GREENSBORO, North Carolina – At long last he’s a bona fide professional, paid to play the sport he loves, but the blur in the purple Kobes looks a lot like the basketball player he was in a Xavier uniform. J.P. Macura hustles to the glass for a defensive rebound just 92 seconds into the Greensboro Swarm’s game against the Wisconsin Herd in the Swarm’s arena, The Fieldhouse.

A sparse Wednesday afternoon crowd reflects the time of day and the 12.8 inches of snow recently dumped on the region by Winter Storm Diego. The NBA Gatorade League game started as a sold-out kids’ day promotion for 2,100 fourth graders but the weather unraveled those plans, canceling school and robbing the Swarm players’ apartment complex of power for 15 hours two days before tip-off. Macura and his roommate, Columbia University graduate Luke Petrasek, didn’t mind much.

No, check it: It was miserable, Macura said with a grin, but the timing was good because they went to bed instead of playing video games into the wee hours of the morning. Video gaming is a shared hobby: Call of Duty, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Fortnite, you name it. Macura is obsessed with Fortnite. He has a dedicated chair and TV in their living room. His typical repose is shoeless, sprawled out on in the chair, a silver and black headset resting atop his tousled tufts.

“I’m just completely addicted to it. It’s bad,” Macura said with a laugh.

Seven months have passed since his college graduation and six months have elapsed since he signed a two-way contract with the Charlotte Hornets. Macura and Joe Chealey, the franchise’s other two-way player, can play up to 45 days with the NBA team but will spend most of their season with its developmental G League team. They haven’t been called up to the Hornets, situated 90 miles away, just yet. In the meantime, Macura the Minnesotan has made the most of the snowy diversion. He helped dislodge cars while wearing his favorite shoes, Crocs, and debated building a snowman as 23-year-olds with idle time are wont to do. Macura discovered a proliferation of dog poop atop the complex’s snowbanks and nixed the plan. He still managed to pack a few snowballs.

Anyway, after snaring that defensive rebound early in the Wisconsin Herd game, Macura pushed the ball up the court and whipped it to Dwayne Bacon along the perimeter. Bucket. The players acknowledged each other and played on seamlessly, a funky reversal of their first meeting as college players. Xavier upset Bacon’s Florida State team as an 11-seed in the 2017 NCAA Tournament in Orlando. Bacon scored 20 points in that game but Macura and the Musketeers rolled to a 91-66 win en route to an Elite Eight appearance. Last March, well after Bacon left school, was taken in the NBA Draft’s second round by New Orleans and traded to Charlotte, his Seminoles stunned No. 1 seed Xavier in Nashville. Macura and Bacon love razzing each other about those match-ups.

That’s actually what they discussed on the bench late in Wednesday’s outing. Bacon was in Greensboro on assignment from the Hornets and set to depart after the Swarm game, in which he scored 21 points with 10 assists. Macura played well too (11 points, six rebounds) and was the most engaged player on the bench. He stood with his fingers crooked into an OK sign for 3-point attempts and jettisoned to half-court to greet teammates during timeouts. With the 140-117 victory firmly in hand and the sound system blaring snippets of “Day-O!” and “Mony Mony,” Macura sat wedged between Bacon and Devonte’ Graham, cracking jokes.

“You’re complete trash,” Macura declared to Bacon. “Terrible.”

The basis for his allegations was statistical and farcical. Bacon missed a triple-double by three rebounds.

“That’s how he’s always been. He talks trash, tries to get in people’s heads. He always did anything it takes to make his team win,” Bacon said, smiling, after the game. “When I met him it was just like crazy because the connection was just so good. He’s a great guy off the court if you get to know him. He’s a good dude.”

Macura breezed past the media room about the time Bacon said that and swooped in to playfully pummel him. He’s an equal opportunity trash talker but it’s entirely more fun if you’re his teammate, Bacon said. He remembered Macura throwing off some of Florida State’s players in the 2017 NCAA Tournament with his yammering. Macura delights in stirring the pot. Xavier fans have seen it plenty: Gator chomping at Wisconsin fans, frustrating opponents and their supporters with his aggressive play. Drop him in the NCAA Tournament, Xavier’s Cintas Center or the Swarm’s intimate arena and he’s going to be the same person each game.

