Justin McBride had an inside source when it came to learning about Kentucky.
McBride, a transfer from James Madison, sought advice from his former coach, Preston Spradlin, who had extensive knowledge of the Wildcats. Spradlin was a student-manager at Kentucky and also coached at Morehead State before taking over at James Madison.
“He definitely (told me about Kentucky),” McBride said. “It’s a full-circle moment, because he’s been here. We had talks a lot about just next year and stuff like that, playing, talking about UK. It’s full circle. He’s very excited for me and I’m very excited for him this upcoming season.”
As luck would have it, James Madison and Kentucky will meet on Nov. 6 at Rupp Arena in the season opener for both teams. It will be the second time Spradlin has coached at Rupp Arena and McBride’s first time playing against his former coach.
“It’s gonna be very fun to play against coach Preston Spradlin, shout out to him,” McBride said. “He’s a very great guy. Love that coach to death. And it’s good to play your old stomping grounds.”
Although he had the inside track on the Kentucky program, McBride admitted the transfer portal “was pretty crazy.” McBride chose the Wildcats over Baylor, Florida State and SMU.
“There were a lot of schools (that contacted me),” he said. “Coming from the Sun Belt, the Sun Belt’s a really good conference, but me playing pretty decent (last) year, there were a lot of calls. But I heard from Kentucky probably in mid-April. I got on the Zoom with coach (Mark) Pope and the staff. It was really good zoom and just trying to get (me) out here and visit the school. Everything after that was great.”
Last season, McBride averaged 15.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game for the Dukes and shot 40 percent from long range. McBride added that playing for the Wildcats for the next two years is “going to be a dream.” He began his career at Oklahoma State, then on to Nevada before landing at James Madison. He also played at Oak Hill Academy while in high school.
“It's been a journey all my college years, but to get here, why not? You know, why not try it?” he said. “This is gonna be a dream.”
McBride has also enjoyed getting to know his new teammates for the past two weeks and understands the importance of teamwork.
”You’ve got to win, and what you’ve got to do to win is not just by yourself, you got to do it as a team,” he said. “I'm really proud of this team with everybody putting the effort in when we come in 7 a.m. in the morning, the energy we have — we run, and the energy we have on the runs and when we play. I'm very excited about that.”
McBride is also anxious about playing with Malachi Moreno and Milan Momsilovic.
“Me and Malachi talk all the time about the offense and stuff like that,” McBride said. “He teaches me and we’re just interchangeable. We’re working on cuts and different reads we can make with each other, but he’s a very talented player like me. We’re just playing off each other and just making shots.”
Although the season is four months away, McBride can’t wait to engage in the full Kentucky basketball experience and is already envisioning the hype and excitement.
“I would say (the first experience will be) Wildcat Lodge, when people are camping out two hours for autographs,” McBride said. “I’m signing every autograph. I’m a very humble person, just so you all know. I’m not a conceited dude. I’m very humble. I want everybody to experience everything.”
Justin McBride goes up for a shot during a recent practice at the Joe Craft Center. (UK Athletics Photo)
