T. J. McConnell

Timothy John McConnell Jr. (born March 25, 1992)[1] is an American professional basketball player for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Duquesne Dukes and the Arizona Wildcats.

T. J. McConnell
McConnell with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2015
No. 9 – Indiana Pacers
PositionPoint guard
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1992-03-25) March 25, 1992
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight191 lb (87 kg)
Career information
High schoolChartiers Valley
(Bridgeville, Pennsylvania)
College
NBA draft2015 / Undrafted
Playing career2015–present
Career history
2015–2019Philadelphia 76ers
2019–presentIndiana Pacers
Career highlights and awards
  • AP honorable mention All-American (2015)
  • First-team All-Pac-12 (2015)
  • Second-team All-Pac-12 (2014)
  • 2× Pac-12 All-Defensive Team (2014, 2015)
  • Third-team All-Atlantic 10 (2012)
  • Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team (2012)
  • Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year (2011)
  • Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team (2011)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

High school career

McConnell attended Chartiers Valley High School in the Pittsburgh-area borough of Bridgeville, Pennsylvania, where he played for his father, Tim.[2] As the team captain his senior year, he averaged 34.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game,[1] earned first-team all-state honors, was named the Associated Press's Pennsylvania Class 3A Player of the Year, and also named the male athlete of the year for all sports by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.[1] He led the Colts to a 29-2 record, the WPIAL championship, and a berth in the Class 3A state championship game as a senior in which he lost to Philadelphia's Neumann-Goretti.[3][4]

College career
T.J. McConnell for Arizona in 2014

As a freshman for Duquesne in 2010–11, McConnell averaged 10.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.8 steals per game in 32 appearances (30 starts), earning 2011 Atlantic 10 Freshman of the Year honors.[1][3]

As a sophomore in 2011–12, he averaged 11.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.8 steals per game, helping the Dukes to a 16-15 record and earning third team All-Atlantic 10 Conference honors and a spot on the A-10 All-Defensive Team.[1][3]

In April 2012, he transferred to Arizona where he was subsequently forced to sit out the 2012–13 season due to NCAA transfer rules.[1][5] McConnell's transfer was motivated by a desire to compete for a national championship.[6]

In the 2013–14 season McConnell helped lead the Wildcats to a 21-0 record to start the season before teammate Brandon Ashley injured his foot and was sidelined for the rest of the season. The season culminated in an Elite 8 appearance for the Wildcats.[7] As a senior, McConnell was voted first-team All-Pac-12 and named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team, and he helped lead Arizona to another appearance in the Elite Eight.[8]

Professional career

Philadelphia 76ers (2015–2019)

After going undrafted in the 2015 NBA draft, McConnell joined the Philadelphia 76ers for the 2015 NBA Summer League.[9] On September 27, 2015, he signed with the 76ers.[10] He played well during preseason, averaging 6.2 points and 4.8 assists in five games, earning himself a spot on the 76ers' opening night roster.[11] He went on to make his NBA debut in the team's season opener against the Boston Celtics on October 28. In 27 minutes of action, he recorded four points, four assists and three steals in a 112–95 loss.[12] On February 6, 2016, while starting at point guard in place of the injured Ish Smith, McConnell tied his season high of 17 points in a 103–98 win over the Brooklyn Nets.[13] On March 23, in a loss to the Denver Nuggets, he had a 17-point outing for a third time in 2015–16.[14] At the season's end, he received two votes in the 2016 NBA All-Rookie Team voting.[15]

In July 2016, McConnell re-joined the 76ers for the 2016 NBA Summer League.[16] On December 11, 2016, he had a near triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in a 97–79 win over the Detroit Pistons.[17] On January 6, 2017, he had a career-high 17 assists in a 110–106 loss to the Boston Celtics, becoming just the fourth player in franchise history to hit that mark in a single contest. His total was two off the Philadelphia's all-time record of 19 assists, initially set by Maurice Cheeks in 1987, and later matched by Dana Barros in 1995.[18] McConnell hit a game-winning buzzer beater against the New York Knicks with a turnaround jump shot on the baseline on January 11, 2017.[19]

On November 25, 2017, McConnell had 15 points and 13 assists in a 130–111 win over the Orlando Magic.[20] On January 15, 2018, he scored a career-high 18 points in a 117–111 win over the Toronto Raptors.[21] On February 12, 2018, McConnell recorded his first career triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in a 108–92 win over the Knicks.[22] He also matched a career high with six steals and became the first player in franchise history to record a triple-double off the bench.[23][24] In Game 4 of the 76ers' second-round playoff series against the Celtics, McConnell had a career-high 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists in a 103–92 win, helping Philadelphia cut the series deficit to 3–1.[25] On June 13, 2018, the 76ers announced they had exercised the fourth-year option on their contract with McConnell.[26]

Indiana Pacers (2019–present)

On July 3, 2019, McConnell inked a two-year deal worth $7 million with the Indiana Pacers.[27]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2015–16 Philadelphia 811719.8.470.348.6343.14.51.2.16.1
2016–17 Philadelphia 815126.3.461.200.8113.16.61.7.16.9
2017–18 Philadelphia 76122.4.499.435.7953.04.01.2.26.3
2018–19 Philadelphia 76319.3.525.333.7842.33.41.0.26.4
2019–20 Indiana 71318.7.516.294.8332.75.0.8.26.5
Career 3857521.4.492.332.7792.84.71.2.26.4

Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2018 Philadelphia 10215.5.694.667.6002.62.3.6.05.5
2019 Philadelphia 908.3.444––.71.2.2.12.7
2020 Indiana 309.3.375–.5002.02.3.0.02.3
Career 22211.7.563.667.5711.71.9.4.03.9

