{"id":350690,"date":"2026-06-25T23:45:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T23:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/350690\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T23:45:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T23:45:15","slug":"justin-mcbrides-texas-connections-have-led-to-workouts-with-julius-randle-tyrese-maxey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/350690\/","title":{"rendered":"Justin McBride’s Texas connections have led to workouts with Julius Randle, Tyrese Maxey"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Lone Star State has served as a bit of a pipeline to Kentucky men\u2019s basketball over the years. Former head coach John Calipari<\/a> brought in plenty of Texas-grown players to Lexington during his tenure with the Wildcats. That hasn\u2019t stopped with the Mark Pope<\/a> era, either.<\/p>\n

The latest Texas import is James Madison transfer Justin McBride<\/a>, who hails from Plano, a city located about 20 miles north of Dallas. Growing up in that area as a high-level basketball player led him to connect with some big-name hoopers \u2014 plenty of them now in the NBA \u2014 who also came from Texas childhood backgrounds.<\/p>\n

One of them was former Kentucky forward Julius Randle<\/a>, who played for the Wildcats in 2013-14 before going on to be a top 10 NBA Draft pick. A three-time All-Star, he\u2019s now with the Brooklyn Nets. The two are separated by several years in age, but both attended high school in the city of Plano and have grown that link into a personal relationship. They also share similar skill sets as bigger forwards with ball-handling capabilities. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s no coincidence that Pope said he sees \u201cshades\u201d of Randle in McBride<\/a> in a recent video.<\/p>\n

\u201cJulius Randle is one of my guys I know that I\u2019m really close with back in Dallas,\u201d McBride told reporters on Thursday. \u201cI talk to him a lot, train with him back in the summer, too. It\u2019s just a dream (for Pope) to pick a guy like that, that plays kind of my style of play. I\u2019m excited to prove to the people that I can really play at a SEC level.\u201d<\/p>\n

McBride and Randle first met when the former was just a sixth grader. Randle was thriving in high school at Prestonwood Christian<\/a> \u2014 \u201cit\u2019s like a really rich school, but he played his butt off,\u201d McBride added \u2014 while developing into a five-star talent. They\u2019ve maintained a relationship ever since by staying in touch and getting in workouts back home. Randle has been an open ear for McBride during his transfer transition to Kentucky.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe told me a lot of good things,\u201d McBride said. \u201cHe had a great, successful career here. But just to play with confidence. Don\u2019t worry about all the lights and stuff like that. Just play basketball. We\u2019ve been playing all our lives, so just play. There\u2019s nothing different than just putting the ball in the basket and just playing for my teammates and winning.\u201d<\/p>\n

McBride says that some of his earliest memories of the Wildcats include watching Randle during Kentucky\u2019s run to the national championship game in 2014. He remembers watching some of the other Texas guys who went to UK, like De\u2019Aaron Fox<\/a> and PJ Washington<\/a>. Another Texan he\u2019s close with is Tyrese Maxey<\/a>. McBride recalled working out with Maxey while the two were still in high school.<\/p>\n

All these years later, McBride is the next Texas native in line to suit up for the Wildcats. It\u2019s become a full-circle moment for the rising senior. Now it\u2019s his turn to carry on that tradition. <\/p>\n

Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.<\/a><\/p>\n

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