WATCH: Coach Jans Media Session

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State men's basketball coach Chris Jans met with the media on Wednesday to preview the 2024-25 season opener against West Georgia on Monday, Nov. 4 at Humphrey Coliseum.

2024-25 Mississippi State Men's Basketball Quotes
Media Session – October 30, 2024

Head Coach Chris Jans
Q: You've had a couple closed door scrimmages. What were some of your takeaways?
CJ: "They were awesome. I love those opportunities. I'm a big fan of the closed-door scrimmages for a variety of reasons. We've played a charity game as well since we've been here, but you can tailor make it obviously working with the other staff on what the program's going to be, if you will, and the segments. You can work on your team going against someone else. We usually play one earlier than most. I found that it's such a marathon season for us, and there's something for them to look forward to. Then, for us, we like to get a glimpse of where we're at, what's lacking, etcetera."

"So, we're just pleased to we were able to have the opportunities. I think it got better the two weeks between the closed-door scrimmages. Now, the goal is to learn and grow from the last one that we just had on Sunday. That was kind of the plan, to give us a good week to get back to the drawing board and strengthen some things up."

Q: When you were constructing the roster for this season, how much intention did you have of building a roster to win games in March, and how have you seen that come together?
CJ: "I wouldn't necessarily say it was just to win games in March. It was to fill holes that we had once the dust settled, and we knew who was coming back. It was pretty obvious that scoring baskets was something that we had in the back of our mind and who we brought in to replace the guys that had left or graduated."

"So, that was a big push for us was to get guys on the perimeter especially that were multidimensional that could score for themselves, that could create for others and take some pressure off of Josh [Hubbard] on the perimeter with how much attention that he deservedly received as the season unfolded last year. As these games unfold, we'll see how it works."

Q: Riley [Kugel] already has the look of an SEC guard coming from Florida. What have you seen from him since practice started?
CJ: "Yeah, I mean everybody can see the talent and the body. He's got two years of SEC experience under his belt, which obviously helps. Hopefully, it'll help him a lot once we get to the game portion of the schedule. You know, he's still learning how we need to play. Every team's different. Every staff's different. You have an idea of what's best for you individually, and sometimes we have an idea what's best for you individually for our team."

"Not specific to Riley, but for all of the new players, that's something that we're continuing to work through to try to get everybody on the same page. I've said this many times that team sports are so unique – basketball, football and all of them. When you have kids that aspire to be professionals and get paid to do this for a living, they have individual goals and rightfully so. But, to get them to all be together and try to reach those individual goals within the concepts of the team is a difficult task at times. That's what we're working on, but Riley has gotten a lot better since the summer. His buy in gets better and better. He's got all the talent in the world, and we're hoping we can get it on the floor."

Q: It seems like a lot of the players can play different positions. Do you think this is a more personal team that you can do mixes and matches with than you've had with other teams in the past?
CJ: "In terms of Mississippi State, yeah, I think we've got the ability to play different lineups. I also believe with the system changes that we put in place starting last year; with being a little more positionless rather than structured with positions and numbers. That allows guys to move around a little bit."

"One thing I always tell them every team that we have is the more positions that you can learn, the better chance for your minutes. If you are pigeon hold using your word in one spot, 40 minutes are available in that spot. Then, you've got how many other guys. If you can play multiple, now you've made yourself more flexible that way. So, that's something that we talk about with our guys all year long in taking extra time to learn different positions. But it's easier now than it was before for most programs because of the positionless, the 5-out, the 4-out ball screens, and the dribble drive because what can you do? For me, it's more about the other end, like who can you guard? That determines what your position is, is what positions you can defend on your floor."

Q: What have you seen from your guys so far in the paint with their post play?
CJ: "They're getting better. It's no secret that Jimmy Bell [Jr.] and Tolu Smith [III] aren't walking through that door anytime soon. They were a big part of our team last year with their size, their physicality and their girth. Certainly, both at different times, especially Tolu with his ability to demand double teams and play through the post. You've already heard this before from me in the offseason that we're going to be different this year in terms of our style of play. It's going to be more of an outside-in focus."

"Not to say that we're not going to throw the ball inside. Some of them are speeding up the learning process better than others. We're gaining confidence in each other about throwing it in there more and having that be a part of our arsenal on offense."

"But the best part about the group of kids you mentioned is that they're awesome kids, and they're coachable. They're eyes are wide open, and they come to practice every day with a work mindset of getting better. And, because of that, they've made strides. I really believe that will continue once they get more game experience under their belt."

Q: The expectations for this team seem to be high. How do you think this team will be able to handle those expectations and maybe pressure too?
CJ: "Yeah, I don't think we feel any pressure at all. At least, I don't. If they do, they haven't voiced it to me. We're not ranked in the top 25. We're not ranked anywhere that I've seen projected a high finish in the SEC. I know the league's going to be really, really good, but I don't think that we've been overhyped at all."

"We've got some unbelievable competition ahead of us, and we're really just focused on getting better, playing as a team, understanding who we are and how we need to play to win. But we haven't talked about any of that type of stuff in our room."

Q: What can you tell us about West Georgia? It's time to start the season, so what do you know about the first game?
CJ: "I don't know much about them yet. I'm not in scout mode. I don't really want to think about getting in scout mode. The walls are closing in with the games coming and the routine coming. Scout mode is a whole different mentality for all of us upstairs."

But, they're [West Georgia] a transitional team. They've been Division II, and they're a new Division I team. So, this will be a great opportunity for them too. This is their first Division I game if I'm not mistaken. So, it'll be historical that way, and we've just got to make sure we're ready to go."

Humphrey Coliseum was one of the nation's most electric environments in 2023-24 and posted the program's fifth highest attendance average for a season. The Bulldogs boasted seven sellouts, the most on record for a season dating back to 2008-09, highlighted by four in a row to conclude the season.

Fans can purchase single game tickets through Mississippi State's Athletic Ticket Office at www.HailState.com/tickets or by calling (662) 325-2600 / (888) 463-2947 (GO DAWGS).

State has secured back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances fueled by a pair of 21-win campaigns with Coach Jans at the helm. The last time the Bulldogs collected back-to-back NCAA Tournament bids was during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons. State will look to secure three straight NCAA Tournament trips for the third time in program history this season.

Last season, the Bulldogs captured three victories over Associated Press Top 10 opponents for the first time since 2001-02. State validated its regular season home win over No. 5 Tennessee by upending the top-seeded Vols at the SEC Tournament in addition to defeating No. 8 Auburn at Humphrey Coliseum.

Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on the men's basketball program. Fans also can follow the program on its official social media accounts by searching 'HailStateMBK' on Facebook, X and Instagram.

Mississippi State University Athletics

WATCH: Coach Jans Media Session

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