] has been great. It’s one thing to say words to a player, say you believe in them. But when you actually show it through actions and let them get through mistakes, that’s like a super power right there. And I’ve taken full advantage of that.”

Learning to Lead

For all his struggles at Duke and Virginia, Power took advantage of the opportunity of playing at a top-level program, learning from the stars around him and developing as a leader. Power said that when he first joined Penn, who were coming off consecutive losing seasons, he began to impart the winning mindset he’d learned at his first two stops.

“When  I came in in the beginning, one of the first things I said was we’ve gotta change our mindset.. What we want from this season, what our standard is. I think about Ivy Madness all the way back in August,” Power said. “I want this to be a winning culture — and that’s why coach is here too, this whole staff. And now that we’re close and guys can feel it, it’s just upping our energy level a lot. But we’ve gotta stay focused.”

McCaffery expanded on that point, saying that Power not only made an immediate impact with his skill on the court. He also benefitted Penn with his leadership.

“He said it: he learned a lot the past two years. Yeah, he didn’t play much, but he watched, he was around some really good players at a very high level, and he saw what to do, what not to do,” McCaffery said. “And his maturity and leadership from minute one since he got here was impactful to everybody else.”