No Silver Spoons, Just Hard Work
April 08, 2022 | Men's Basketball, Joel Coleman
Mississippi State men’s basketball has a staff that’s had to earn everything.
STARKVILLE – It was about a week after Chris Jans had become Mississippi State's new head men's basketball coach when he was on the phone with David Anwar.
Anwar, who'd been an assistant under Jans at New Mexico State the last five seasons – along with James Miller, who'd assisted Jans the last four years – had learned they were joining Jans in Starkville.
"We were on the phone and said, 'The band is back together,'" Anwar recalled.
Chris Jans. James Miller. David Anwar. We know the band's members, but this group has no catchy name. Perhaps Workers and Winners? Because that's all this group has ever known, and they plan to bring the same blue-collar style and success to MSU.
Now one could argue terms like 'blue-collar' get overplayed when discussing coaches' work ethics. After all, everyone on a coaching staff at this high of a level of basketball has to work hard, right?
Yes, but in this instance, it's perhaps never been more accurate. And it's true from the top down.
Consider Jans. He's more popularly known for all the victories he's racked up as a head coach at Bowling Green and New Mexico State, but before all that, he was laying the foundation for his career in the junior college ranks, as well as stops at NAIA and Division III programs.
Before taking over at MSU, Jans spent years climbing the coaching ladder. He quite literally worked his way to the top.
It's no surprise he's surrounded himself with men who have done the same.
There's Miller, who spent more than half a decade coaching in junior college. Miller now gets to coach on his biggest stage yet but underlying it all is the same mindset. He hasn't forgotten where he came from.
"I've always worn every single different hat you can wear – from mopping the floor, to being an associate head coach and everything in between," Miller said.
It's the same for Anwar. The path to Mississippi State has been anything but a straight shot.
The man they call Philly Dave first served as a prep school coach in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. It was in those moments when the seeds were being planted to grow Anwar into the coach he now is.
"You're a jack of all trades," Anwar said of coaching at lower levels. "When you're a junior college coach or a prep school coach, you do everything. You don't just recruit. You don't just [do one thing]. You learn how to cook. As a prep school coach, you cook meals for guys. As a junior college coach, you're doing all the different things to make the program successful. I think it's valued when you get to [higher levels] because you just know how to do it…I think it really helps to go that route."
Jans, Miller and Anwar are three different men with three different journeys, but it's undeniable their routes to the present have had commonalities.
None of the three have ever been granted anything. Each had to claw their way to where they ultimately wanted to be and did so in settings outside the spotlight where the only way to get noticed is to work and win.
It's precisely what they all did and now they're here and grateful for it. Their past experiences have served to draw them all closer.
"There's definitely a similar mindset as far as having an appreciation for where we are at the present time," Miller said. "None of us have famous parents. None of us have the silver spoon or [have had] things handed to us. We've all worked to get to this point. We've all developed relationships and coached good players and developed them. So, we're all like-minded for sure in the approach that, hey, this is a dream come true for all of us."
Jans, Miller and Anwar all are driven to make sure the dream doesn't just stop with getting to coach at a place like Mississippi State. Oh no. Don't think that for a second. In fact, given their past, it seems a safe bet they'll work harder than ever.
There's no way a guy like Miller would ever take his foot off the gas pedal.
"He's the total package," Anwar says of Miller. "Some assistants are recruiters. Some assistants are Xs and Os guys. He can do it all. People don't know that, but he is. He's a great recruiter [and a] very, very good basketball coach."
You better believe Philly Dave won't be settling either.
"Coach Anwar is a tireless worker armed with a resume of production," Jans said. "He is an expectational relationship builder with student-athletes and anyone he meets."
And obviously there's Jans, who sets the tone for this grind-everything-out staff.
"When you walk on the floor with Chris Jans, you have a chance to win," Anwar said. "He just puts you in a position and the players in a position to believe and he gives his players confidence. He gives his coaches confidence. He just knows how to win. And when you walk on the floor, it doesn't matter who you're playing…we're expecting to win. He believes he's going to win, and that trickles down."
When you put in the work like these guys do, you can attack each game with lofty goals. Jans, Miller and Anwar don't have to be reminded that great effort leads to success. They're living proof of it. And Mississippi State basketball looks to be the beneficiary of a group of coaches who knows no other way than to go all out, all the time.
"We're looking around and I'm looking at Coach and he's just laughing, and I know, in his mind, he's just like, 'I can't believe I did this,'" Miller said. "I know he's confident [so] I don't want that to sound corny, but at the same time, for guys like us that have worked our way up through the profession, these situations come along once in a lifetime, and we appreciate it. We understand and know it. That's why we're so driven to be successful here because we want to repay people for giving us the opportunities."
