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Mississippi State

Bulldog basketball exhibiting different style in the post with Quincy Ballard

Paul Jones Mississippi State Bulldogsby: Paul Jones15 hours agoPaulJonesOn3
quincy ballard
Photo by Paul Jones, Maroon and White Daily

Since arriving in Starkville over three years ago, Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans has put offensive-minded centers on the court. More times than not, a lot of the Bulldogs’ offense went through their post man.

However, entering this season things are a lot different in that area on the court and that was by design. Jans and his staff entered last year’s transfer-portal hunting with a goal of getting a defensive-minded center and they found just that in former Wichita State center Quincy Ballard.

Ballard is expected to provide that rim protection and help State’s guards when their opponent finds its way into the lane. This past weekend, Ballard met with local media after basketball practice to discuss the preseason practices among other topics:

Q: You’ve played in other programs before. Any differences to the practices at Mississippi State?
Ballard: Compared other programs and my last scho0l, I feel like here is more fast-paced and more intense. We really get after the ball here.

Q: How good of shape do you feel you are in going into the season?
Ballard: We’ve been working all summer. Run fast, running, going up and down, scrimmaging and all that. So I mean, I feel like I am in great shape. Obviously, I do work in the weight room, as well.

Q: There’s a lot of new faces here but also a lot of depth in the frontcourt. How does that push you and others in practice?
Ballard: We have a great frontcourt. Obviously, Brandon Walker is an inside big and he is physical, as well. We got big Tee (Bartlett) and we are all pretty much big guys. So we’re all physical and we take pride in rebounding the ball.

Q: How is the chemistry with the big guys and the backcourt on offense?
Ballard: That comes from just working together all summer. We do a lot of stuff after work to help with our chemistry and that helps us on the court.

Q: Most of the guards on this team like to also drive and score or drive and dish. How aware of that do you have to be at the center position?
Ballard: We have a great backcourt. We’ve got 3-4 guards that are all athletic that are quick, can get to the rim. That comes with spacing, spacing in the middle and at their (outside) spots. Just an opportunity for a pass or score.

Q: With Gai Chol out, your thoughts on the rest of the bigs trying to pick up the slack?
Ballard: Obviously, we lost Gai. But we still got a lot of depth with the big slots. There’s a lot of forwards that step up sometimes at the five spot if I’m not playing.

Q: During practice, Chris Jans will stop a lot of drills to get y’all more coaching. How much does that accelerate the improvements?
Ballard: In my opinion, I feel like that’s great coaching. Obviously, a lot of people take his tone seriously. The tone is, that is just how he is and that is pretty much part of the culture.

Q: I know he got here late but how do you feel Sergej Macura has adjusted so far?
Ballard: He’s a great addition to the team. Good length, he can finish and rebound and is really aggressive.

Q: You feel like there a guy on this team that media are not talking enough about?
Ballard: I feel like everyone gets talked about equally.

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