“I also (told Bacon) that our conference was better than his conference when we beat them by 25, 30 points in the NCAA Tournament that year. He continues to say that his conference is the best. But I’m not worried about that,” Macura said.

He has bigger fish to fry, namely rounding up his Swarm-provided post-game lunch.

“Dude, I think it’s broken.”

Macura looked dubiously at the yellow and black vacuum cleaner Petrasek wheeled into the living room of their Greensboro apartment. They’re a good fit as roommates, tidy and courteous with shared interests beyond basketball, but Petrasek remained unconvinced about the vacuum’s bad rap. Macura pinched together a clump of debris on the carpet to see if the finicky vacuum would consume it. It did. Six-foot-10 Petrasek facetiously ripped on Macura for leaving Ruffles crumbs near the couch. He did not, however, enjoy the moment Macura flung a rogue bottle cap toward his head.

The G League takes care of its players’ housing so Macura and Petrasek pay no rent and no utilities during the season. Their apartment came furnished. All Swarm players live in the same complex amid other non-basketball residents, and most just want to relax when they’re not working – but that doesn’t mean they always hang out together. Players sometimes hole up in their apartments and play interactive video games with each other, spending more free time gaming as avatars than fraternizing as humans. It’s kind of a strange existence when you think about it. Just a few hours of basketball activities. No classes. Lots of free time and there’s only so much Netflix one can watch, which means Macura spends a fair amount of time fending off boredom. He and Petrasek thought hard when asked how they occupy their non-working hours.

Macura: “Yeah, what do we do, Luke. Lift?”

Petrasek: “Um…”

Macura: “Drive to Best Buy and play Nintendo Switch.”

Petrasek: “Play Xbox. Go to the arcade. Bowling.”

Macura talks to his family every other day and usually texts them daily. Sometimes he calls his 88-year-old grandpa, Jan Ludvigsen, with whom he shares a special bond. He remains in close contact with former Musketeers Kerem Kanter, who plays in France, and gaming aficionados Sean O’Mara (Finland) and Matt Stainbrook (Spain). Staintrain40 popped up on Macura’s Fortnite screen the night before the Wisconsin Herd outing. He invited Macura to a group and they spoke briefly on their headsets, but the time difference and Macura’s slow internet connection doomed an extended session. (Petrasek pulled up a chair near the main TV in the living room and played Super Smash Bros. Ultimate during Macura’s interview. Sometimes they even sit in that room, attached to different consoles, playing the same game.)

J.P. Macura (left) and roommate Luke Petrasek are big gamers. (Shannon Russell/The Athletic)

The G League comes with some quality perks in addition to housing. Players receive health insurance, continuing education and player-development opportunities. Experts are brought in to talk about things like money management, investing and social media best practices.

There also are marked contrasts from Macura’s college experience. There’s no fleet of student-managers to tend to logistical details, like scampering over with water during practice breaks, and the weight room is less robust than Xavier’s equipment-filled 5,000-square-foot dedicated space. Travel can be a headache. The Swarm flies commercial to most of its games, unlike other G League teams that primarily bus, and has the benefit of a nearby regional airport. Its players are not immune to the frustrations felt by the general public: Cramped seats, delays, layovers, limited food choices. Xavier chartered many of its flights and provided team meals. Macura now receives a $50 per diem on road trips and is responsible for tracking down his own food. It can be hard to eat cleanly, but staying fit and healthy are germane to the job.

“If we go to Whole Foods or the grocery store, we’ll get healthy food. But on the road it’s difficult at times. That’s what’s kind of tough. They’ll have the restaurant at the bar or it’s closed by the time you get in and you’ve got to get something. You’ve got to buy food somehow. Half the time you’re eating at the airport. Kind of just depends. People look at it and think professional basketball is, ‘Oh, it’s great.’ Sometimes it’s tough,” Macura said.

