Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Getting to know MT newcomer TJ Massenburg
7/3/2017 1:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Big man enticed by Blue Raider success on and off the court
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – It's no secret Middle Tennessee head basketball coach Kermit Davis puts a heavy emphasis on his players excelling in the classroom.
When the Blue Raiders entered the NCAA Tournament in March for the second straight season, they did so with a Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 100 percent. They joined 11 other teams — Duke, Notre Dame, Butler, Bucknell, Creighton, Princeton, Dayton, Vermont and Winthrop — as the only schools in the 68-team field that reached the 100-percent GSR mark.
Plus, in May, the program successfully graduated four seniors – Reggie Upshaw, JaCorey Williams, Xavier Habersham and Aldonis Foote. That means 52 student-athletes in a row who have gone through Davis' program and exhausted their eligibility have graduated.
All of those accolades were quite enticing when presented to incoming freshman TJ Massenburg.
The 6-foot-8 forward from Snellville, Georgia – a suburb of Atlanta – fits the mold of a Davis-type of player. He's a hard worker both on and off the court and takes his studies very seriously.
Massenburg, who committed to Middle Tennessee in October of 2016, chose the university for two reasons: his major and the quality of basketball played.
"MT has the major I wanted to get into, mechatronics engineering," he said. "Since I first heard about it two years ago when I was in high school I knew I wanted to get into it, and very few schools offer it. Middle Tennessee also has a great basketball program, so I get the best of both worlds."
His interest in mechatronics engineering, which is essentially designing and enhancing robotics and automated systems, like surgical robots, started when he was younger.
Massenburg used to take apart chairs, tables, old cassette tapes – really, anything he thought he could break down and put back together. His mother is a computer engineer, also, so he naturally has a curiosity with computers.
Mechatronics is a blend of both mechanical and computer engineering, making it the perfect fit for him.
"When I was a kid I always wanted to do engineering, because my mom does computer engineering," he said. "I wanted to do something a little more hands on that you can also still program at the same time, and mechatronics has both of that."
When he was growing up, if Massenburg wasn't tinkering or building something, he could be found at the gym working on his basketball skills.
"I just love being in the gym, really," he said.
It was obvious early on he was going to be big, and ever since he started playing his coaches threw him in the post.
Massenburg became a force down low, averaging 12 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks per game as a junior and 17 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks as a senior at Shiloh High School. But, that's not all he added to his game.
He also taught himself how to shoot a midrange jump shot and how to be an effective dribbler, skills most of his coaches thought would be a waste of time for him to work on.
"I pretty much had to do that by myself," he said. "Ever since I was little I was always the tallest, so they would just stick me in the post and never taught me how to shoot or dribble or anything. I had to practice that by myself."
Massenburg's ability to step away from the basket should allow the Blue Raiders to space the floor when he's on it. That can only help to open up the lane for the other big men to work.
"I think me playing alongside them opens up the paint for them," he said. "If I'm down there with another big it can clog up, but I can stretch it out to give them more room to work."
If Massenburg can gel in Davis' system on the court like it appears he's going to be able to in the classroom, Middle Tennessee could be in for special things from its quiet new big man.
"I'm just going to do my best to be physical in the paint when I get down there and keep working on handling the ball and stepping away so I can contribute in any way," he said. "I really just want to be a good teammate."
When the Blue Raiders entered the NCAA Tournament in March for the second straight season, they did so with a Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 100 percent. They joined 11 other teams — Duke, Notre Dame, Butler, Bucknell, Creighton, Princeton, Dayton, Vermont and Winthrop — as the only schools in the 68-team field that reached the 100-percent GSR mark.
Plus, in May, the program successfully graduated four seniors – Reggie Upshaw, JaCorey Williams, Xavier Habersham and Aldonis Foote. That means 52 student-athletes in a row who have gone through Davis' program and exhausted their eligibility have graduated.
All of those accolades were quite enticing when presented to incoming freshman TJ Massenburg.
The 6-foot-8 forward from Snellville, Georgia – a suburb of Atlanta – fits the mold of a Davis-type of player. He's a hard worker both on and off the court and takes his studies very seriously.
Massenburg, who committed to Middle Tennessee in October of 2016, chose the university for two reasons: his major and the quality of basketball played.
"MT has the major I wanted to get into, mechatronics engineering," he said. "Since I first heard about it two years ago when I was in high school I knew I wanted to get into it, and very few schools offer it. Middle Tennessee also has a great basketball program, so I get the best of both worlds."
His interest in mechatronics engineering, which is essentially designing and enhancing robotics and automated systems, like surgical robots, started when he was younger.
Massenburg used to take apart chairs, tables, old cassette tapes – really, anything he thought he could break down and put back together. His mother is a computer engineer, also, so he naturally has a curiosity with computers.
Mechatronics is a blend of both mechanical and computer engineering, making it the perfect fit for him.
"When I was a kid I always wanted to do engineering, because my mom does computer engineering," he said. "I wanted to do something a little more hands on that you can also still program at the same time, and mechatronics has both of that."
When he was growing up, if Massenburg wasn't tinkering or building something, he could be found at the gym working on his basketball skills.
"I just love being in the gym, really," he said.
It was obvious early on he was going to be big, and ever since he started playing his coaches threw him in the post.
Massenburg became a force down low, averaging 12 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks per game as a junior and 17 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks as a senior at Shiloh High School. But, that's not all he added to his game.
He also taught himself how to shoot a midrange jump shot and how to be an effective dribbler, skills most of his coaches thought would be a waste of time for him to work on.
"I pretty much had to do that by myself," he said. "Ever since I was little I was always the tallest, so they would just stick me in the post and never taught me how to shoot or dribble or anything. I had to practice that by myself."
Massenburg's ability to step away from the basket should allow the Blue Raiders to space the floor when he's on it. That can only help to open up the lane for the other big men to work.
"I think me playing alongside them opens up the paint for them," he said. "If I'm down there with another big it can clog up, but I can stretch it out to give them more room to work."
If Massenburg can gel in Davis' system on the court like it appears he's going to be able to in the classroom, Middle Tennessee could be in for special things from its quiet new big man.
"I'm just going to do my best to be physical in the paint when I get down there and keep working on handling the ball and stepping away so I can contribute in any way," he said. "I really just want to be a good teammate."
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