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2010–11 Duquesne 323030.6.498.402.6833.84.42.8.210.8
2011–12 Duquesne 313134.3.509.432.8364.45.52.8.311.4
2013–14 Arizona 383832.3.454.360.6203.65.31.7.28.4
2014–15 Arizona 383830.5.498.321.8293.86.32.2.110.4
Career 13913731.8.490.380.7493.95.42.3.210.2

Franchise records

Personal life

His father, Tim, is one of the most successful coaches in WPIAL history. He is often seen jogging at Collier Park, which is also the location of the T.J. McConnell Memorial Court. [30] He played at Waynesburg College (now Waynesburg University) from 1984 to 1986.[2][31]

His aunt, Suzie McConnell-Serio, was an All-American at Penn State (1985–1988), Olympic gold medalist and WNBA standout prior to being inducted to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008. She started her college coaching career at Duquesne.[1]

He married his high school sweetheart, Valerie, in September 2017; teammate Nik Stauskas served as one of the groomsmen.[32]

Awards and honors
High school
  • AP first-team all-state honors
  • AP Pennsylvania Class 3A Player of the Year
College[1]
  • NCAA Tournament West Region All-Tournament Team (2015)
  • District IX All-District Team USBWA (2015)
  • Pac-12 Tournament All-Tournament Team (2015)
  • First-team All-Pac-12 (2015)
  • Second-team All-Pac-12 (2014)
  • 2x Pac-12 All-Defensive Team (2014, 2015)
  • Third-team All-Atlantic 10 (2012)
  • Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team (2012)
  • Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year (2011)
  • Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team (2011)
  • ECAC Rookie of the Year (2011)
  • CollegeInsider.com Freshman All-America (2011)

References
  1. "15 things you probably don't know about T.J. McConnell". Arizona Daily Star. March 20, 2015. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  2. Smith, Nathan (February 4, 2015). "McConnell reaches coaching milestone with Chartiers Valley". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  3. "T.J. McConnell Biography". ArizonaWildcats.com. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
  4. Michael Bullock (March 27, 2010). "Neumann-Goretti hangs on to beat Chartiers Valley 65-63 in PIAA Class AAA basketball championship".
  5. "Arizona Basketball: Former Duquesne PG T.J. McConnell Transfers to Arizona". Bleacher Report. April 10, 2012. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  6. Kilgore, Adam (March 25, 2015). "T.J. McConnell's journey from NCAA tournament spectator to Duquesne transfer to Arizona's engine". Washington Post. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  7. Amacher, Ezra (March 31, 2014). "2013-14 Season in Review". PointguardU.com. Gopher Media. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  8. "2014-15 Pac-12 Conference Men's Basketball Honors" (Press release). Pac-12. March 9, 2015. Archived from the original on March 9, 2015.
  9. "Las Vegas Summer League Roster & Schedule". NBA.com. July 11, 2015. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  10. "SIXERS ANNOUNCE 2015 TRAINING CAMP ROSTER". NBA.com. September 27, 2015. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  11. White, Mike (October 26, 2015). "Chartiers Valley High School grad T.J. McConnell makes NBA team". Post-Gazette.com. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  12. "Thomas leads Celtics to 112-95 season-opening win over 76ers". NBA.com. October 28, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  13. "Okafor, Noel lead 76ers past Nets". NBA.com. February 6, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  14. "T.J. McConnell 2015-16 Game Log". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  15. "Wolves' Towns, Knicks' Porzingis lead 2015-16 NBA All-Rookie teams". NBA.com. May 19, 2016. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  16. Boyd, Ray (July 1, 2016). "Ben Simmons Headlines Sixers Summer League Roster". CBSLocal.com. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  17. "Covington scores 16 for 76ers in 97-79 win over Pistons". ESPN.com. December 11, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  18. Seltzer, Brian (January 6, 2017). "Game Recap: Celtics Outlast Sixers, 110-106". NBA.com. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
  19. "T.J. McConnell Turnaround Jumper to Beat Knicks | Tissot Buzzer Beater | 01.11.17". YouTube.com. NBA. January 11, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  20. "J.J. Redick hits 8 3s, 76ers send Magic to 8th straight loss". ESPN.com. November 25, 2017. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
  21. "Joel Embiid, 76ers barely hold on, edge Raptors 117-111". ESPN.com. January 15, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  22. "Saric scores 24 to lead 76ers past slumping Knicks". ESPN.com. February 12, 2018. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  23. Seltzer, Brian (February 12, 2018). "Game Recap | McConnell Triple-Double Helps Spur Win Over Knicks". NBA.com. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  24. Spears, Justin (February 12, 2018). "T.J. McConnell records first career triple-double in the 76ers' win over the Knicks". tucson.com. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  25. "McConnell helps 76ers hold off elimination against Boston". ESPN.com. May 7, 2018. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  26. "Philadelphia 76ers Exercise Contract Options for T.J. McConnell and Richaun Holmes". NBA.com. June 13, 2018. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  27. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2690122-report-former-76ers-pg-tj-mcconnell-signs-2-year-7m-contract-with-pacers
  28. Begley, Ian (February 13, 2018). "T.J. McConnell first in 76ers history with triple-double off bench". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  29. "Fultz becomes youngest to tally triple-double". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  30. "McConnell wins 500th game at Chartiers Valley". Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  31. "Please wait while you are redirected". mobile.philly.com. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  32. "Sixers' T.J. McConnell gets married as Nik Stauskas plays groomsman". September 10, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
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