Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
WATCH: Coach Jans Media Session
February 13, 2023 | Men's Basketball
STARKVILLE - Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans met with the media leading into Monday's practice to preview Wednesday's matchup with Kentucky.
2022-23 Mississippi State Men's Basketball Quotes
February 13, 2023 – Media Session
Head Coach Chris Jans
Q: Coach, I'll take you back to last month where you talked about how you were kind of hesitant to put Shak [Shakeel Moore] into the starting lineup. What are your thoughts on the bench production lately and the confidence level you have in that group recently?
CJ: "Yeah, never professed to be the smartest guy in the world. In hindsight, maybe we should've done it earlier, but you can't predict the future like that. One thing that I thought was really good was that everyone that played Saturday [at Arkansas] scored. That isn't always the case with us. We had multiple contributions with four guys in double figures, which is a lot for us. It's the reason we were able to score 70 points on the road like that."
"A common theme with our team has been different nights, different people having bigger games or above their average if you will. That continues to be somewhat of a trend for us. We don't necessarily have to rely on one guy carrying the brunt of our scoring which is hard to prepare for. It's nice, at the same time, you'd certainly like to have a guy or two that's getting 15 or 20 on most nights to be able to rely on. But that's not the case with us this year. I think it's pretty obvious that a lot of our guys are gaining confidence and feeling good about where they're at. That certainly helps their play."
Q: Obviously, a buzz around here about the game on Wednesday. How do you balance the excitement I'm sure your players are feeling and the emotions of the game heading into a big game against Kentucky?
CJ: "Like I've said earlier, I'm not worried about that. Again, these kids have proven to me that they're working. They get it. They understand that that's going to be there Wednesday night, and we need to do what we need to do leading up to the game to make sure we're mentally and physically prepared. I've had questions like that earlier in the season about different games. I've always felt like they've been business like in their approach and understanding the importance of the preparation and the film and on the floor. That's just a positive. To know that we're going to have an electric crowd, and our kids obviously will know that. To me, it just makes more sense to really lock in even more to make sure we're ready to go."
Q: How rewarding has it been for you to see this team's hard work paying off with this five-game win streak and national spotlight as well.
CJ: "It feels good. I think every coach in America would tell you that it's one of the most rewarding things is when your team continues to work even when things aren't going your way. They have the right mental approach every single day. I've complimented this group numerous times throughout the year of their approach. I don't know if satisfying is the right word, it definitely has a feel-good part of it."
"I think the guys feel good. I don't know if I said this in media or not, I told them that leading up to the game [at Arkansas] which is really not the norm for me. Three or four hours before the game to tell the team how good I felt about where we were at. You could feel the energy in the room uplift a little bit. I said, 'Who knows what the outcome of the night will be, but I feel really good about where you're at. How the group has come together, and the vibe we have. I felt that because of the work you deserve to win it. Now, will you? Who knows how the game will unfold?' That was a constant theme throughout the majority of our timeouts. That was kind of our rallying cry, the belief and confidence level that we have in each other."
"We felt like we were the better team. It's easy to say that, but you have to get it out on the court. That was a constant reminder in the majority of our timeouts."
Q: Saturday, Dashawn Davis had that scoring mentality early on. Is that something that clicks with him, or is it just a matter of the flow of the game for him?
CJ: "I use this a lot with my staff. It's not a video game. You can't joystick the game as much as we'd like too sometimes. We're not inside their head. We try to influence them to receive positive outcomes individually and collectively. I couldn't tell you, that would be a question for Rams [Dashawn Davis]."
"I know we're best when he's aggressive. It doesn't necessarily have to be to score, just to get in the paint. He does it his way. It's a combination of athleticism, strength, determination and experience. When he gets in there and especially in the last few games, it's usually a good thing for us. Early in the season, he was going in there and jumping in the air trying to find someone to pass to. The old school thought is don't jump to make a pass, right? I'm not a believer in that. What I tell our guys is if jumping is required to make the pass, then you got to do it because of angles, spacing, etcetera. You have to stay away from jumping in the lane and trying to find someone to pass to … Stay with your pivot [foot], and someone will eventually come open."
