CLOSING STATEMENT
By Chris Kowalczyk
12-17-09

A fifth-year senior, VCU forward T.J. Gwynn admits it takes him longer to get loose for practices and games than it used to. It’s an observation not lost on his teammates.

“I remember watching him play when I was in high school,” Brandon Rozzell joked. “Sometimes he moves around like he’s old, so we talk a lot of trash, because he’s like 25, 26-years old, and he graduated twice.”

“We call him Issiah [Grayson’s] daddy, because Issiah’s 17, and T.J. is like, 30-something,” Larry Sanders says with a chuckle. “He’s the vet, man. He gets treatments before practice, after practice. He’s got different sleeves and different pads that he wears. He’s got an old body.”

Gwynn is so old, he’s playing for his third head coach, has rubbed elbows with two athletic directors, and has shaken hands with a pair of school presidents. He’s so old, he’s had 33 VCU teammates. He’s the last link to the Jeff Capel era, and is the only player remaining from the Rams’ upset of Duke in the 2007 NCAA Tournament.

While he may be long in the tooth as a collegian, Gwynn is actually 22-years young. Hold the social security payments. Cancel the AARP card. 

When they’re not busting his chops about his age, Gwynn’s teammates are lauding his leadership, experience and high-voltage playing style. When he’s on the court, he’s in constant motion. Playing at the top of VCU’s nerve-rattling press, Gwynn’s long dreadlocks toss about so violently that someone could mistake them for electricity escaping his body.

“He brings the same thing every game,” Rozzell says. “He’s high energy. He hustles, he rebounds. We feed off of him, especially the post players.”

This year, more than ever, Gwynn has found a home at VCU. His previous three seasons he was mostly a role player, but as the elder statesman of this Rams’ team, Gwynn has been thrust into the starting lineup. The early returns have been career-highs of 9.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and limitless enthusiasm per game.

“I personally look up to T.J. a lot because of all the things he’s been through,” says Sanders. “He can talk to anybody about any situation, from starting, to being the last person on the bench, from playing a three, to playing a five. Everyone listens to what he says. If T.J.’s talking, it’s like a coach is talking.”

At 6-foot-4, Gwynn has the body of a small forward with the abilities of a power forward. In the past, the contrast between frame and game has worked against him. This year, playing in VCU Head Coach Shaka Smart’s up-tempo system has been to Gwynn’s benefit.

“It just fits me as a player. It fits me best because I’m out there doing the things that I like to do, just running, having fun and causing mismatches,” Gwynn says. “We sped it up a lot from last year. We’re just causing havoc on the defensive end and getting after guys. We’re just running on every chance we get on the offensive end. It’s great. I love it.”

VCU Head Coach Shaka Smart and his staff track plus/minus statistics for each game. It’s a simple aggregate total of the Rams’ points scored when a certain player is in the game. It’s far from a perfect computation, but it does allow coaches to quantify a player’s effect on his team. Through the first six games of the season, Gwynn and Joey Rodriguez were tied for the team lead in plus/minus ratio.

“When he’s on the floor, our team plays with an elevated level of energy and intensity,” says Smart.

He may be thriving now, but it has been a bumpy ride for the Burlington, N.C. native.  There were plenty of highs, including two CAA Championships and an iconic upset of Duke. He earned his bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies in May. Gwynn was the first person in his family to graduate from high school, let alone college.

“My mom, she was so proud of me,” Gwynn said. “That’s the only thing she said she wanted to see, was for me to graduate from college. It was really emotional [for our family], really.”

There were also lows, from coaching changes, to disappointment over his role on the team, to injuries. Each moment threatened to derail a promising career that began with a CAA All-Rookie citation in 2006-07.

VCU endured two coaching changes during Gwynn’s tenure, with Jeff Capel’s departure in 2006 and Anthony Grant’s in March. Both weighed heavily on Gwynn.

This summer, Gwynn had his college degree in hand. Grant had already departed for Alabama. Eric Maynor, one of his best friends, was selected in the NBA Draft. Gwynn could have easily walked away, and in fact, he almost did.

If not for a broken toe that sidelined him for 14 games during the 2008-09 season, Gwynn might not be in a VCU uniform right now. Gwynn’s dream is to play basketball overseas, but his injury limited him to just 20 games a year ago. After conferring with Grant and his family, Gwynn decided it would be best to prove himself on the court this year, much to Smart’s delight.

“When I got here, I talked to him about how important of a role I thought he could play for us,” Smart said. “He’s really bought into the things we’re talking about. I think he enjoys the style of play and he excels in our pressing and up-tempo style.”

Gwynn has no regrets.

“It’s hard always going through a new coach year after year like that, but I think that everything happens for a reason, and so far it’s turned out to be a good thing.”

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