The Swarm’s season-opening back-to-back road games gave Macura another new perspective. The night he made his G League debut – a tremendous Nov. 2 game at Wisconsin in which he amassed 27 points, seven steals and three assists – he had little time to dwell on it. The team awoke at 4 a.m. the next morning to fly to Washington, D.C. ahead of their game versus the Capital City Go-Go. The Swarm arrived in D.C. around 1 p.m. after a two-hour layover and connecting flight.

“We couldn’t get into the hotel rooms until 3 and we had to leave at 4-something for the game. So it’s totally different than college. I wasn’t expecting that,” said Macura, who converted two free throws with 11.2 seconds left to ensure overtime in a 107-105 win over the Go-Go.

Macura and Petrasek made clear that they weren’t complaining when explaining the details of their new lives. There are much worse things they could be doing fresh out of college, and they know it.

“Coming from a mid-major I was pretty excited to play any type of pro basketball,” Petrasek said. “They treat you well and you get all the good benefits. They’re putting us in an apartment for free. And the travel is tough but I was used to doing commercial flights in college. I can’t complain. It’s like I’m getting paid to play basketball for three hours a day. There’s nothing better.”

It’s easy to paint a portrait of “JP the Entertainer” because there’s plenty to work with, but there’s a depth to Macura that doesn’t shine through his feisty on-court persona. His personality is authentic and yet he doesn’t particularly like the limelight it attracts. He does enjoy helping people, and that’s a reason he’s a fixture at Swarm community endeavors. Greensboro Swarm manager of communications Justin Trujillo has worked for four NBA franchises and has never seen a rookie so eager to be involved with team-centric events. Need someone to talk to a team of home-schooled kids? Macura’s your guy. Want someone to read a book to elementary kids? Macura will.

Macura recently texted Trujillo to glean information about a Swarm trip to Guilford Child Development, where the team spent time with underprivileged youth and delighted them by spinning basketballs on their fingers. Trujillo can count on one hand the number of times he’s had a player text him prior to an event. It didn’t matter that the kids had no idea who Macura was. By the end of the engagement, they were smitten.

What J.P. Macura does when no one else is looking – here at a Guilford Child Development visit in Greensboro. (Provided/Greensboro Swarm)

“I just like helping people. People probably don’t think that, but deep down I like to help as many people as I can. If I see a homeless person, I’m going to try to give the money that I have. Just little things like that, because we’ve got it really good,” Macura said.

Macura will make more than $100,000 this season, although he won’t know his total earnings until it’s over. According to the league, two-way players earn $77,250 in 2018-19, prorated for days spent on their G League roster, and the NBA rookie minimum salary, prorated for days spent with their NBA team, for maximum earnings of $385,000. Whether Macura is utilized all 45 days he’s eligible with the Hornets will factor significantly into his pay. Right now he’s on the fringe of the big-time, and he stands to make substantial money by becoming a fixture on an NBA roster where the minimum salary is $838,464.

One of the happiest moments of his life was signing his one-year NBA contract in June. He could have played for the Cavaliers’ G League team, the Canton Charge, but was not offered a two-way contract. Although his agent, Aaron Turner, believed he could have segued more easily into a roster spot with the Cavs, Macura wanted the security inherent with a two-way deal. He liked both franchises and always felt there would be a place for him in the professional game.

That’s why he wasn’t disappointed when he wasn’t selected in the NBA Draft last June. Macura was told there was a slight chance Charlotte would take him with the 55th pick, late in the second round of the two-round draft, but the team picked up Lithuanian forward Arnoldas Kulboka from the Cavs via the Nets and Sixers. Macura didn’t sweat it. He went golfing the next day with his family while Turner explored his options. The Macuras had the agent on speaker phone as they traversed the course.

Now, 16 games into the G League schedule, Macura feels much more settled and a little different in his skin.

