The NBA Finals are underway but there are 28 other teams who have already started preparing for next season. The lottery was held on May 16th, the final deadline for early entry withdrawal is June 12th, and the draft will take place on June 22nd. We will spend the next 2 weeks interviewing as many members of this year’s draft class as possible. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel continues our coverage by chatting with Rutgers G Caleb McConnell about being a great defender and what it would mean to him to get drafted.
You had offers from several great schools including Temple/West Virginia/Wichita State: what made you choose Rutgers? It may sound like a cliché but it was honestly the best fit for me and offered the most opportunity. I wanted to play on the biggest stage to see if I could last and hang with guys in a Power-5 conference. There is a lot of talent in the Big 10 and I wanted to showcase my talents.
You majored in Africana Studies: why did you choose that subject? School is not for everyone but I have liked Africana Studies dating back to high school. Black history/culture/tradition was something that definitely interested me.
You led the team with 35.7 3P% as a freshman: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? I was just excited for any opportunity to play and the rest of it just came within the flow of things. I shot the ball with no hesitation and did whatever I could to help my team win.
In the 2021 NCAA tourney you had 13 PTS/10 REB off the bench in a win over Clemson and then 6 PTS in a loss to Houston: what is the key to winning games in March? You just have to be the better team for 40 minutes. There are upsets every year but it is not a shocker to me. You can be facing an undefeated team but if all of your guys execute the game plan then you can win the game. We were the better team for the 1st 35 minutes in the Houston game…but they played better than us in the final 5 minutes. The tourney is a cool experience: it was so fun to be in the spotlight and is something that not everyone gets to do.
In the 2022 1st 4 you had 23 PTS/10-12 FG/11 REB in 48 minutes in a 2-PT 2-OT loss to Notre Dame: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? It is definitely up there. I have played in some heartbreaking games but that was also 1 of the craziest games that I have ever played in. It was an overtime thriller that went down to the wire.
Last season you won 19 games and beat several tourney teams including Indiana/Maryland/Michigan State/Northwestern/Penn State (twice)/Purdue: how on earth did you not make the NCAA tourney? Exactly! That is a question for the selection committee. We thought that we had the resume to get in: we took some tough losses but I thought they were canceled out by all of our great wins. I felt that we did enough and had enough firepower to make a run: some of the teams that got in over us were 1-and-done. That is just the way it goes: if we had won 20/21 games then I think we would have been there for sure.
You were a 2-time conference DPOY and your 221 STL is the most in school history: what is the secret to playing great defense? You need to have the heart to stop a guy and then put in the effort. Everyone wants to score on offense but I found my niche on defense and fell in love with shutting down the best players on the other team. It helped us win, which made me fall in love with it even more! There is no big secret: I do study my opponents but it is about my will to win.
You played in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament last month: which of the other players impressed you the most (Tyger Campbell/Kendric Davis/Sir’Jabari Rice/other)? Jabari stood out to me: he is really smooth and I like his game. I need to ask him about his shot-fake: it is off the chain and I have seen so many guys fall for it because he is such a good shooter. I have been wanting him to teach me that so I will have to hit him up. Kendric was also pretty impressive and is really crafty/hard-to-guard. My own team had good players like KJ Williams/Erik Stevenson, as well as Jarkel Joiner from NC State.
What would it mean to you to get drafted, and what is the plan if you do not get drafted? It would mean everything to me. It would be a dream to get drafted and make the NBA: it is the best job in the world. It would mean the world to my family as well. If I do not get drafted then it does not mean that my dream has failed. I have always been the underdog and had to fight for whatever I wanted. If I go undrafted then I have no problem working myself into a contract. It is right there so we will see in a couple of weeks but I am willing to do whatever it takes to stay in the league.