WATCH: Coach Jans Media Session

STARKVILLE - Head coach Chris Jans spoke with the media at his weekly media session on Monday.

2023-24 Mississippi State Men's Basketball Quotes
Media Session – February 5, 2024

Head Coach Chris Jans
Q: When you look at the defensive numbers after the first half of the SEC schedule playing against some explosive offenses compared to last year, is there anything you can point to that the defense isn't as consistent as it was last year?
CJ: "Yeah, that's a fair question and a statement that I would concur with. For whatever reason, our defense isn't as stout as it was last year in SEC play, but it all can't be put on the defense. People talk about our KenPom numbers being much higher offensively than a year ago, and they are. But in SEC play, sometimes things we do on offense affects our defense because of being put in some bad situations with all the turnovers that we're committing. It's probably the hardest thing to guard is turnovers – shot selection, bad shots, early shots that aren't in rhythm and open turn into fastbreak opportunities for our opponents."

"Certainly, at the end of the day, I don't care how we win. I've said that before, I just want to win. But if you want to break it down by numbers, what we've relied on to win some games has been on that end of the floor. Certainly, with the output that some of the teams have had against us, we haven't been able to rely on that as much. I do believe that it's a big picture issue as much as it is just the defensive end."

"I will say that this isn't an excuse, this is just facts. The new charge rules have affected a lot of team's defenses depending on how they're put together and what's important. We've tried since they made the decision to have a different interpretation of charge/block, and what constitutes a charge and what doesn't. Just the fear of driving in there and knowing they can't get more than likely a charge call changes a lot of early help and forcing the ball to the baseline. Not just the charges, but the thought of 'Hey, I'd better be careful,' is thrown out the window. Like a lot of other teams that play a similar style, it's hurt them as well."

Q: Is there any update to D.J. Jeffries' status?
CJ: "Yes, unfortunately, he has a knee issue, and he'll be out for a while. I'm not exactly sure, but it won't be long term. He definitely will be out though."

Q: With turnovers and free throw shooting, is there a silver lining to say that a lot of the issues are self-inflicted and can be fixed as the season goes on?
CJ: "We talked a lot about this, last year, especially. Our margin for error isn't as big as some of the other teams in our league. I felt like going into the season that through recruiting and retention we had raised our margin of error a little bit, like we had built up some margin for error with the pieces that we had in place. It usually doesn't, but it hasn't unfolded quite like we anticipated. Therefore, because of that, we're back to a point where we just don't have a big margin for error in terms of mistakes, in terms of how we've got to play to be successful especially against the better teams in the SEC. It's something that I think all of us have to get our head around. We've got to stay 'in character', if you will, to how we need to play in order to be successful."

Q: After the game, you mentioned the team and the leaders could regain their confidence and bounce back from these recent tough losses. Could you talk about that?
CJ: "Yeah, there wasn't a ton of discussion in the locker room [after the Alabama game]. The older I get, the more I understand that more often than not, that's not the time to try to fix the problem. Everyone is obviously disappointed with the result, there wasn't a lot said."
"We try to keep our emotions in check and sleep on it, watch the video and make sure that we're setting the correct tone for any type of growth that can be gained when you lose like that. Try to catapult ourselves to bigger and better. Thar's where we're at today. Yesterday was a day off for them. I know some of them got in here to take care of their bodies and work on their shots, free throws, etcetera, which is usually part of the course throughout the year."

"I said that because I've only been in this league and this job for two years, but the experience that I had last year was one where we found ourselves in a similar situation. I remember being in the locker room many days prior to practice and after practice telling our guys that we had a chance to turn this around. We were right there to be able to win some of the games that maybe we had lost in the first half of the conference season."

"Like I said Saturday night [after the game], I don't have a crystal ball. I can't predict the future. Just because we had a turnaround last year doesn't necessarily mean we're going to have one this year. I've got to make sure they understand that it doesn't work that way. It's important that everybody in our program doesn't rely on 'Hey, we've been there, done that,' other than the fact that we do have that experience and that we understand what that feels like. Now, how it unfolds is going to be how it unfolds. We're going to have to do the things that are necessary to put ourselves in position to win games. The experience of having done that certainly can't be a bad thing."

Q: With D.J. Jeffries having been the tone setter on the defensive end of the floor, is there a guy you can see or would like to see step into that role with him being sidelined?
CJ: "Our options are dwindling. We've been playing eight guys for the most part. So, if you take him out of the equation, that's seven. D.J.'s been a starter all year long, and he's basically been a starter for two years. He's arguably our best defender depending on who you ask and depending on how you define individual best defender. So, those are some big shoes to fill with a lot of minutes that we're going to have to spread around. There's no one that I'm saying needs to replace him [Jeffries]."

"Obviously, Shawn Jones [Jr.] is a candidate to soak up a lot of those minutes because of the position he plays and what he brings to the table. Individually, I thought he showed a lot of fight on Saturday and played a lot of minutes, especially in the second half. So, he's a guy that we'll certainly try to lean on to soak up some of those minutes, and his productivity on both ends of the basketball."

"We just all need to play better. I think if we look at it as if, 'Hey, I've got to do my part. If I can play four to six percent better,' and we all have that attitude that would be a big positive if you add it all up. That's probably going to be part of the message going forward is that we don't need one guy to go from playing at a C to be playing at an A+. We need everybody to just pull their weight, if you will. Everybody leave anything that they got individually to the side and be about this team and what we have remaining, because that's what it's going to take. They say it takes what it takes. Right now, with our margin of error slipping I guess rapidly with the news of D.J., we're going to have to rally around the team and everybody trying to play a little bit better."

Q: When you look at Georgia who's another team that had a pretty challenging schedule in the first half, what sticks out to you? What do you see from them this year?
CJ: "Yeah, they just shoot the ball so well. That's what jumps out to me the most is they've got great spacing. One of the reasons they have great spacing is they almost always have four guys on the court that are proficient three-point shooters. So, for one, that creates great spacing. Then, with the way their staff has coached them on spacing, you add the fact that they're in the right spots puts you in some tough spots."
"They've got some guards out front that can put their head down, bully drive you and create help situations. They've got a couple five men around the basket that know their role and can set ball screens and roll. They can sit in and score one-on-one around the basket. I've just really been impressed with their ability on offense to put the defense in tough spots and really make you think of how you're going to game plan against them."

"On the other end , they're well-schooled [defensively]. They don't make mistakes. They know who they are. They're in the right position, and they're a good basketball team. They're a good basketball team. This league is obviously is hard to win in, and we're going to have our hands full on Wednesday."

Mississippi State University Athletics

WATCH: Coach Jans Media Session

Players Mentioned

D.J. Jeffries

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