TUCSON, Ariz. – The Arizona Basketball Ring of Honor will officially add a new name to the rafters of the McKale Center when T.J. McConnell is inducted at the against Samford on Wednesday, Dec. 18. The ceremony will take place on the court prior to the start of the game.
McConnell is the 34th former Wildcat to be inducted into the Ring of Honor.
The native of Pittsburgh, Pa., was undrafted after finishing his college career at Arizona, but has currently in his 10th year in the NBA. As a Wildcat, McConnell was a Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award finalist in 2014 and 2015 and garnered First Team All Pac-12 honors as a senior and Second Team All Pac-12 as a junior. He was also a two-time member of the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team. During the 2014-15 season, he set the program record for assist-to-turnover ratio (3.03) and handed out a Pac-12 best 238 assists, the second-most in a single season in Arizona history. McConnell joined the Wildcats in 2012-13 but had to sit out as a transfer before playing the next two seasons and averaging 9.4 points, 5.4 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game.
Tickets to the Dec. 18 are available by visiting
ArizonaWildcats.com/MBK.
The qualifications to be inducted into the Ring of Honor are as follows:
- First Team All-America recognition by one or more of the major national organizations or media
- Major national "player of distinction", e.g. Wooden Award, etc.; and/or national championship Most Valuable or Outstanding Player distinction
- Pac-10/12 Player of the Year or Pac-10/12 Freshman of the Year
- Arizona Career leader in 3 or more major positive "career" categories at the conclusion of their collegiate career, must hold the career record for a minimum of 5 years (e.g., does not include single game record(s), minutes played, etc.)
- 10+ years in the United States Major Professional Leagues of the NFL, NBA, WNBA and MLB and/or been selected as an All-Star/All Pro by the official league
- Olympic Medalist
Arizona Athletics regularly reviews and evaluates the criteria and candidacies for all departmental awards, inductions and recognitions based on new information, updated resources, and reflections on historical context. A Heritage Committee, formed in 2017 and made up of current and former longtime athletics department staff, conducts these thorough reviews and makes recommendations based on all available information and considerations.
Arizona Men's Basketball Ring of Honor Inductees
Here are the 34 players listed in order of enshrinement:
- Bob Elliott, C, 1974-77
- Steve Kerr, G, 1984-88
- Sean Elliott, G/F, 1986-89
- Jud Buechler, F, 1987-90
- Sean Rooks, C, 1989-92
- Chris Mills, F/G, 1991-93
- Khalid Reeves, G, 1991-94
- Damon Stoudamire, G, 1992-95
- Miles Simon, G, 1995-98
- Jason Terry, G, 1996-99
- Mike Bibby, G, 1997-98
- Michael Wright, F, 1999-2001
- Richard Jefferson, F, 1999-2001
- Jason Gardner. G, 2000-03
- Luke Walton, F, 2000-03
- Salim Stoudamire, G, 2002-05
- Gilbert Arenas, G, 2000-01
- Channing Frye, C, 2002-05
- Chase Budinger, F, 2007-09
- Derrick Williams, F, 2010-11
- Andre Iguodala, F, 2003-04
- Aaron Gordon, F, 2014
- Nick Johnson, G, 2012-14
- Stanley Johnson, G, 2015
- Jerryd Bayless, G, 2008
- Deandre Ayton, F, 2018
- Al Fleming Jr., F, 1972-76
- Ernie McCray, C, 1956-60
- Zeke Nnaji, F, 2020
- Josh Green, G, 2020
- Bennedict Mathurin, G, 2021-22
- Christian Koloko, C, 2020-22
- Kenny Lofton, G, 1986-89
- T.J. McConnell, G, 2013-15
