Philadelphia 76ers guard TJ McConnell is Joel Embiid’s “Mini Me”

Arizona Wildcat

By the time McConnell went to college, he had already established himself as a scoring threat and a competent basketball player. In college, however, his height dictated his role to point guard.  And his choice of Duqesne out of high school exhibited his lack of recruiting options. He played for Duqesne for two seasons, but his performance had no effect upon any potential NBA interest.

After two seasons, he transferred to the Arizona Wildcats. Per NCAA rules, a transfer student must sit out for a full season. So it was not until McConnell’s arrival in the Pac-12 that he fully emerged as a NBA prospect point guard.  He helped to propel the Arizona Wildcats to the Elite Eight in 2014.   That should have been enough to help him onto the NBA radar screen.

Every NCAA senior hopes to do enough to get on the page of the NBA scouting reports. In a nation of hundreds of schools, each of whom has players wishing to play in the pros, 60 draft picks vanishes rather quickly.  McConnell transferred to Arizona, and when eligible, contributed mightily to a very successful season.

But it was not enough for 29 teams.  One team, however, noticed.