"That's the one thing for us that we've paid attention to is how much better he's got at that part of his game. It's coming in there, and he's really good at finding people at the last minute. He throws a two, three, four-foot pass to a rim runner or a cutter. It's improved his game. He had 17 against Arkansas. He didn't get to play a lot of the first half because of having two fouls. We debated whether to put him back in the game, but obviously the score was in our favor. We felt like there was no reason to risk that if we continue to have a lead."
Q: Can you take us through that locker room celebration after the game?
CJ: "I think our kids celebrate appropriately to be honest. It's not every game we win that it's like that. Certainly, that was a significant road win for this team. Our coach's locker room was adjacent to theirs. To be able to sit in there with the coaches for a while and listen to them before we go in there, it's rewarding. It's fun. You work so hard. I think you need to celebrate like that with your team because of what goes in to playing a 40-minute game."
"I talked to our players individually at times. Most people have no idea what it takes to go through the process of getting to the point where the ball is tipped. Our kids continue to get better at it and continue to understand the importance of it. One of my best friends who's not in coaching told me that its cringe worthy for him at times to watch me in there [dancing]. That wasn't a lot of fun to hear, but it is what it is."
Q: What are your thoughts on Kentucky and Coach Calipari?
CJ: "It's Kentucky. Certainly, everyone in college basketball understands what that means in terms of their program and their success. I know they're going to be super hungry. I know they're going to be coming in here with the attitude of it being a must win. They've got to have it, and that will be talked about plenty in our locker room. I know Coach [Calipari] a little bit. I don't know him all that well. I know his staff, most of them pretty well … These games, obviously, they're so used to it. It brings out the best in the opposing crowds. I'm sure they're used to it especially the new players now that they've gone through the majority of a season. It won't phase them walking into a sold-out arena."
2022-23 Mississippi State Men's Basketball Quotes
February 13, 2023 – Media Session
Head Coach Chris Jans
Q: Coach, I'll take you back to last month where you talked about how you were kind of hesitant to put Shak [Shakeel Moore] into the starting lineup. What are your thoughts on the bench production lately and the confidence level you have in that group recently?
CJ: "Yeah, never professed to be the smartest guy in the world. In hindsight, maybe we should've done it earlier, but you can't predict the future like that. One thing that I thought was really good was that everyone that played Saturday [at Arkansas] scored. That isn't always the case with us. We had multiple contributions with four guys in double figures, which is a lot for us. It's the reason we were able to score 70 points on the road like that."
"A common theme with our team has been different nights, different people having bigger games or above their average if you will. That continues to be somewhat of a trend for us. We don't necessarily have to rely on one guy carrying the brunt of our scoring which is hard to prepare for. It's nice, at the same time, you'd certainly like to have a guy or two that's getting 15 or 20 on most nights to be able to rely on. But that's not the case with us this year. I think it's pretty obvious that a lot of our guys are gaining confidence and feeling good about where they're at. That certainly helps their play."
Q: Obviously, a buzz around here about the game on Wednesday. How do you balance the excitement I'm sure your players are feeling and the emotions of the game heading into a big game against Kentucky?
CJ: "Like I've said earlier, I'm not worried about that. Again, these kids have proven to me that they're working. They get it. They understand that that's going to be there Wednesday night, and we need to do what we need to do leading up to the game to make sure we're mentally and physically prepared. I've had questions like that earlier in the season about different games. I've always felt like they've been business like in their approach and understanding the importance of the preparation and the film and on the floor. That's just a positive. To know that we're going to have an electric crowd, and our kids obviously will know that. To me, it just makes more sense to really lock in even more to make sure we're ready to go."
