« Men’s Basketball 2016-17

T.J. Cline

School
University of Richmond
Position
F/C
Major
Business

Classroom

T.J. Cline studies business in the University of Richmond’s prestigious Robins School of Business, which is consistently ranked as one of the top business schools in the country. He has maintained a good GPA and is on track to graduate this spring. Although he aims to play basketball professionally, he also has interests in graduate school work in business administration and corporate management within professional sports.

Character

In the four years that Cline has spent at Richmond, he has grown into the emotional, verbal and physical leader of his team. Over the summer, he attended the Nike Skills Academy and worked with the NBA Summer League in hopes of not only improving his skills, but also learning how to be a successful team leader.

National publications have called Cline “eloquent and mature beyond his years,” “one of the most underrated players in college basketball,” and a product of great upbringing as he’s the son of legendary women’s basketball player and current NBA assistant Nancy Lieberman.

Head Coach Chris Mooney says, “Cline is the consummate leader. On the court, he’s always looking to make his teammates better, which is borne out in his assist statistics. He understands the value of defense and is always the loudest one in directing teammates. Off the court, he makes a concerted effort to be a friend to everyone on the team as well as be involved in our campus community. He knows the value of his words and actions in influencing others.”

Community

Cline has been involved in charity work both in Richmond and elsewhere. He and his teammates routinely visit Richmond’s ASK Foundation to interact with child cancer patients and their families. He informally adopted a young fan with cancer whom he befriended and talks to him after every home game and invites him to practices. Back at home, he’s worked with the Dallas Homeless Shelter over the holiday breaks, serving food and socializing with those less fortunate. He’s also volunteered every summer at the Nancy Lieberman Basketball Camps.

Competition

Cline enters his senior year as a preseason All-Atlantic 10 First Team honoree. Sports Illustrated recently projected him to be the fifth-highest scorer among all players this upcoming season, while ESPN’s John Gasaway listed him among his Top 25 CBB players entering this season. He also was listed by CBS’ Jon Rothstein as one of the most underrated players in basketball, and the NCAA’s Brian Mull listed him among the best-shooting forwards in the country.

Last year, Cline averaged 18.3 points per game, tying for the most by any Spider since 2001. He averaged 3.8 assists per game, which was the second-most assists by any player taller than 6-9 in the country. In two seasons at Richmond, he has scored 999 points (fifth-most in school history) after just two seasons. He’s currently fifth all-time at UR with a career field goal percentage of 54.0.