ADVERTISEMENT

T. J. McConnell

Agree, nobody---am i mean literally NOBODY----saw this coming. you would have been laughed out of town and referred for mental health exam if you predicted while in high school that TJ would even sniff an NBA tryout let alone have a decade of sustained success in the league . No WPIAL player in history has out performed projections to this extent.
 
Agree, nobody---am i mean literally NOBODY----saw this coming. you would have been laughed out of town and referred for mental health exam if you predicted while in high school that TJ would even sniff an NBA tryout let alone have a decade of sustained success in the league . No WPIAL player in history has out performed projections to this extent.

I wouldn't have predicted NBA but after seeing him in Green Tree after his senior year of HS, I did say he is a Big East level player and everyone thought that was crazy. It was extremely easy to see up close that he could play in the Big East.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PollCat99
It was terrible luck for Dixon that TJ had a late growth spurt. What a guy to have in the pipeline after Fields. Those 2012 and '13 teams are so much better with McConnell at the point.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Fk_Pitt
I saw McConnell at Greentree, too. After all the discussion about him, I kept my eyes on him, and I was surprised at how good he looked. I was not at all thinking about his future success, but he was intense every second. He really got after it on defense. I thought to myself, "Who does he think he is?" I guess he was the only one there who knew.
 
I saw McConnell at Greentree, too. After all the discussion about him, I kept my eyes on him, and I was surprised at how good he looked. I was not at all thinking about his future success, but he was intense every second. He really got after it on defense. I thought to myself, "Who does he think he is?" I guess he was the only one there who knew.

I remember him playing Gibbs full court man and giving Gibbs trouble. The whole "this type of player cant play defense" stereotype went out the window when I saw that. Gibbs did have a nice game that night but he worked for it.
 
Right. At that time, too, we were talking about Gibbs working seriously on his ability to get past defenders. That night was very interesting.
 
There were a lot of well-respected posters on this board who scoffed at the notion that this guy could play at the BE/ACC level. I never saw him play in HS so I never had a thought on the matter. But when he transferred to AZ and ended up being first team all-P12, I think it was safe to assume he probably would have been a very good player at Pitt.

The guy was a coach's son and averaged like 35 and 10 ast as a HS senior. He may not have physically fit the P4-6 mold but I still say you take a chance on that kid. We certainly signed far less fundamentally skilled players during that time frame.
 
The guy was a coach's son and averaged like 35 and 10 ast as a HS senior. He may not have physically fit the P4-6 mold but I still say you take a chance on that kid. We certainly signed far less fundamentally skilled players during that time frame.


Of course by the time he played basketball as a high school senior he had already been committed to Duquesne for two years.
 
I remember him playing Gibbs full court man and giving Gibbs trouble. The whole "this type of player cant play defense" stereotype went out the window when I saw that. Gibbs did have a nice game that night but he worked for it.
How was Gibbs defense that night? Likely pretty $hitty I assume.
 
TJ and the Pacers playing the Knicks now so I’m shifting the subject of this thread. There are a number of elite players in the NBA but I have to put Jaylen Brunson up there in all their company. One heck of a BB player and so clutch.
 
Of course by the time he played basketball as a high school senior he had already been committed to Duquesne for two years.
Signed his LOI as a sophomore, did he?

I would think if anyone knows that a verbal commitment doesn't mean much and doesn't stop other teams from courting the committed player or the player from changing his commitment, it's a Pitt fan.

Not sure what point you're intending to make here.
 
  • Like
Reactions: NCanton Panther
Signed his LOI as a sophomore, did he?

I would think if anyone knows that a verbal commitment doesn't mean much and doesn't stop other teams from courting the committed player or the player from changing his commitment, it's a Pitt fan.

Not sure what point you're intending to make here.
I think his point is that you don't know what you're talking about, as per usual, with your constant passive aggressive Pitt digs, ya troll...
 
Signed his LOI as a sophomore, did he?

I would think if anyone knows that a verbal commitment doesn't mean much and doesn't stop other teams from courting the committed player or the player from changing his commitment, it's a Pitt fan.

Not sure what point you're intending to make here.


No, he didn't. But of course he did sign his LOI in the early signing period, which happens in early November. Which is still before he would have played even one game, or hell, in PA, had even one practice, as a senior in high school.

So I guess the point I'm trying to make is that you have no idea what you are talking about. Imagine that.
 
No, he didn't. But of course he did sign his LOI in the early signing period, which happens in early November. Which is still before he would have played even one game, or hell, in PA, had even one practice, as a senior in high school.

So I guess the point I'm trying to make is that you have no idea what you are talking about. Imagine that.
I can't. It's literally unimaginable.
 
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT