T. J. McConnell

T.J. McConnell Jr. (born March 25, 1992) 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.

High school career
McConnell attended Chartiers Valley High School in the Pittsburgh-area borough of Bridgeville, Pennsylvania, where he played for his father, Tim. As the team captain his senior year, he averaged 34.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game, 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. 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.

College career

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.

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.

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

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. 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.

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. On September 27, 2015, he signed with the 76ers. 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. 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. 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. On March 23, in a loss to the Denver Nuggets, he had a 17-point outing for a third time in 2015–16. At the season's end, he received two votes in the 2016 NBA All-Rookie Team voting.

In July 2016, McConnell re-joined the 76ers for the 2016 NBA Summer League. 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. 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. McConnell hit a game-winning buzzer beater against the New York Knicks with a turnaround jump shot on the baseline on January 11, 2017.

On November 25, 2017, McConnell had 15 points and 13 assists in a 130–111 win over the Orlando Magic. On January 15, 2018, he scored a career-high 18 points in a 117–111 win over the Toronto Raptors. 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. 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. 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. On June 13, 2018, the 76ers announced they had exercised the fourth-year option on their contract with McConnell.

Indiana Pacers (2019–present)
On July 29, 2019, McConnell signed with the Indiana Pacers.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 
| style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia
| 81 || 17 || 19.8 || .470 || .348 || .634 || 3.1 || 4.5 || 1.2 || .1 || 6.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 
| style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia
| 81 || 51 || 26.3 || .461 || .200 || .811 || 3.1 || 6.6 || 1.7 || .1 || 6.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia
| 76 || 1 || 22.4 || .499 || .435 || .795 || 3.0 || 4.0 || 1.2 || .2 || 6.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia
| 76 || 3 || 19.3 || .525 || .333 || .784 || 2.3 || 3.4 || 1.0 || .2 || 6.4
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 314 || 72 || 22.0 || .487 || .335 || .768 || 2.9 || 4.7 || 1.3 || .2 || 6.4

Playoffs

|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2018
| style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia
| 10 || 2 || 15.5 || .694 || .667 || .600 || 2.6 || 2.3 || .6 || .0 || 5.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2019
| style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia
| 9 || 0 || 8.3 || .444 || – || –  || .7 || 1.2 || .2 ||  .1 || 2.7
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 19|| 2 || 12.1 || .587 || .667 || .600 || 1.7 || 1.8 || .4 || .1 || 4.2

College

|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2010–11
| style="text-align:left;"| Duquesne
| 32 || 30 || 30.6 || .498 || .402 || .683 || 3.8 || 4.4 || 2.8 || .2 || 10.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2011–12
| style="text-align:left;"| Duquesne
| 31 || 31 || 34.3 || .509 || .432 || .836 || 4.4 || 5.5 || 2.8 || .3 || 11.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2013–14
| style="text-align:left;"| Arizona
| 38 || 38 || 32.3 || .454 || .360 || .620 || 3.6 || 5.3 || 1.7 || .2 || 8.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2014–15
| style="text-align:left;"| Arizona
| 38 || 38 || 30.5 || .498 || .321 || .829 || 3.8 || 6.3 || 2.2 || .1 || 10.4
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 139 || 137 || 31.8 || .490 || .380 || .749 || 3.9 || 5.4 || 2.3 || .2 || 10.2

Franchise records
 First player in Philadelphia 76ers history to record a triple-double off the bench. In the final game of the regular season Markelle Fultz achieved the same feat.

Personal life
His father, Tim, is one of the most successful coaches in WPIAL history and played at Waynesburg College (now Waynesburg University) from 1984 to 1986.

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.

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

Awards and honors
High school
 AP first-team all-state honors 
 AP Pennsylvania Class 3A Player of the Year

College
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)

See also
 List of NCAA Division I men's basketball career steals leaders

References

External links

 Arizona Wildcats bio
 Duquesne Dukes bio

Category:1992 births
Category:Living people
Category:American men's basketball players
Category:Arizona Wildcats men's basketball players
Category:Basketball players from Pennsylvania
Category:Duquesne Dukes men's basketball players
Category:Indiana Pacers players
Category:Philadelphia 76ers players
Category:Point guards
Category:Sportspeople from Pittsburgh
Category:Undrafted National Basketball Association players