“I felt like I had more pressure last year during the season and during college just because I had some uncertainty of what was going to go on after college. But now I feel more comfortable being here, in this spot. I know I’m here,” Macura said.

“Obviously I don’t know what’s going to happen next and all that but I just feel more comfortable. It’s easier to play. I mean, it was really fun playing in college but I feel like it’s more fun, more free. Not as much pressure and stress hanging over your head honestly with classes and all that stuff during college. I don’t have to worry about that. I’m not stress-free, but I feel a lot better. I can wake up, go play basketball, have fun, then come back and do whatever.”

Swarm coach Joe Wolf was hired in September and is still getting to know the personalities on his team. He doesn’t have any good J.P. Macura stories yet. He’s confident he will. Wolf described the 6-foot-5 guard as “high energy” and “fun to be around.”

“His energy is infectious. He comes to practice every day. He works hard. I think that’s where it starts with J.P. Once you get his energy lined up in the right direction, he makes the game a lot of fun not only for himself and his teammates but the crowd too,” Wolf said.

He has seen Macura as an unselfish player and galvanizing force but he’s curious about the origin of his chatter. Is it aimed at irritating an opponent or does it get Macura going? A classic chicken-or-the-egg debate. Wolf knows plenty of guys who have used trash talking as a tool to get themselves amped rather than needling another player but Macura’s tactics… well, maybe they serve dual purposes.

Not really, Macura said.

“The thing is, I’m not even that serious. Well, I’m serious on the court but I’m not serious about what I’m saying. I may look like I’m serious but I’m still messing around on the floor,” Macura said.

He talks to make the game more fun, to entertain himself. Sometimes he can’t even remember what he says, but it’s usually in the vein of, ‘You’re terrible’ and ‘You shouldn’t be here.’ Kind of depends on who he’s addressing, he said. He doesn’t bother listening to his opponents’ replies. If someone yaps back he just ramps up his own chatter, out-trash-talking them with aplomb.

J.P. Macura scored 14 points in a Dec. 8 game against Delaware on the Swarm’s court. (Provided/Greensboro Swarm)

Officials don’t penalize him much for that, but some of Macura’s other actions have been noticed – like when he was ejected from the Nov. 23 home loss to Erie. He garnered two technical fouls within a 14-second span. The game was riddled with techs (five on Greensboro, two on Erie) but Macura led the charge and was booted after scoring 15 points in 11 minutes. His first penalty came with 5:18 left in the third quarter.

“The ref called a foul on me and I yelled, ‘No!’ And I got a technical. I guess because he said I flexed my muscles,” Macura said.

Well, did you?

“Probably. I don’t know,” Macura said.

He was given his second T after smacking the ball with his hand with 5:04 left in the third quarter. The ref said Macura tried to throw the ball at an official.

“I was like, ‘That’s so dumb.’ So then I had to go sit in the locker room and watch on the computer,” Macura said.

Most Swarm games are on Facebook Live and ESPN-plus, which is how Macura’s family watches back home. On that day, Macura hunkered down in front of a screen in the locker room and watched the rest of the victory, not far from where a Michael Jordan quote lords above the lockers: Some people want it to happen, some people wish it would happen, others make it happen. Macura received no reprimand for his ejection. Players simply are told to be smart with their emotions, he said. He’s working on it.

If there’s one player Macura wishes to face in a professional game, it’s his good friend and former teammate Kaiser Gates. The three-year Xavier forward shares Macura’s agent and is on the roster of the Windy City Bulls, the Chicago Bulls’ G League affiliate. Greensboro and Windy City clash Jan. 1 in Illinois.

Macura would have added Trevon Bluiett to that list too, had they not already played. Bluiett and Macura combined for 3,752 career points as Musketeers and finished as the program’s all-time leading scoring duo (among players who competed together four years). They won 104 career games, including seven in the NCAA Tournament, and reunited Dec. 1 as foes. Bluiett played his way into a two-way contract with the New Orleans Pelicans and is currently with the G League team the Westchester Knicks, which downed Macura and the Swarm 110-99 before 1,201 fans at The Fieldhouse. Bluiett scored 18 points. Macura scored 17.

