Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
WATCH: Coach Jans Media Session
December 26, 2022 | Men's Basketball
Head coach Chris Jans met with the media leading into Monday's practice to preview Wednesday's SEC opener against No. 8 Alabama. .
2022-23 Mississippi State Men's Basketball Quotes
December 26th, 2022 – Media Session
Head Coach Chris Jans
Q: How do you think the team's attitude and work ethic has been since the Drake loss?
CJ: "Unfortunately down the stretch, internally, I knew that we needed a break. We've been together for a few months now. We work pretty hard. They've had to work extremely hard, and I think we were a little mentally and physically tired. Combine that with four games in 10 days – that's typical of stretches in college basketball. We had a couple of injuries that didn't help with our depth, and we just needed a break. I could feel it, we were leaking oil, if you will. In some of our games, we weren't playing our best. We were hoping that we could get to the break and stay unscathed. Obviously, we weren't able to do that."
"But we've reconvened, they were in great spirits last night. I saw a few of them this morning already, and we're about to get on the floor here shortly. I think our legs are back underneath us, and I think they got a mental break that we all needed. We got a longer break than normal with the last game being a little bit earlier than what I'm used to. Fortunately, I thought we really needed a longer break. We'll see, it's kind of a renewed feeling around here with the SEC upon us, and we all know what that brings."
Q: How would you assess D.J. Jeffries' game this season with him playing a lot of minutes?
CJ: "Like you said, he's played a lot of minutes. I don't know off the top of my head how that compares to his career in other places before I arrived, but I can't imagine he's playing quite as many minutes. But he may be, I don't know. He certainly has played a lot for us and for me personally."
"It just shows his versatility, the ability to play multiple positions and how much we rely on him on both ends of the floor. He definitely is one of the guys that was tired. I don't know if he'd admit it or not, but I know he was tired down the stretch in the second half of some games. The energy level wasn't not where it needed to be. A lot of that, I'm to blame."
"I told the team after the [Drake] game – the first thing I told them was that I've got to play more people. How we play, and the standard that we're trying to set is high on the court, in practice and in the game. Because of that, we normally play a lot of guys. I didn't play as many guys down the stretch definitely in certain positions, and D.J. was one of them. I've got to trust more guys and keep our guys fresh. I've got to remember that as we head into SEC play with all the type of teams and players we're about to face."
Q: What have you seen from Alabama on film?
CJ: "It wasn't a lot of fun to watch them over break. It took away some of my Christmas spirit at times. They've got so many positives. They've got so much length, so much skill and depth. They're well-coached, they're confident and they're battle tested. They've played Michigan State, North Carolina, at Houston and Memphis. It just goes on-and-on. They've been exposed to the best and the brightest coaches, players and schemes."
"What we throw at them won't make them miss a beat more than likely in terms of this team and what they've faced even though they're a younger basketball team with some of their main guys being new to college basketball. We're going to have our hands full, and we're trying to put a gameplan together as best as we can."
"Obviously, we're hopeful that our fans will come out and help us. We really need them. I know we're not in session with school being out, but we need the community to come out and hopefully get in the seats and help us. We're going to need us a good crowd against them."
Q: How do you get ramped back up from break when you have such a short period of time before your next game?
CJ: "It's what you do. The guys were in good spirits. We've got older guys, and I think they love being home … They were home for a good stretch. I think they're ready to get back to work, be back with their guys and the camaraderie of being on a team. They know we're 11-1 and about to face unbelievable competition. What we're trying to sell them on is that these are just great opportunities. We play in a league with all of these opportunities to play against the best of the best. Let's try to get ready and compete."
2022-23 Mississippi State Men's Basketball Quotes
December 26th, 2022 – Media Session
Head Coach Chris Jans
Q: How do you think the team's attitude and work ethic has been since the Drake loss?
CJ: "Unfortunately down the stretch, internally, I knew that we needed a break. We've been together for a few months now. We work pretty hard. They've had to work extremely hard, and I think we were a little mentally and physically tired. Combine that with four games in 10 days – that's typical of stretches in college basketball. We had a couple of injuries that didn't help with our depth, and we just needed a break. I could feel it, we were leaking oil, if you will. In some of our games, we weren't playing our best. We were hoping that we could get to the break and stay unscathed. Obviously, we weren't able to do that."
"But we've reconvened, they were in great spirits last night. I saw a few of them this morning already, and we're about to get on the floor here shortly. I think our legs are back underneath us, and I think they got a mental break that we all needed. We got a longer break than normal with the last game being a little bit earlier than what I'm used to. Fortunately, I thought we really needed a longer break. We'll see, it's kind of a renewed feeling around here with the SEC upon us, and we all know what that brings."
Q: How would you assess D.J. Jeffries' game this season with him playing a lot of minutes?
CJ: "Like you said, he's played a lot of minutes. I don't know off the top of my head how that compares to his career in other places before I arrived, but I can't imagine he's playing quite as many minutes. But he may be, I don't know. He certainly has played a lot for us and for me personally."
"It just shows his versatility, the ability to play multiple positions and how much we rely on him on both ends of the floor. He definitely is one of the guys that was tired. I don't know if he'd admit it or not, but I know he was tired down the stretch in the second half of some games. The energy level wasn't not where it needed to be. A lot of that, I'm to blame."
"I told the team after the [Drake] game – the first thing I told them was that I've got to play more people. How we play, and the standard that we're trying to set is high on the court, in practice and in the game. Because of that, we normally play a lot of guys. I didn't play as many guys down the stretch definitely in certain positions, and D.J. was one of them. I've got to trust more guys and keep our guys fresh. I've got to remember that as we head into SEC play with all the type of teams and players we're about to face."
Q: What have you seen from Alabama on film?
CJ: "It wasn't a lot of fun to watch them over break. It took away some of my Christmas spirit at times. They've got so many positives. They've got so much length, so much skill and depth. They're well-coached, they're confident and they're battle tested. They've played Michigan State, North Carolina, at Houston and Memphis. It just goes on-and-on. They've been exposed to the best and the brightest coaches, players and schemes."
"What we throw at them won't make them miss a beat more than likely in terms of this team and what they've faced even though they're a younger basketball team with some of their main guys being new to college basketball. We're going to have our hands full, and we're trying to put a gameplan together as best as we can."
"Obviously, we're hopeful that our fans will come out and help us. We really need them. I know we're not in session with school being out, but we need the community to come out and hopefully get in the seats and help us. We're going to need us a good crowd against them."
Q: How do you get ramped back up from break when you have such a short period of time before your next game?
CJ: "It's what you do. The guys were in good spirits. We've got older guys, and I think they love being home … They were home for a good stretch. I think they're ready to get back to work, be back with their guys and the camaraderie of being on a team. They know we're 11-1 and about to face unbelievable competition. What we're trying to sell them on is that these are just great opportunities. We play in a league with all of these opportunities to play against the best of the best. Let's try to get ready and compete."
Players Mentioned
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Thursday, March 12
MEN'S BASKETBALL | Chris Jans Media Session - 3/9/26
Monday, March 09
MEN'S BASKETBALL | Josh Hubbard & Ja'Borri McGhee Postgame Press Conference vs. Georgia - 3/7/26
Sunday, March 08