Newcomer guards King Grace and Ja'Borri McGhee nearing Mississippi State debut

Mississippi State will have a variety of options on the backcourt this season and most of those options are newcomers. Heralded freshman guard King Grace makes his Bulldog debut on Wednesday along with former UAB transfer guard Ja’Borri McGhee.

Recently, King and Grace met with the media to talk about the upcoming season opener and their experience at Mississippi State so far.

Q: King, how was it playing an exhibition game against Houston in your home state?
Grace: It was great seeing family and being close to home. So I loved it. Especially first game, I got to see how it is and shake some of the rust and nerves out.

Q: Ja’Borri, your thoughts on this State backcourt and guys that can play both spots like yourself?
McGhee: We can all do a lot of different stuff. The coaches are aware when one of us is at the one that we can do certain stuff. I think that’s good because it’s hard for the other team when we are on the ball screen or stick with the same gameplan all night. Jayden (Epps) and Josh (Hubbard) can make a lot of shot plus me getting in the paint a lot, that’s a good pull.

Q: King, what’s the last few months been like for you getting adjusting to college ball?
Grace: The last few months has been a smooth ride. The first few months it was up and down, a change of pace, the strain, the game plan, attention to detail. It was hard at first but i am starting to adjust more and more.

Q: Going off of that, King, how does going against these guys in the backcourt make you better?
Grace: I am learning a lot. It’s like I get a little piece from each one. A little bit of driving and how to finish through contact from Ja’Borri, a little bit of shooting and how to create my shot from Hubb, a little bit of controlling the ball from Epps. So it’s good learning from all of three and taking a piece of each of their game.

Q: Ja’Borri, there’s a lot of older guys on this team. But what have you seen from the younger guys and working with them?
McGhee: Compared to where I’ve been, I see a lot more passion in these guys. Wanting to get better every day even when it’s hard. Coach harps on us kind of like towards the end of practice when you see younger guys doing most of the reps when the older guys get a little tired or things go wrong. I kind of like that. It’s not like the younger guys are waiting last to go through drills. Some of them, you see them in the front of the line wanting to go first or going against a senior wanting to get his reps. So that is good.

Q: King, a lot of freshmen come into this program are kind of shocked when they understand the defense needed to play for Chris Jans. But you were defensive-minded in high school. Does that help you be ahead of that curve?
Grace: I think my aggressiveness on defense and my mindset to play it hard has helped. That is the easy part for me. Where some people slack off and just like scoring, I like to play hard on defense. So that’s the easy part. Now it is about learning the scheme, being up on film and learning my spots. I already got the hard part out of the way. So it’s pretty cool.

Q: Ja’Borri, what were some things you took away in the exhibition game against Houston?
McGhee: I think to start the game, there was a lot of being timid on the court. We got down by nine and kind of played from behind. Once we realized we could be here and we deserved to be here and can play there, we kind of adjusted. But playing from behind with a team like Houston is hard in a place and environment like that. But I think next time and further down the line, we will be ready.

Q: Ja’Borri, how’s the chemistry been with guys in the post like Quincy Ballard and Achor Achor?
McGhee: It’s been fun. With Q (Ballard), he is more on the inside. Then with Achor, he is kind of like do it both. I like the offensive breakdowns that we do and they bring the bigs down with the guards. Every day we are working on different reads, different reactions and the timing.

Q: King, what was it like for you to be in that kind of environment in the exhibition against the national runnerup?
Grace: The first two up and downs it was nerve-racking. After the first few down and backs, you realize it’s basketball that you’ve been playing it your whole life. So it’s really not much pressure at that point. It’s just going out there doing what you came here to do.