From 2012 to 2015, Sean Miller coached guard TJ McConnell at the University of Arizona before sending him to the NBA, where he now plays for the Indiana Pacers.
Fast forward to 2022, a decade after the two first met, and Miller is still scouting for talent. Now the head basketball coach at Xavier University, Miller ventured 45 miles north to Centerville High School in Ohio to watch Class of 2024 guard Jonathan Powell.
But while observing Powell, Miller couldn’t help but notice another guard on the floor — Gabe Cupps. Miller approached his father, Brook Cupps, after the game with a comparison. He said Gabe reminded him of McConnell.
“He told me, ‘Oh my God, they’re exactly the same,’” Brook told the Indiana Daily Student in a phone call. “They fit together so well, like the things they do. It’s crazy.”
It wasn’t the first time Gabe, now a freshman on the Indiana men’s basketball team, was told he looked like McConnell. After an AAU game in the summer of 2021, another coach had approached him about his similarity to the NBA player. Brook, Centerville’s head boys basketball coach, sat down with Gabe and talked about the comparison.
Their conversation focused on what fits Gabe’s skill set and eventually landed on a topic they had discussed many times: winning.
“Your leaders are measured by whether or not their team wins,” Brook said. “That’s how you decide if you have a good leader. We thought about (the comparison), talked about it a little bit, talked about the things that McConnell does and did when he was in Arizona to help his team win.
McConnell led the Wildcats to a 67-9 record in his two years as a starter, giving the university two of its most successful seasons in program history. Individually, McConnell was a two-time finalist for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award and earned All-Pac-12 and Pac-12 All-Defensive team honors.
Winning has long been the Cupps family’s priority, and Gabe and Brook brought it to Centerville as a group. In Gabe’s final three years, the Elks went 79-8. They made the state tournament for the first time in 2021 – and won the championship. Gabe won Mr. Basketball the following year. A 45-game winning streak accompanied both of those accomplishments.
Both guards played for their father in high school. Brook noted the benefit of hearing from a young age everything coaches like and don’t like.
As a result, winning habits develop – and it’s evident with McConnell and Gabe Cupps.
“You can see in McConnell’s game and the way he approaches things, you can tell it’s really always about team, which is the same way Gabe was raised,” said Brook.
McConnell has etched his name atop the Arizona history books in several categories, but points scored isn’t one of them.
During his senior year, McConnell rose to second and third on the Wildcats’ assists and steals list with 238 and 83, respectively. His assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.03 marks the best in program history.
When Indiana head coach Mike Woodson and his staff began recruiting Gabe, they valued attributes similar to those provided by McConnell – commitment, dedication and basketball IQ, among others.
Brook described his 6-foot-2, 175-pound son as an acquired taste, pointing out that he doesn’t jump off the screen with athleticism, but plays hard and works even harder.
During the recruiting process, the Cupps family wanted to find a coach who appreciated Gabe’s demeanor. Woodson checked that box — and continued to do so long after Gabe’s November 2021 commitment.
“The stuff Coach Woodson would talk to him about, it was never like, ‘Oh, you had 25,’ it was all the little things he did to connect his teammates and make them better, plus to play well,” Brook said.
Woodson and his team are who Gabe thought they would be when he chose the Hoosiers. It’s just as important that Gabe is also who Woodson thought he was.
“He’s been one of the highlights,” Woodson said. “He seems to do everything we asked him to do. He did a lot of good things for us on the court in terms of winning, winning basketball.
During a speech at Indiana Basketball Media Day on September 20, Gabe emphasized that he wants to play in the NBA. He and Brook watched plenty of film on NBA Hall of Fame guard Steve Nash’s playing style, Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic’s skills, ball screens and, well sure, on McConnell.
Of these three, McConnell is the one who makes the least noise. He is a rotation player and has averaged just 7.1 points and five assists per game over eight professional seasons.
But when the Pacers opened their season on Oct. 25, McConnell was on the court, announcing season No. 9. Cupps wants nothing more than to realize his dream and follow a similar path, emerging as a long-time player at the top of the sport. highest level.
“McConnell is still in the NBA and that’s my dream,” Gabe said. “I’m trying to find the best role that would fit my style of play and also help NBA teams where they can view taking me as an advantage for them. So, I think he brings a lot to a NBA team, and I think I can do it too.
Gabe was thrust into the spotlight early, going viral at the age of 14 for a three-point shooting contest against NBA icon LeBron James. Gabe played with James’ son Bronny and saw his own brand skyrocket.
Today, Cupps has 348,000 followers on Instagram. The rest of the players on Indiana’s team total 221,000. McConnell carries 121,000.
Even as his popularity skyrocketed, Cupps remained grounded. Brook described her son as old school, especially in his fashion choices.
“He’s just a little unique, like he doesn’t mind being different,” Brook said. “Fitting in is not something he strives to do. He just does his job the way he thinks he should do it and he stays true to that.
The biggest thing about Cupps is winning. The next step is to make his way to the NBA, with McConnell providing the model for how to not only get there, but stay there.
But even if Cupps’ professional ambitions aren’t up to par, Brook knows his son has the right traits that will make him a winner off the field, no matter what the next four years might throw at him.
“If he gets the opportunity to do the things that TJ McConnell did, that’s amazing,” Brook said. “If he doesn’t do it, I feel like it’s going to put him in a situation where he’ll be a better version of himself once he’s done.”
Follow journalists Will Foley (@foles24) and Matt Press (@MattPress23) and columnist Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
