Former ACC Player of the Year and NC State star T.J. Warren hopes to return to the court next season and pick up right where he left off.
Warren has been sitting on the Phoenix Suns’ bench for the majority of his sophomore NBA season due to a broken right foot. With a record of 20-54, it’s fair to say that the Suns are struggling this year. They have the third-worst record in the league behind the Los Angeles Lakers and the Philadelphia 76ers, and their only bright spot is rookie guard Devin Booker out of Kentucky.
The Suns, who are often beat by double-digits, certainly miss Warren’s scoring ability. Drafted 14th in the 2014 NBA Draft, a lottery pick, Warren was expected to display this ability just as well as he did in college.
During his sophomore campaign at NC State, Warren averaged 24.9 points and 7.1 rebounds per game while also leading the entire ACC in field goal percentage, shooting 52.5 percent from the field (minimum five FG per game). He set his college career-high at 42 points in a game against Boston College. These numbers landed him the nickname “Tony Buckets” in college and had announcers for the Suns referring to him as “Scorin’ Warren” during his rookie season.
Warren began showing his knack for scoring to the NBA while playing with the Suns’ summer league team. The summer league experience wasn’t new to Warren, as he made the All-NBA Summer League second team during his rookie year. This time around, the dynamic forward averaged 19 points per game while shooting 54.7 percent from the field, which earned him a spot on the All-NBA Summer League First Team and a trip to the Summer League Championship.
During the regular season, the forward was averaging 11 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, which is an improvement from his rookie season numbers of 6.1 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. Warren had stellar scoring performances against the Golden State Warriors, scoring 28 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder, scoring 29 points.
Announcers continually praise Warren not only for his ability to put the ball into the basket, but his efficiency. Additionally, his high basketball IQ allows him to score a lot of points on few shot attempts. Before the injury Warren was shooting 50.1 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and 70.3 percent from the free-throw line. His teammates and coaches also praised Warren for his versatility. Warren’s awareness and continuous movement on the offensive side have a lot to do with his high point totals.
Warren’s offensive game has also been referred to as a “lost art” because, despite high scoring numbers, he seldom shoots 3-pointers. During his second year in college, Warren scored a majority of his points off of offensive put backs and floaters. In the NBA, not much has changed.
At 6-feet-8-inches and 230 pounds, Warren often surprises viewers with the number of floaters he converts, seeing as the floater is seen to be more of a little man shot. His midrange game is also solid all around, which makes him stand out in the Steph Curry-led 3-point shooting league we watch today.
The Suns show some promise moving into next season. Booker has improved throughout the year and is now playing at high level. Booker is averaging 13.3 points and 2.5 assists on the season. Also, beause the Suns’ record is so abysmal, they will no doubt have a high pick in the upcoming draft. With Warren returning to pick up where he left off, Booker most likely improving in his sophomore season and the addition of a high first-round draft pick, the Suns will be a young team loaded with talent and potential.
