UAB transfer guard Ja'Borri McGhee picks Mississippi State basketball over Ole Miss
Sam SklarSTARKVILLE — Mississippi State basketball has landed its first commitment from the transfer portal this year.
Former UAB guard Ja'Borri McGhee committed to the Bulldogs and coach Chris Jans on Sunday. He announced it with social media posts one day after narrowing his list to MSU and Ole Miss.
McGhee, 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, averaged 11.1 points, 2.8 assists and 2.7 rebounds a game in his one season with the Blazers. He shot 40.8% from 3, but on 1.9 attempts per game. He played at Garden City (Kansas) Community College as a freshman in 2022-23 and at South Plains Community College in Texas as a sophomore.
McGhee is a McComb native but played high school basketball at Winfield in Alabama.
He was a junior this season but could potentially get eligibility back from the two seasons in junior college.
What Ja'Borri McGhee brings to Mississippi State
McGhee is a welcome addition to an MSU roster that's experiencing turnover after reaching its third consecutive NCAA tournament. That's especially true with star Josh Hubbard's pending decision of whether to return or enter the NBA draft.
If Hubbard doesn't return, Mississippi State will lose seven of its top eight scorers. The one returning player, KeShawn Murphy, is a forward. The Bulldogs have attrition at guard with Claudell Harris Jr. out of eligibility and Riley Kugel and Kanye Clary transferring. They signed four-star freshman shooting guard King Grace and return freshman three-star Dellquan Warren.
McGhee isn't an elite 3-point shooter but is still able to produce big scoring games. He was tied for third on UAB in scoring and had at least 20 points in five games. He also averaged 1.1 steals per game, which would've been tied for second on Mississippi State.
UAB lost to Memphis in the American Athletic Conference tournament championship game and reached the NIT quarterfinals.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.