TBT: Watch Rutgers basketball’s Caleb McConnell was tenacious even as a recruit

Even in high school, Caleb McConnell was a tenacious player.

Caleb McConnell will play in the Reese’s Division I College All-Star Game on Friday. But even in high school, McConnell showed some major flashes of being an elite player.

So for this Throwback Thursday, let’s take a look at some film from when McConnell was a standout player in high school out of Geneva, OH.

On Thursday, McConnell won the Lefty Driesell National Defensive Player of the Year Award.

The film of McConnell is from the 2017 Nike Super 16 event. Playing for Spire Institute, McConnell shows some impressive offensive capabilities including range to his jump shot, deft passing ability and, of course, his trademark ability on defense.

This year, he was named the ESPN College Gameday National Defensive Player of the Year. He shared the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award with Northwestern’s Chase Audige.

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A member of the class of 2018, McConnell had offers that included West Virginia, Wichita State, Buffalo, Kent State, Ohio, Rhode Island, St. Bonaventure and St. Joseph’s when he picked Rutgers. He was a three-star recruit according to Rivals.

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