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T.J. McConnell made a great impression on D-Fenders Justin Harper

By Shereen Rayan

Dec 18, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (24) shoots as Philadelphia 76ers guard T.J. McConnell (1) defends during the third quarter of the game at the Wells Fargo Center. The Sixers won the game 108-107. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 18, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (24) shoots as Philadelphia 76ers guard T.J. McConnell (1) defends during the third quarter of the game at the Wells Fargo Center. The Sixers won the game 108-107. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Los Angeles D-Fenders forward Justin Harper was called up to the NBA for a 10-day contract to T.J. McConnell’s Sixers, we asked him about the experience.

The Los Angeles D-Fenders just got back their star forward, Justin Harper who recently spent some time playing with former Arizona Wildcat, T.J. McConnell on the Philadelphia Sixers.

We had to find out how it went!

At a towering 6-feet-10 inches and 225 pounds, stands Harper, the 2011 Richmond grad. He is one exciting and accomplished D-League basketball player who has been called up several times to the NBA. Last season he spent about a month with the Detroit Pistons when Stanley Johnson got hurt. This season he was called up by the Sixers just after the NBA All-Star Break. Harper earned a spot this season on the D-League All-Star team and played for his current D-Fenders Head Coach Coby Karl who is George Karl’s son.

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Justin plays with D-Fenders point guard Josh Magette, who reminds me very much of T.J. McConnell, especially after watching the D-Fenders lose a close one to the Texas Legends. Just as an aside, I cover both the Los Angeles Lakers and the D-Fenders for the Lake Show Life on the FanSided network, and am privileged to get to know the team.

So, when I had the opportunity to speak with Justin, I couldn’t wait to ask him about his time on the Sixers and with McConnell.

Justin and T.J.’s relationship dates back to their college days:

"T.J. and I played against each other in college. T.J. is from Pittsburgh, I learned, so he played at Duquesne before he transferred to Arizona and that’s when I was playing for Richmond. I think my senior year might have been his sophomore or junior year. I remember playing up against him and when I was with Brooklyn in preseason last year we played against the Sixers and you know we kind of like reminisced in our going at it during college."

As I had said earlier, there is a player on the Lakers D-League team who reminded me so much of McConnell, and that player is Josh Magette. Josh plays point guard for the D-Fenders, he also played and made friends with Rondae Hollis-Jefferson over the summer when Magette played for the Nets in the NBA Summer League. Justin compared the two:

Mar 4, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Detroit Pistons center Boban Marjanovic (51) scores past Philadelphia 76ers forward Justin Harper (30) during the fourth quarter at Wells Fargo Center. The Detroit Pistons won 136-106. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 4, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Detroit Pistons center Boban Marjanovic (51) scores past Philadelphia 76ers forward Justin Harper (30) during the fourth quarter at Wells Fargo Center. The Detroit Pistons won 136-106. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

"I definitely see some similarities there. They are both kind of hard-nosed, like gritty, just hard working guys. They don’t have like the most gorgeous game but are very effective and view teams well. T.J. plays really hard on defense, Josh makes teams shorten their shot, so yeah they are very similar."

I mentioned to Justin that I felt the Sixers played with more heart than the Lakers and that they had a ton of potential. Justin gave us his insights:

"They play hard, Brett Brown is a terrific coach with a terrific coaching staff. They’re a team that never gives up, they have proved it all year. Injuries obviously make it a little complicated, but I think they are legit.They have a lot of young players and great young pieces that are going to come together over the years. Obviously with Embiid, once he’s healthy, they saw a little flash of him at the beginning of the season. There’s a lot to look forward to for them."

So all the T.J. McConnell Sixers hype is real! The team gets back Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, along with Jalil Okafor and of course McConnell next season. They will get another high draft pick, and they already are very tight as we have reported previously. Things are looking up.

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We wish Justin Hawkins a ton of success in the upcoming D-League playoffs which his team will attempt to win the Championship. Last season the 32-14 D-Fenders took the Sioux Falls SkyForce to the third game only to lose because of injuries, so they are hungry. On the flip side, we know T.J. will keep playing like it is the last game of a final series, and wish him success next season.

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