The Sixer Sense
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There’s Plenty Of Reasons For Philadelphia 76ers Optimism Beyond The 2016 NBA Draft

Apr 10, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard T.J. McConnell (12) drives toward the net during the fourth quarter of the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Wells Fargo Center. The Milwaukee Bucks won 109-108 in OT. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 10, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard T.J. McConnell (12) drives toward the net during the fourth quarter of the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Wells Fargo Center. The Milwaukee Bucks won 109-108 in OT. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports
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Apr 10, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard T.J. McConnell (12) drives toward the net during the fourth quarter of the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Wells Fargo Center. The Milwaukee Bucks won 109-108 in OT. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 10, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard T.J. McConnell (12) drives toward the net during the fourth quarter of the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Wells Fargo Center. The Milwaukee Bucks won 109-108 in OT. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports

I. Young Talent

The Philadelphia 76ers were a victim of their own making in the 2015-2016 season. They were the youngest team in the league. Not only age, but experience as well.  Even NBA superstars do not enter the league at the top of their game.  In fact, many such elites were awfully hard to identify in their first year in the NBA.  We saw that the team is not exactly remiss of talent, despite the detractors.  This team is simply lacking playing time.

T.J. McConnell was an undrafted find of the team.  He is not the tallest point guard in the NBA, but his talents are undeniable. If you compare his emergence in his first year, you find that he was one of the most proficient point guards in the league.  His father is Tim McConnell, who coaches basketball at Chartiers Valley High School, located in Alleghany County in western Pennsylvania.  The county boasts 7,010 residents in the 2010 US census, so familiarity with neighbors is a quite common.  But the closeness of Tim to his son T.J. is quite special, because Dad was also his high school basketball coach.

"“He was the first person I called when I made the team. It was just a silence. I knew he (my father) was tearing up, because there’s never like a silence when he’s on the phone. And to hear my dad cry like that with such emotion, and hear how proud he was, it made me feel good that I can bring joy to his life for the work he’s put in with me.” – the tearful conversation when T.J. McConnell made the Sixers squad."

Playing for pride is not limited to the McConnell household, but is merely a typical example of the composition of the roster.  In the days before the last game of the season, the Philadelphia 76ers players are two thirds between the ages of 20-24.  If expanded to age 25, the roster is four fifths at an age of 25 or younger.

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Compounding this youthful energy is the unfamiliarity with the NBA.  Most players run with two or fewer years of NBA experience.  That busload of young talent has truly taxed the development forces of the team – relying upon head coach Brett Brown not only to coach them up, but to find the optimal lineups and positions for them to succeed.   Since the 2015-2016 season was truly a turnstile of every changing lineups, the continuity that is so very important for young players never truly developed.  The Philadelphia 76ers are a diamond for future NBA talent.

Next: Team Play