Arizona Wildcats Hoops: T.J. McConnell breaks team’s mile-run record according to Sean Miller

FOLLOW @JAVIERJMORALES ON TWITTER!

[rps-paypal]

[ezcol_1half id=”” class=”” style=””]

T.J. McConnell

Arizona Wildcats basketball coach Sean Miller tweeted within the hour that senior guard T.J. McConnell broke the team’s annual mile-run record this morning with a time of 5 minutes, 17 seconds. Walk-on guard Trey Mason, Harvey Mason’s son, came in second at 5:22, according to an Arizona Basketball tweet. Junior guard Gabe York was third followed by freshmen Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Stanley Johnson (no times were given for them).

“Leaders emerge by what they do not what they say,” Miller tweeted. “Our journey together is just beginning.”

Indicative of his desire to remain active around Arizona basketball, former guard Nick Johnson, now of the Houston Rockets, joined the Wildcats on the mile run at the Drachman Track and Field Stadium.

Last year, the reported times were Johnson at 5:21, followed by Aaron Gordon and McConnell at 5:22.

In an interview with The Arizona Daily Star’s Bruce Pascoe, published yesterday, McConnell talked about how the 2014-15 team is evolving without Johnson and Gordon on the roster.

“It’s hard losing a couple of guys and having new guys come in,” McConnell told Pascoe. “But you can already see us coming together as a team and you can see the chemistry building. We’re all working extremely hard. That’s a good sign.”

[/ezcol_1half]

[ezcol_1half_end id=”” class=”” style=””]

McConnell breaks r Mile record with a 5:17. Leaders emerge by what they do not what they say. Our journey together is just beginning. #AllIn

— Sean Miller (@UACoachMiller) September 6, 2014

[/ezcol_1half_end]

[ezcol_1half id=”” class=”” style=””]

Miller used the hashtag #AllIn as part of his tweets following the run this morning. Two days ago, Miller issued his bold team-concept philosophy on Twitter.

McConnell told Pascoe he worked on his game while attending the Nike Guards Academy in New Jersey in June, an event run by former NBA player and coach John Lucas. Kyrie Irving was one of the guests.

“It was a good experience for me,” McConnell told Pascoe. “I pretty much worked on everything. There were a lot of NBA coaches and I think I got a lot out of it. Was happy that I went.”

[/ezcol_1half]

[ezcol_1half_end id=”” class=”” style=””]

As announced by @UACoachMiller, TJ McConnell sets new mile record at 5:17, beating @iRocket3's record of 5:21 set last year.

— Arizona Basketball (@APlayersProgram) September 6, 2014

[/ezcol_1half_end]

ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He also writes articles for Bleacher Report and Lindy’s College Sports.