The University of Arizona men’s basketball team honored T.J. McConnell by inducting him into the Arizona Ring of Honor before tip-off against Samford University on Dec. 18 in McKale Center.
“The advice for someone in my shoes 10 years ago is that anything’s possible. There’s going to be a lot of naysayers along the way that are going to tell you you’re not good enough in whatever you do but if you put your head down and go to work anything is possible. I feel like I’m living proof of that,” McConnell said in a press conference after the game.
McConnell is the 34th member to be inducted into the Ring of Honor, becoming eligible as he reached his 10th season playing in the NBA. During the ceremony, head coach Tommy Lloyd presented McConnell with a commemorative basketball.
Playing his sophomore season at Duquesne University from 2010-2012, McConnell believed even as an undersized guard he wanted to compete at a higher level. The Pittsburgh, P.a., native transferred to an Arizona team led by Sean Miller, quickly becoming leader for the team and earning many accolades in his time. McConnell sat out his first season for Arizona because of NCAA transfer rules. Continuing to work on his game, the 6-foot-1 guard displayed defensive and passing abilities while working on scoring. As McConnell became eligible to play, Arizona went on to be 67-9 the next two seasons, including two Pac-12 regular-season titles.
“It was definitely more coach [Sean] Miller believing in me than me believing in myself. Especially playing in the NBA, you just never know but he instilled that confidence in me and saw it from day one. That’s why we’re so close till this day,” McConnell said.
During his time as a Wildcat, McConnell was named a finalist for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year award in 2014 and 2015. As a junior he was named to the Second-team All Pac-12 and Pac-12 Defensive Team. In McConnell’s senior year he collected the First Team All Pac-12 Honors as well as being named to the Pac-12 Defensive Team, becoming a two-time member of the recognition.
Additionally, McConnell set the program record for assist-to-turnover ratio (3.03) and finished his 2014-2015 season dishing out 238 assists, ranking second on Arizona’s single-season chart. He also grabbed 83 steals, marking the third-best single-season total in program history. During his time at Arizona, McConnell averaged 9.4 ppg, 5.8 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 31.4 minutes on the court.
“The guys that last the longest are the ones that adapt to change and do their role at 100 percent. You may not like your role, but you have to be a team guy and go out there and do the role to the best of your ability. That’s what I’ve tried to hang my hat on,” McConnell said.
McConnell, who is 32, went undrafted in 2015, beginning his professional career playing for the Philadelphia 76ers. He then went on to play with the Indiana Pacers for the last six seasons he has competed in the NBA. McConnell currently averages a career-best, putting up 11.3 ppg, 2.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists and shooting 57.2 percent from the field.
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