Q: How rewarding has it been for you to see this team's hard work paying off with this five-game win streak and national spotlight as well.
CJ: "It feels good. I think every coach in America would tell you that it's one of the most rewarding things is when your team continues to work even when things aren't going your way. They have the right mental approach every single day. I've complimented this group numerous times throughout the year of their approach. I don't know if satisfying is the right word, it definitely has a feel-good part of it."
"I think the guys feel good. I don't know if I said this in media or not, I told them that leading up to the game [at Arkansas] which is really not the norm for me. Three or four hours before the game to tell the team how good I felt about where we were at. You could feel the energy in the room uplift a little bit. I said, 'Who knows what the outcome of the night will be, but I feel really good about where you're at. How the group has come together, and the vibe we have. I felt that because of the work you deserve to win it. Now, will you? Who knows how the game will unfold?' That was a constant theme throughout the majority of our timeouts. That was kind of our rallying cry, the belief and confidence level that we have in each other."
"We felt like we were the better team. It's easy to say that, but you have to get it out on the court. That was a constant reminder in the majority of our timeouts."
Q: Saturday, Dashawn Davis had that scoring mentality early on. Is that something that clicks with him, or is it just a matter of the flow of the game for him?
CJ: "I use this a lot with my staff. It's not a video game. You can't joystick the game as much as we'd like too sometimes. We're not inside their head. We try to influence them to receive positive outcomes individually and collectively. I couldn't tell you, that would be a question for Rams [Dashawn Davis]."
"I know we're best when he's aggressive. It doesn't necessarily have to be to score, just to get in the paint. He does it his way. It's a combination of athleticism, strength, determination and experience. When he gets in there and especially in the last few games, it's usually a good thing for us. Early in the season, he was going in there and jumping in the air trying to find someone to pass to. The old school thought is don't jump to make a pass, right? I'm not a believer in that. What I tell our guys is if jumping is required to make the pass, then you got to do it because of angles, spacing, etcetera. You have to stay away from jumping in the lane and trying to find someone to pass to … Stay with your pivot [foot], and someone will eventually come open."
"That's the one thing for us that we've paid attention to is how much better he's got at that part of his game. It's coming in there, and he's really good at finding people at the last minute. He throws a two, three, four-foot pass to a rim runner or a cutter. It's improved his game. He had 17 against Arkansas. He didn't get to play a lot of the first half because of having two fouls. We debated whether to put him back in the game, but obviously the score was in our favor. We felt like there was no reason to risk that if we continue to have a lead."
Q: Can you take us through that locker room celebration after the game?
CJ: "I think our kids celebrate appropriately to be honest. It's not every game we win that it's like that. Certainly, that was a significant road win for this team. Our coach's locker room was adjacent to theirs. To be able to sit in there with the coaches for a while and listen to them before we go in there, it's rewarding. It's fun. You work so hard. I think you need to celebrate like that with your team because of what goes in to playing a 40-minute game."
"I talked to our players individually at times. Most people have no idea what it takes to go through the process of getting to the point where the ball is tipped. Our kids continue to get better at it and continue to understand the importance of it. One of my best friends who's not in coaching told me that its cringe worthy for him at times to watch me in there [dancing]. That wasn't a lot of fun to hear, but it is what it is."
Q: What are your thoughts on Kentucky and Coach Calipari?
CJ: "It's Kentucky. Certainly, everyone in college basketball understands what that means in terms of their program and their success. I know they're going to be super hungry. I know they're going to be coming in here with the attitude of it being a must win. They've got to have it, and that will be talked about plenty in our locker room. I know Coach [Calipari] a little bit. I don't know him all that well. I know his staff, most of them pretty well … These games, obviously, they're so used to it. It brings out the best in the opposing crowds. I'm sure they're used to it especially the new players now that they've gone through the majority of a season. It won't phase them walking into a sold-out arena."
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's BasketballJosh Hubbard - "I'm Back"
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