EXCLUSIVE: Miles McBride's trainer Juwan Staten Sr. expects big things to come from Knicks rookie

If you’ve seen Miles McBride’s TikTok account, you know he likes to have fun. Like in this video, and this one.

But he takes a different approach on the court.

“When he comes to the gym, you don’t see that as much. You see a business approach,” Juwan Staten Sr. says. “You see, ‘I’m in here to get better, this is what I want to do.’ That’s where his focus is. We treat it like business in the gym.”

Staten Sr. has worked with McBride for the past two years. Their work started when McBride was entering his sophomore year at West Virginia and Staten Sr. returned to Morgantown as a graduate assistant.

Like McBride, Staten Sr. was one of the best guards in his class at WVU. He earned First Team All-Big 12 Honors and First Team All-Big 12 defense honors as a Mountaineer.

He first met McBride while playing in open gyms at Morgantown. As they continued to play together and McBride learned that Staten Sr. was going to join the program, McBride asked him for some help with his ballhandling.

That started a two-year-plus relationship that’s helped McBride sharpen his skills and grow from a strong college guard to an NBA prospect.

Staten Sr. talked to SNY recently about his work with McBride. In the Q&A below, Staten Sr. – the founder of Hard2Guard skills academy and an aspiring NBA skills coach – tells you why McBride can have a long, successful NBA career.

SNY: What are some of the things that you’ve noticed about Miles’ play with the Knicks that the casual observer may not pick up on?

STATEN SR.: Some of the reads that he makes on ball screens (have stood out). We didn’t really have a (big man to catch lobs) at West Virginia the year he was playing. So just seeing him and Jericho Sims and that type of chemistry that they build and all the lobs he’s thrown him is something that’s stood out. Also, finishing a lot with the left (hand). At West Virginia, he was more of a three-point shooter and a pullup guard.

He didn’t finish at the rim as much as he’s doing now. He’s been able to create off the dribble and get into his shot. At West Virginia, he was more of a get-to-the-spot and shoot player. He wouldn’t really play with the ball, he would just get there and pullup. Now he’s making different moves and different counters to get to his jump shot.

SNY: How much has his defense improved since you started working together?

STATEN SR.: Deuce has always been great on defense. I think that was one of the things that he could hang his hat on from Day 1 at West Virginia. He was always a player that was going to pick up 94 feet and work the ball. It’s just good to see him doing that at the next level. There’s not a lot of players in the league who play defense like that. So when you do that, you automatically set yourself apart from the crowd. I think he does a good job of that; he’s always been quick with his hands and had good lateral movement so I wouldn’t really say that he’s improved a lot in that area. I think he’s been an NBA level defender since I’ve met him.

SNY: How would you describe McBride's work ethic?

STATEN SR.: He’s extremely dedicated. I think that’s why he’s had so many strides in his game and he’s been able to add so many things; he’s worked relentlessly. From the time I met him and started working with him at WVU, he wanted to go at it every day. He wanted to do something every day during the year. It started off ball-handling, passing. But once the season was over and we started working toward the draft, it was everything. He wanted to work on creating more opportunities off the dribble, reading the ball screens. He was in there every day. His work ethic is top of the line. He wants to get better and he puts a lot of time in.

And he’s very competitive. When we would first start working out, he’d always wanted to play one on one after the workout. And I’m a competitor, too. So we would start off saying 'OK, we’re going to play two games.' But we end up playing seven or playing eight because neither one of us wants to lose.

SNY: We know that McBride was an elite football player. Do you see anything about his success in football translate to the basketball court?

STATEN SR.: Yeah, I would say both physicality and intensity. Also, having that dog mentality. I’ve noticed through training, the kids who played football are always a little bit more of the "go getters" than the kids who just stick with basketball. He’s not afraid to put his nose in there, he’s not afraid to get up in somebody and be physical with them. Also, he was a quarterback so he has that sense of leadership. He takes charge and knows what to do; he’s not afraid of the moment.

SNY: Based on what you know about Miles and what you know about the league, how do you see him progressing from here?

STATEN SR.: I think he’ll have a pretty good career. Just looking at his background. I’m an Ohio kid, he’s an Ohio kid. So I know how it is coming out of Ohio. I’m very familiar with the school that he went to (Moeller HS). I’m very familiar with his dad (Walt McBride) being a coach. And I know the path that he went through. From not being heavily recruited to getting to West Virginia, to not being expected to produce a lot, to having a decent freshman year, better than what most people expected, to having a great sophomore year and leaving early. That’s a testament to the kind of person he is and the work ethic that he has. And the drive that he has.

I see this as a similar situation (in New York). I think that being in the G League this year has been great for him. It’s been building his confidence, building his hunger and getting his reps up.

I think all of this will mold for him when he gets his opportunity; he’ll cash in on it. Also, I know he’ll be a great pro as far as getting to the gym early, staying late, not clubbing and doing all those things that tend to get people out of the league. Like you said, I can’t predict the future but I think that he’ll be a good pro and he’ll have a nice long career.

SNY: What do you expect to work on this offseason?

STATEN SR.: Just my opinion, I think we’ll be working a lot on pace. Pacing with the ball and playing more of the point guard spot. I’ve noticed with the G League he plays point but with the Knicks he’s mostly an off-guard. So I think we’ll be working on that pace but also staying on the attack because I think he’s a scoring guard.

So just continuing to develop those moves off the dribble, working on different point guard reads and staying at it. Getting a lot of shots up and just doing what we do. I think his time is coming. I think we’ve been preparing well. I think he’s been preparing well on his own. And I think his hunger is the biggest thing that’s going to take him forward. So we’re just going to continue to work on the things that we know we need to work on. But I think he’ll be ready. I know he’s so ready for that opportunity.