Former Arizona head coach Sean Miller congratulated guards T.J. McConnell and Bennedict Mathurin, who played for him with the Wildcats, on their advancement to the NBA Eastern Conference Finals with the Indiana Pacers.
Miller, who was hired this spring as the head coach at Texas, also congratulated former Longhorn Myles Turner, who also plays for the Pacers. Mathurin and McConnell both came off the bench for the entire series as Indiana eliminated the number one seed in the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers, four games to one.
Maturin averaged 16.5 minutes per game, 11.4 points and 1.8 rebounds while shooting .514 from the field, .412 on three-point attempts, and .933 from the free throw line in the five-game series win over Cleveland. McConnell averages 15.7 MPG, 7.2 PPG, 3.0 RPG and 4.2 while shooting .483 from the field, .500 on threes and 1.000 on free throws.
Mathurin averaged 18.0 MPG, 10.3 PPG and 2.8 RPG while shooting .429 from the field, .133 on three-point attempts and .833 from the free throw line as Indiana eliminated Milwaukee in five games. McConnell averaged 17.5 MPG, 10.0 PPG, 3.4 RPG and 4.6 APG while shooting .550 from the field, .500 on threes and .833 on free throws versus Milwaukee.
McConnell played for Arizona from 2013 through 2015 after playing his first two seasons with Duquesne. McConnell and Miller are both from Pittsburgh. Arizona lost to Wisconsin in the West Regional Final in both seasons that McConnell was the point guard for the Wildcats.
McConnell averaged 10.5 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 6.8 APG and 2.9 steals while shooting 47.7 percent from the field, 34.3 percent on three-point attempts and 74.2 percent from the free throw line with a 52.9 eFG percentage. Arizona inducted McConnell into their Ring of Honor in December.
Mathurin averaged 10.8 PPG, 4.8 RPG and 1.2 APG while shooting 47.1 percent from the floor, 41.8 percent on three-point attempts and 84.6 percent from the free throw line with a 57.2 eFG percentage. Miller and his staff helped develop Mathurin into an All-American as a sophomore after Tommy Lloyd was hired as head coach in 2021.
Aaron Gordon, who played one season with McConnell at Arizona and Zeke Nnaji, who was one season ahead of Mathurin with the Wildcats, are still alive in the NBA Playoffs with the Denver Nuggets. Denver will try to extend their series versus the Oklahoma City Thunder to seven games at home on Thursday night.