Some people look better on the basketball court than they ought to. Whether it’s their height, wingspan, physique, or light experience in the game, some players simply are holding onto their dream of playing in the NBA much tighter than other players.
Point guard T.J. McConnell is one such “kid”. I use the term deliberately, because next to the giants of Nerlens Noel, Jahlil Okafor, and Joel Embiid, the 6’2″ 200 pound baby-faced point guard from the University of Arizona looks younger than the others. He reminds me of the scrappy younger brother who is told to go home when a pick up game is forming, only to earn his way onto a team by impressing all of the older boys.