McConnell's Spirit Keeps People Talking

Long before he became a Pacer, back when he played for the Colts in fact, T.J. McConnell didn't look the part. Didn't look like a high school basketball player and certainly didn't look like a future college player, especially one for a major program.

An NBA player? Nobody was daring even to fantasize about that, him included.

Heading into his sophomore season at Chartiers Valley High School in Pittsburgh and standing all of 5-foot-8 and 125 pounds, he looked more like one of those cute kids from the grade school who plays at halftime of the varsity games. But he had in fact played in the varsity games as a freshman, averaging 10 points for a team coached by his father while displaying talent…