TCU hoops’ Grayer excited to face former team, says Frogs ‘definitely need this one’
TCU guard Jaire Grayer has no complaints about his days at George Mason.
He became an impact player from day one, starting 31 of 32 games as a freshman, and stayed in that role for the next three years. He’s happy to see his former team is off to an 11-1 start, too.
But Grayer is on a new team now at TCU, and he knows the importance of defeating his former team Monday night at Schollmaier Arena. The Horned Frogs (8-3) are reeling from their worst loss of the season to Xavier and want to enter Big 12 play next weekend on a positive note.
“It’s good to see George Mason is doing well, but we definitely need this one,” Grayer said. “We want to go into conference play starting on a good note.”
Grayer joked that he and a few of his former teammates have been talking “a little smack” going into this game, but it’s all in good fun. Grayer started 102 of 105 career games for the Patriots in his career, averaging 11 points and 5.3 rebounds.
He planned to close his college career there, too, but what should have been his senior season last year was cut short by a foot injury. Grayer played in only seven games and obtained a medical redshirt to become eligible this season.
He went the graduate transfer route, allowing him to finish his college playing days at TCU and in a Power Five conference.
“I had a great time at George Mason. There’s nothing more I could have asked for,” Grayer said. “I thought about [staying], but it was an easy decision to come here. This was a great move for me.
“Just the right spot. The right fit.”
So far, Grayer has transitioned well into Jamie Dixon’s system. He has started 10 of 11 games, averaging 8.8 points and 4.9 rebounds.
Grayer has made a greater than expected impact as a 3-point threat, knocking down 52.3% of his attempts (23 of 44). That has been helpful on a TCU team that has been inconsistent from long range, making just 34% from 3 (101 of 297).
“Jaire’s done some good things,” Dixon said. “He’s obviously shooting a great percentage from 3, which is what he did, and he always rebounds at a pretty good level, too. That’s certainly the things he’s done.
“In some ways, he’s gotten better defensively for us. We’ve tried to get him to understand our principles, and there’s adjustments in doing that. But making progress in that area.”
Another level
Dixon still has confidence in his team. He still has faith that they can play at a higher level.
From an individual perspective, sophomore guard RJ Nembhard has to become a more consistent 3-point shooter. He’s made just 22.4% of his 3s (11 of 49).
Desmond Bane also isn’t shooting the 3-point ball as well as expected at 37.9% (25 of 66). Neither is freshman Diante Smith at 14.3% (4 of 28).
“The stats are obvious. You can’t hide from the facts,” Dixon said. “We think we’re taking good shots. We’ll keep working on it. Guys go through streaks, but certainly we felt we’d be shooting the ball a lot better by this point. There’s no question about it. We’ve had two games where we’ve shot it very well, the rest of the games have been pretty substandard.”
But Dixon made it clear the team isn’t “panicked” by the struggles from 3-point range or the free throw line (63.8%).
“At the same time, we’re not celebrating when we do play well,” Dixon said. “We don’t think we’ve reached where we’re going to be. We’ve got another level to raise, take it up a notch. We do believe we’re going to play better today in practice and tomorrow in the game.”
1-2-2 press
TCU has been preparing for George Mason’s 1-2-2 three-quarter court press. It’s a defense the Frogs don’t see too often, and Dixon feels the practices have gone well.
It has helped that the team had a second consecutive eight-day break between games because of the holidays.
“We’ve had time to practice against that. We’ve seen it,” Dixon said. “We know how good George Mason is, a very guard-oriented team. They’re 11-1. An experienced team with aggressive guards.”
Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.
This story was originally published December 29, 2019 at 2:00 PM.
