Mississippi State seniors Jayden Epps, Brandon Walker talk upcoming season

Mississippi State hit the transfer portal hard again this past offseason and brought in six new transfers. As in previous years under head coach Chris Jans, how quickly those new faces mesh on the roster will determine how much success the Bulldogs experience this season on the court.

On Wednesday, former Georgetown transfer guard Jayden Epps and former Montana State forward Brandon Walker met with the media to share their thoughts on the upcoming season:

Q: Jayden, first off, how are you feeling after getting injured early in the exhibition game?
Epps: Just taking it day-by-day. My teammates are working hard every day and they did a good job in our exhibition game. Just rooting my teammates on, helping them get better and try to get myself better to get back on the court.

Q: Brandon, you’ve played a lot of college basketball. What was it about Mississippi State that made you want to come here?
Walker: Just to play in the best conference in the country and get better at things I need to work on and stuff like that, making my weaknesses into strengths. I feel like Coach Jans can do that and he’s a great coach. He pushes you hard. So just that piece right there, just wanting to get better.

Q: Jayden, what did you see on the sidelines from the team against Houston in the exhibition?
Epps: I actually didn’t get to watch much of the game. But from what I did see, I saw a lot of growth, a lot of things we’ve been working on. It’s still early and we still got a lot to fix. Guys just need to get more comfortable. Guys get more comfortable and play their game and lock on, I feel like we will be fine.

Q: Same question Brandon. What did you take away from the exhibition game?
Walker: Houston is a great team, a historical team. We fought. Even when we got punched in the mouth we fought and kept fighting. Just the growth of this team from the summer to now to being able to play in a real game. Just being able to keep fighting and stuff like that, even when we got down and punched in the mouth. I feel like we’ve got to still be working. Like Jayden said, it’s still early and I feel like we’re going to be good.

Q: Brandon, with Gai Chol out for the season and needing post guys to pick up the slack, do you anticipate playing some at the five when needed?
Walker: Yeah for sure. With me and JMar (Jamarion Davis-Fleming) playing the five, I feel like we can pick up that slack right there. Like JMar, we’re all versatile. Whether it is at the four or the five, I feel like we can both impact the game in that way.

Q: With so many older guys, how do you feel about the balance of the roster going into the season?
Walker: Like you said, we got a bunch of experience. Just being able to take from what we got from other schools and just playing college basketball, we kind of know what to expect. Just helping the younger guys and helping everybody else is just a collective thing to help each other.

Q: Where have you seen guys grow the most going into the season?
Epps: I feel like guys are understanding their role more, getting more comfortable playing under Coach Jans and his system. I feel like we’ve built a great relationship together on and off the floor. It’s helping us play together and knowing whose spots guys like to be at. We just have to keep building relationships and playing together and learn how each other play so we can keep building better on the court.

Q: Jayden, how much does it help the backcourt spots with yourself, Josh Hubbard and Ja’Borri McGhee being interchangeable and feeding off each other?
Epps: I feel like it’s good. We definitely have three guards that are interchangeable, actually four with Dellquan (Warren). I feel like that’s good because one of us could be having a bad game and one of could get injured, knock on wood. But it is always good to have multiple guards who can be on the court and keep the bar the same. I feel like that is going to help us.