Arizona was considered a long shot to successfully recruit Duquesne transfer T.J. McConnell in the spring of 2012. Virginia coach Tony Bennett had been the first to contact McConnell.
But what most had forgotten was that McConnell and Duquesne played at McKale Center on Nov. 9, 2011, and McConnell was impressed in a 67-59 loss to Sean Miller’s worst Arizona team.
“That was one heck of an atmosphere,†said McConnell, who was referred to as a “firecracker†in a feature story by the Wall Street Journal last week. McConnell scored nine points in that Duquesne loss at McKale.
Finally, when Arizona was successful in acquiring the intense point guard, Miller’s first public statement was: “He’s one of the best point guards in the nation. He’s the consummate point guard. He makes his team better.†Bingo.
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Arizona went 67-9 with McConnell at the point, twice reaching the Elite Eight. Now the rest of the country knows what UA fans knew. McConnell’s competitive fire has helped the Indiana Pacers to Game 7 of the NBA Finals against Oklahoma City.
Indiana Pacers guard T.J. McConnell chases down a loose ball as Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso, left, looks on during the first half of Game 6 of the NBA Finals, Thursday, June 19, 2025, in Indianapolis.
McConnell has played 22 playoff games in four series this year and has scored 202 points with 68 rebounds. All of that has occurred while he averages about 18 minutes per game, a fireball off the bench.
In some ways, McConnell has become one of the three or four important players of the NBA Finals.
McConnell spends crunch time on Pacers bench | Greg Hansen
