It’s 7 a.m., an hour before school starts at Worcester Academy. The varsity boys’ basketball team is in the gym for one of its open early-morning pickup games. Duke commit TJ Power takes the court with his teammates to pick up the extra practice.
In the stands, another future Blue Devil — Oluchi Okananwa — is watching.
“We were always trying to pull Oluchi out of the stands,” Power told The Chronicle. “She was good enough to hold her own and compete with us.”
“I would work out with those guys,” Okananwa added. “They were just all extended brothers to me.”
Now, Okananwa is out of the stands and dominating on the court as she and Power prepare for their first postseason as Duke freshmen. However, amidst the new obstacles and adjustments that come with the transition to Division-I basketball, the friendship that formed in Worcester, Mass., is guiding them through it all.
All roads lead to Worcester
While the private high school is the birthplace of their friendship, neither Power nor Okananwa started out there.
For Power’s part, the transition to playing at Worcester Academy was an inevitable one. His older sister Lauren attended first, which helped the family form a crucial relationship with varsity boys’ basketball coach Jamie Sullivan. The Curry College graduate made his gym available for Power to hone his craft through his middle school years, hoping to eventually woo the growing talent to his team.
“I always kept my eye on him … and I always knew that he would come to Worcester Academy,” Sullivan said. “It just depended on when.”
The “when” turned out to be after Power’s sophomore year concluded at St. John’s High School, where he averaged 18.1 points and led his team to the state Division-I semifinals. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the time came for Power to take his seemingly rightful place on Sullivan’s squad. Power decided to reclassify and repeat his sophomore year.
After a year to get his feet under him, Power made a splash on the prep school scene as a Hilltopper. In 2022, he won the Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year after a monster junior season, averaging 13.1 points and leading his team to a NEPSAC Class AA championship. Worcester Academy fit him like a glove.
Although she began her career at Peabody High School and then New Hampton School, Okananwa cashed her final two years of high school eligibility at Worcester, playing under head coach Sherry Levin. Differing from Power, Okananwa boarded at Worcester Academy, fully immersing herself with the school and Levin’s program.
“[Levin] is the only reason that I went and I played for Worcester Academy,” Okananwa said. “Coach Sherry pushed me in ways that I’d never been pushed before.”
Named team captain in her senior year, Okananwa earned an All-NEPSAC First Team selection and led Worcester Academy to an 18-7 final record. Okananwa’s time with the Hilltoppers, coupled with an impressive AAU showing with Mass Rivals, earned herself a McDonald’s All-American Game nominee selection as well as a late rise to No. 27 overall in ESPN’s Class of 2023 ranking.
The friendship begins
While the Hilltoppers’ boys and girls varsity basketball teams rarely interacted due to their often-conflicting schedules, Okananwa was different. As Sullivan remembers, the Boston native was always around his program.
“Oluchi lived in my office,” Sullivan said. “[She] was in here all the time hanging around with the guys, and Oluchi and the boys were very close.”
“I would be in his office every single day,” Okananwa joked. “All I was missing was to be a boy.”
Despite the fact that Okananwa was often around the team off the court, Power’s respect for her came from her work on it. Both self-described “gym rats,” their closeness came from a mutual commitment to effort and extra reps outside of practice. The friendship even persisted when Okananwa stole Power’s hoop — more than a few times.
“There were a lot of times where … I’d show up to the gym, and she’s already at my hoop,” Power said. “Now I’m getting kicked off my own hoop because she’s working out 30 minutes before me.”
Perhaps Okananwa’s dedication toward her craft wasn’t just a small nuisance to Power, but a driving force in him and his team’s successes. Sullivan recognized that. After all, Worcester Academy’s boys program earned back-to-back NEPSAC Class AA titles in both of Okananwa’s years at the school.
“When they won their championship … they gave me a championship shirt,” Okananwa said with a chuckle.
Committing to Duke
When the decision to play in college came around, it was Power who first set off down the path toward Duke. While he was recruited by schools such as Kansas, North Carolina and UCLA, the Blue Devils quickly caught his eye. He took a visit shortly after receiving an offer from Duke on July 14, 2022. Clearly something in Durham struck a chord as Power committed less than two months later. However, his high school coach predicted his future much earlier.
“I told the family he was going to be a blue blood,” Sullivan said.
Even though Power was the first to sign on to the Blue Devils, it was Okananwa whose dream it was to don Duke blue.
“I remember she made this vision board … in one of her classes at school, and I think it had a Duke logo on it,” Power said. “She was talking about how her dream was to play at Duke.”
As she went on several college visits, Power kept encouraging Okananwa to be patient and wait for an offer from the Blue Devils, hoping that his high school friend would join him in Durham. He’d consistently text her on her visits and try to see where her head was while subtly trying to keep Duke at the forefront of her thoughts.
“He went on an official visit … and I get a call in the middle of night, and it’s from him,” Okananwa recounted. “I’m like, ‘hello,’ and it’s just him listing a bunch of reasons why I needed to commit to Duke.”
“I might be giving myself too much credit, but I was telling her like listen … just wait till you see Duke,” Power said.
“He always liked to say he recruited me,” Okananwa said.
Nonetheless, when head coach Kara Lawson brought Okananwa in on an official visit, Okananwa didn’t need much convincing from her future Blue Devil friend. After forcing herself to take a mere 48 hours to reflect after her trip to Durham, Okananwa’s mind was made: She was going to be a Blue Devil.
“I knew I wanted to play for Lawson, and I knew I wanted to play [at Duke],” Okananwa said. “This is a really special program and a special university, so I knew I couldn’t pass up this opportunity.”
Freshman year
While the stage has gotten bigger and the lights have gotten brighter, Okananwa and Power continue to support each other in college. It’s not unusual to see him cheering her on in the stands at home games or reposting her stats on Instagram. He even streams the games when she’s on the road, making sure his former high school teammates do the same.
“The first game of the year [against Richmond], she had that huge game,” Power said. “I remember I was sitting in class, banging on my desk every time she scored.”
Off the court, the two are there for each other as well. Living in the same freshman residence hall has allowed them to help each other through the highs and lows of the first year of college.
“We had someone to talk to about this whole transition and … struggles that we’ve gone through, the highs and lows,” Power said. “And we had each other’s backs … if one of us is struggling, we’re gonna check on each other.”
“I remember in the summer, we would check in with each other to make sure we’re doing good,” Okananwa said.
There is an undeniable bond between the two programs’ freshman classes. Nicknamed the “Crazy Eight” for their eight total members, Okananwa and Power, joined by their freshman teammates on both rosters, enjoy a special friendship.
“The relationship between the guys and girls’ team is truly one that I cherish,” Okananwa said. “It’s basically one big friend group, and we all care for each other.”
Power and Okananwa now face the next challenge in their collegiate careers — March Madness. He will head north to Brooklyn, N.Y., while she will journey west to Columbus, Ohio, for their debuts at the national tournament. Power assumes a greater offensive burden in the absence of fellow freshman Caleb Foster, while Okananwa has been Lawson’s spark plug since the moment she suited up in blue and white.
Yet even with the miles that will separate them and the vastly different responsibilities they will hold, the friendship that was fostered in the gyms of Worcester Academy and cemented on the hardwood of Cameron Indoor Stadium will carry them through as they cheer each other on from afar.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.
Mackenzie Sheehy is a Trinity sophomore and Blue Zone editor of The Chronicle's 119th volume.