McConnell slugging away in 76ers' point guard competition

NEWARK, Del. - T.J. McConnell was not surprised when he went undrafted in June. The point guard - who signed with the 76ers a day later - expected to be overlooked.

"It's just kind of the thing I've been doing my whole life," McConnell said on Saturday after the Sixers finished a practice for children at the University of Delaware. "I've never really been given a chance. And I appreciate the chance that Philadelphia has given me."

McConnell said he has heard it all. He's undersized for his position. Or he is not fast enough and lacks athleticism. Opponents, McConnell said, see him and think they will have their way.

"It's just the eye test. I don't really pass it," McConnell said. "And that's fine. I'm just going to go out there and work my butt off."

McConnell's chance with the Sixers came with little guarantee. He is one of six point guards on the preseason roster. Head coach Brett Brown said the competition is like a fist fight. And McConnell seems to be throwing heavy punches.

The 6-foot-2 guard scored 10 points and dished out 10 assists in Friday night's 127-118 loss to the Washington Wizards. He started for the first time this preseason and logged 26 minutes. He ran the team's offense with poise, something he was known for in college at Arizona and Duquesne. He gave little room on defense, forcing steals that led to easy fast breaks.

And he is healthy, which will bode well for him as the team wraps up the preseason. Tony Wroten and Kendall Marshall have yet to play. Pierre Jackson played on Friday for the first time. The Sixers play in Brooklyn on Sunday before finishing the preseason on Friday in Boston.

"I want to show them that I'm going to work 100 percent every day," McConnell said. "That's what they're going to get from me every day. I want to show them that they didn't make the wrong decision for giving me a chance."

Brown said the thing he respects most about McConnell is the guard's self-awareness. The coach said McConnell's level of self-awareness is "very, very acute." The guard, Brown said, understands his strengths and knows what it will take to make an NBA roster.

"He has baseline-to-baseline speed on offense. He has the tenacity and foot speed to pick up the ball full court on defense," Brown said. "And he has a mind that thinks like a point guard, a leader."

McConnell helped the Sixers rally down the stretch on Friday with a series of crisp passes. He is a strong facilitator. McConnell said he could care less about scoring. Giving his teammates an open look, he said, is "gratifying enough." His Twitter handle is @iPass4Zona. McConnell's pass-first mentality seems to be a good match for Brown's run-the-floor offense.

"He's a point guard," Brown said. "I've said it all along that point guards are born. He thinks and acts and does things like a point guard."