Macura even guarded Bluiett a bit, much to his delight.

“It was just off-the-ball. I didn’t really get a chance to guard him when he was trying to shoot. Well, I actually did once on a sideline out-of-bounds play or something. I had to chase like three screens. But it’s pretty cool to be on the same floor as him, on a different team, because playing with him for four years was obviously awesome. Seeing that we both have two-ways and he’s doing well, shooting the ball and stuff, is pretty awesome,” Macura said.

In typical Macurian fashion, he tugged at Bluiett’s jersey and tried to get a rise out of his old friend. Bluiett just smiled back, Macura said. (“He doesn’t really retaliate. He’s not like that. He doesn’t do the same stuff I do like that. He’s more quiet when he’s on the floor,” Macura said.) Still, the pair created enough of a spectacle that one of the officials told them to knock it off. They tried to explain they were on the same college team but even so, Macura thought the ref might issue technicals.

It was a departure from their prior game together, that gut-wrenching NCAA Tournament loss to Florida State. The top-seeded Musketeers led by 12 points with 10:42 remaining in the second-round game in Nashville, but the hot-handed Seminoles outscored XU 43-36 in the second half behind 50 percent shooting. Although Paul Scruggs pushed the Musketeers ahead on two free throws with 1:49 left, Florida State scored the game’s final seven points and won, 75-70. Macura led all scorers with 17 points. He buried his head in a towel as O’Mara led him off the court.

“We just sucked. (Florida State) had a pretty athletic team. Felt like the coaches did a really good job of scouting them and having a game plan. We just didn’t play well. Me fouling out didn’t help,” Macura said. “For a while, it was tough because I really wanted to go to a Final Four. You always think about what you could have done differently and there are so many things you can think about. But if you think that way, it’s like nobody plays a perfect basketball game. Even if they don’t miss a shot, they’re still far from perfect.”

Greensboro Swarm rookie J.P. Macura faced Sir’Dominic Pointer in Big East play in college, and then in the G League Dec. 15 in Canton. Pointer plays for the Canton Charge. (Allison Farrand/NBAE via Getty Images)

Macura still watches Xavier games when possible and stays close to old buddies like Quentin Goodin, Naji Marshall, Tyrique Jones and coach Travis Steele. He plans to hit Cintas Center after the season to do more catching up. In the meantime, he has his season and they have theirs, and recently he has contended with a shin-on-shin collision that temporarily injured his left leg and an unrelated ankle sprain that afflicted his right leg. He’s playing hard, waiting for that NBA call-up and enjoying the chance to play quality minutes for the Swarm.

Swarm President Steve Swetoha has seen Macura’s contributions on and off the court and is a big fan. Macura charmed some of the higher-ups at a recent Thanksgiving-themed dinner, where he asked with great sincerity what pecan pie was and the difference between light and dark turkey meat.

“He’s just been a really refreshing sort of player to come in and really gets it,” Swetoha said. “Not that these other guys don’t. He just has a different way about him. Always has a smile on his face. Always joking around. Never seems to have a bad day. We’re excited to have him here.”

The Hornets’ system is identical to the Swarm’s so Macura, when he’s called up, won’t have to worry about adjusting his offense or defense. The professional game is less play-oriented than the college game, with more actions and reads than orchestrated routes, and its man-to-man defense is similar to Xavier’s pack-line. Macura said the emphasis is staying in your gap. He heard that for four years as a Musketeer.

After the Swarm’s Wednesday afternoon defeat of the Wisconsin Herd, vestiges of the late afternoon remained and a full evening of free time loomed. The world was Macura’s oyster, his possibilities endless. What did his future hold?

“I don’t know,” Macura said, pondering his options for a couple seconds. “I might go to Best Buy and mess around in there.”

(Top photo: Provided/Greensboro Swarm)