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1 on 1 with Mississippi State guard Jayden Epps

Paul Jones Mississippi State Bulldogsby: Paul Jones1 hour agoPaulJonesOn3

During his college career, Mississippi State senior guard Jayden Epps has experienced different environments in different conferences. At every stop, Epps has been a consistent scorer and playmaker for his team.

At the midway point of the SEC schedule, the Virginia native is doing much of the same at Mississippi State. He currently ranks second on the team in scoring at 15.3 points a game and has teamed up with Josh Hubbard to produce the second-highest scoring duo in the SEC.

Epps is also shooting a career-high 42.1% from the field and a career-high 81% at the foul line. Earlier this week, Maroon and White Daily caught up with Epps to discuss his time in Starkville and his senior season:

Q: How’s it been for you living in Starkville?

Epps: It’s been good. I’ve been three different places in college. I was also in Illinois and Washington D.C. It’s a new experience and Starkville is a good place. People love us here and the fans are great. I think overall it is a great place to be.

Q: You’ve been a consistent scorer in college. What do you when you are experiencing a shooting slump?

Epps: Like you said, I’ve been a scorer all my life, even in middle school and high school. So I’ve been through a lot of slumps and I just keep shooting, keep doing what I know how to do. I feel like that is what helps our team win. I’m supposed to be a scorer and a leader. So I feel like that is what I do. I may have an off night or a couple of off nights in a row. But I am always going to do what I know to do.

Q: What’s the differences in playing in the SEC and playing in the Big East?

Epps: I feel like all the leagues are different in their own ways. The Big East, sometimes the play calling is different and the physicality and athleticism. It’s a lot of different things in the league. But overall, I have played with two good teams in two good leagues, and I love the SEC and I love the Big East.

Q: What kind of growth have you noticed from King Grace?

Epps: I’ve seen a lot of growth but I knew he had it in him. I’ve seen it in practice ever since I met him. I knew he had it in him and I know he’s got even more that the coaches will get out of him. I saw a lot of growth in him over the summer hanging out with him, even off the court I saw a lot of growth and becoming a college basketball player. I love what he’s doing.

Q: What’s this team have to do to be more consistent down the stretch?

Epps: I feel like we got to learn how to sustain leads. When teams build leads on us we got to learn how to punch back and not lay down. Just put together full 40-minute games. We have a lot of stretches where we do bad and stretches where we turn the ball over. We got to figure out a way to put together 40-minute games, everybody being on the same page. We do that and we can get a lot more Ws.

Q: What’s it like playing for Chris Jans?

Epps: Good. He’s going to push you every day on and off the court. He is on you about everything but he should be. At the end of the day he’s got to coach but it’s also to make us better, too. It’s not easy in that job but he pushes us every day. It’s been great playing for Jans.

Q: What have you seen from Cameren Paul in practice?

Epps: I’ve seen very good things. I think Coach has said it but every player and every person in the room with us is a big part of our success and part of our losses. We are in it together and Cam helps us out a lot in practice and I’ve seen a lot of good things. He’s a very good scorer and shooter, and I feel like the sky is the limit for his career.

Q: What’s your favorite places to eat in Starkville?

Epps: Walkons is one of them. But my top favorite is probably Georgia Blue and I like the pasta a lot.

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