Former Rutgers Star Caleb McConnell Brings Defensive Upside to OKC Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder signed Caleb McConnell to an Exhibit 10 contract, and he brings high defensive upside.

With the NBA Draft now behind us, teams have been able to fill in their Summer League rosters with undrafted free agents. The Oklahoma City Thunder got in on this action, too, and one of their undrafted free agent signings was Caleb McConnell, on an Exhibit 10 contract.

With the Exhibit 10 contract, the Thunder will be able to convert the former Rutgers star’s contract to a two-way contract before the season. So far, Sam Presti has confirmed that pick No. 50 in the draft, Keyontae Johnson, will have one of the three available two-way contracts. If not this route, McConnell could still end up with the Oklahoma City Blue.

However, what hypothetically secures McConnell a roster spot won’t be his offense, but rather his defense. Offensively, McConnell can make things work on offense through the system, as he can score off the ball, knock down some mid-range jumpers and act as a secondary playmaker, but his offensive game doesn’t run deep.

At 6-foot-7 and 198 pounds, McConnell’s defensive upside is through the roof, which is on par with the Thunder’s rookie acquisitions this summer. Cason Wallace, picked at pick No. 10, will be an elite defender early. Johnson, pick No. 50, will use his size and frame to be a solid defender. McConnell will be doing the same thing as those two.

McConnell is a good athlete with a high motor, and those traits combined with his defensive instincts give him incredible upside on the defensive side of the ball. He was a two-time Big Ten DPOY, was on the Big Ten All-Defensive team twice, and showed incredible displays of defense during his time in college.

After five years of college basketball, McConnell finished with a defensive box plus/minus (DBPM) of 4.6 averaged over five years, and had a 5.4 DBPM in his final season. In his last two seasons, he averaged 2.2 and 2.5 steals per game, and had a steal percentage of 4.5 percent and 4.6 percent in those two seasons.

In McConnell’s final season with Rutgers, he had 2.5 defensive win shares across the season.

Again, what will help McConnell fight for a NBA roster spot will be his high level defense and incredible upside on that side of the ball.

---

Want to join the discussion? Like Inside the Thunder on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.