# BREAKING: DUKE TRANSFER TJ POWER COMMITS TO VIRGINIA – Tony Bennett Lands 6-9 Sharpshooting Forward in Massive ACC Coup | On3 Exclusive
**Charlottesville, VA – November 18, 2025** – Virginia basketball just pulled off the heist of the 2025 transfer cycle.
Former Duke forward **TJ Power**, the highly touted 6-foot-9 stretch-four who entered the portal on November 3 after a quiet freshman season in Durham, has committed to Tony Bennett and the Cavaliers, he confirmed exclusively to On3’s Joe Tipton Monday night. The news, which first exploded across the r/CollegeBasketball subreddit within minutes of Power’s announcement, instantly catapults Virginia from “solid but unspectacular” to a legitimate ACC title contender and potential top-15 team when preseason rankings are updated next week.
“I’m 100% committed to Virginia,” Power told On3. “The way they play, the culture, the development — it’s the perfect fit for me. I can’t wait to get to work.”
The commitment is a seismic win for Bennett, who has faced increasing criticism for Virginia’s offensive stagnation and inability to land elite transfers in recent cycles. Power — a consensus top-30 recruit in the 2024 class out of Worcester Academy (Mass.) — gives the Hoos their first true floor-spacing big man since Sam Hauser in 2020-21. As a senior in high school, Power shot 43% from three on high volume, posted a 30-point, 7-three performance in the NEPSAC AAA championship, and was named Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year.
At Duke, the fit was never quite right. Power appeared in 26 games off the bench behind starters like Mark Mitchell, Jared McCain, and eventual one-and-done Kyle Filipowski, averaging just 2.1 points and 7.8 minutes per contest. He flashed in garbage time — hitting 40% of his limited three-point attempts (8-of-20) and showing soft touch on floaters — but never earned Jon Scheyer’s full trust in a rotation loaded with veterans and five-star freshmen.
Now, after less than two weeks in the portal, Power heads two hours south on I-64 to a program that desperately needs exactly what he offers: size, shooting, and high-IQ basketball. Virginia lost starters Ryan Dunn (NBA Draft) and Reece Beekman (graduation) and returns a core of Blake Buchanan, Jacob Groves, and guard playmakers like Isaac McKneely and Andrew Rohde. The Cavaliers ranked 352nd nationally in three-point attempt rate last season and dead last in the ACC in points per possession after the 2024 calendar turned.
Enter TJ Power — the human cheat code Bennett has been missing.
Early projections have Power stepping immediately into the starting power-forward role, forming a lethal frontcourt pairing with the 6-11 Buchanan. Imagine Virginia’s trademark mover-blocker offense with a 6-9 forward who can pop for 38–40% from three, relocate off ball, and punish switches in the mid-post. One ACC assistant texted On3 anonymously: “Tony just got his Sam Hauser 2.0, except younger and more athletic. Good luck guarding that pack-line when you have to close out to a 6-9 kid who shoots it like that.”
The r/CollegeBasketball subreddit lost its collective mind within minutes. The original thread — titled “TJ Power has committed to Virginia, he tells @On3sports” — rocketed past 8,000 upvotes in under an hour, with comments ranging from “Tony Bennett saw Duke’s roster and said ‘I’ll take that one thanks’” to “Virginia’s offense just went from 1998 to 2025 overnight.” One user posted a photoshopped image of Power in Virginia’s retro 1980s script uniforms with the caption “Welcome to the Shooter U Renaissance.”
Power’s decision came down to Virginia, Louisville, Creighton, and Notre Dame, sources told On3. The Cavaliers won out because of:
– Immediate starting role and 30+ minutes
– A proven track record of developing NBA wings (De’Andre Hunter, Kyle Guy, Joe Harris, Sam Hauser, etc.)
– A massive NIL package believed to be in the mid-six figures, funded by the Virginia-focused “Hoos Rising” collective
– A 45-minute Zoom call with Bennett last Thursday that Power described as “life-changing”
“Coach Bennett didn’t promise me anything except the chance to be the best version of myself,” Power said. “He showed me film of how Sam Hauser and Trey Murphy ran their system and said, ‘This is you.’ That was it. I was done looking.”
For Duke, the loss is another gut punch in what has become a transfer exodus. Power is the fourth scholarship player to leave the program since the end of last season, joining Christian Reeves (Clemson), Sean Stewart (Ohio State), and Jeremy Roach (Baylor). The Blue Devils now have three open scholarships and are scrambling to replace frontcourt depth behind freshmen Khaman Maluach and Patrick Ngongba II.
Jon Scheyer issued a short statement Monday night: “We wish TJ nothing but the best at Virginia. He’s a tremendous young man and we’re thankful for his time at Duke.”
Virginia fans, meanwhile, are already printing “TJ MAFIA” T-shirts. The John Paul Jones Arena student section has dubbed itself “The Power Plant” for next season. And Tony Bennett — who flirted with retirement just 18 months ago — suddenly has the most exciting offensive roster he’s had in a decade.
KenPom’s early 2025-26 projections moved Virginia from No. 42 to No. 18 overnight. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi already has the Hoos as a 4-seed in his way-too-early bracket.
TJ Power is headed to Charlottesville.
The Pack-Line just added a flamethrower.
And the ACC just got a whole lot spicier.
Welcome to Shooter U, TJ.
The renaissance starts now.
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