TJ Power transfer portal: Top 5 landing spots for Duke forward ft. North Carolina

TJ Power announced his decision to enter the transfer portal on Thursday. He follows other former Duke teammates like Jeremy Roach, Jaylen Blakes, Mark Mitchell, Jaden Schutt and Christian Reeves in looking for a new program. Meanwhile, Blue Devils stars Kyle Filipowski and Jared McCain have both declared for the 2024 NBA draft.

Power came into his freshman season as a five-star prospect, ranked the No. 16 player nationally and as the No. 4 power forward. Given his caliber, the 6-foot-9 forward was expected to play a crucial role on coach Jon Scheyer's team. That, however, did not happen.

TJ Power averaged 2.1 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.2 assists in 6.7 minutes of playtime across 26 games. If he were to stay for the next season, he would still struggle for minutes, considering the incoming class of freshmen led by Cooper Flagg, also a power forward.

Power has yet to confirm his new team, but here are a few options for him.

Top 5 landing spots for TJ Power

#1 North Carolina

Before committing to Duke, North Carolina was one of TJ Power's finalists. The Tar Heels added Cormac Ryan and Harrison Ingram from the transfer portal last year, and they both played a crucial role for the team in its March Madness run.

However, Ryan, Armando Bacot and Paxson Wojcik have all exhausted their college eligibility, and RJ Davis could declare for the NBA draft. This leaves a major void in North Carolina's roster, and TJ Power could easily move in and impact the frontcourt immediately.

#2 Kentucky

In the aftermath of John Calipari's resignation as Kentucky Wildcats coach, most of the players he recruited entered the portal. This leaves new coach Mark Pope to rebuild the roster from the ground up.

Moving to Kentucky now gives TJ Power the chance to be a part of a new era in the Wildcats' history. Given his experience at Duke and performance history, the forward could easily gain more playing time.

#3 Kansas

Kevin McCullar, Nick Timberlake and Parker Braun have all used up their college eligibility, while freshman Johnny Furphy has declared for the 2024 NBA draft.

The Jayhawks have landed the commitments of former Wisconsin wing AJ Storr, Florida Gators guard Riley Kugel and South Dakota State point guard Zeke Mayo. Despite this, coach Bill Self will be looking through the portal for players to add to his roster, as more transfers could be expected. And TJ Power could be his guy.

#4 Arkansas

After his first day at Arkansas, John Calipari's famous line was, "I met with the team. There is no team." Coach Calipari has a long history of nurturing the best talents into NBA prospects, and TJ Power could gain immense experience by joining the Razorbacks.

While Arkansas may not have a storied history like Duke or Kentucky, the program could be on the cusp of huge change. Like DeMarcus Cousins said of coach Calipari:

"Where he goes, becomes the hotspot. That's the reality of this. Arkansas will now be the hot spot."

#5 Alabama

After a historic March Madness run that ended in a Final Four game loss to UConn, Alabama and coach Nate Oats are preparing for an offseason of rebuilding.

They lost guard Rylan Griffen and forward Nick Pringle, both starters, to the transfer portal. Additionally, the Tide awaits the pending decisions of Grant Nelson and Mark Sears, who declared for the NBA draft but kept their college eligibility open.

Oats and his team will look to write history once again next year, trying to replicate the incredible run this season. Power has the chance to step in and strengthen the roster for this task.

Who do you think TJ Power should play for next? Let us know your options in the comment section below.