WATCH: Coach Jans Media Session
January 31, 2025 | Men's Basketball
STARKVILLE - Head coach Chris Jans met with the media on Friday to preview Saturday's matchup versus No. 20 Missouri.
2024-25 Mississippi State Men's Basketball
Media Session – January 31, 2025
Head Coach Chris Jans
Q: You talked about how your locker room being down after the loss on Wednesday, how has your team responded in practice over the last couple of days?
CJ: "You've heard me say that before: kids recover quicker than the coaches. Everywhere I've ever been, that's just the case. That's a good thing. People talk about short memories in our sport and in a lot of sports for that matter. You need it during the game. You make a bad play or miss a shot to get to the next play. That's a universal phrase that coaches use across all sports, and we're no different that way."
"I expected them when we met yesterday to be in decent spirits, and they were. Even in the locker room, Cam Matthews was talking about sticking together while I was sharing my comments about getting ready for Saturday and what a great opportunity and challenge it was going to be. He was sharing the message that I would want him to share. They were good. We certainly talked about the Alabama game and did what we needed to do to learn from that particular game. Then, how we can use it going forward. Obviously, all our focus is on Missouri."
Q: Missouri has had one of the most impressive turnarounds from last year to this year. What stands out to you from watching their film?
CJ: "Coach Gates has done a tremendous job since he's arrived. I'm sure they were very motivated and hungry once the season was complete last year to get it right with the recruiting and certainly with their play. So far, it's been impressive. They've got a gaudy record. They're 5-2 in the SEC on steroids. Their only losses are at Auburn and at Texas. They're in a great position. I'm sure they're playing with a ton of confidence."
"What sticks out to me from the video is how hard they play. They play so hard and have that confidence because they play so many guys. They play 10 guys on a consistent basis for double figure minutes. You don't see that often anymore. Then, they've got three [guys]more that play eight minutes, five minutes, three minutes. They're games where I wouldn't be surprised if they play 11,12, 13 guys. They're shuffle them in and out. I'm sure a part of their mantra is, 'Don't hold anything back.' They've got subs coming in. So, you know you're not going to play 35 minutes. It's a great luxury to have, especially given the style that they play with. They're as good as anybody in the league at turning you over in a league has got a bunch of teams that do it well. They're just relentless with their denial of passes and with their contesting of ball reversals. When you catch it, they don't give you any room. They're constantly trying to just frustrate you, speed you up and get you to throw errant passes. They tip balls. Your ability to pass and catch the ball against them is tested."
"You hear me talk about how we're best when we ignite our offense from our defense, and that's what they're best at, too. They start turning you over and get out in numbers and score in transition. They just pressure you. If you're taking the ball out of bounds, baseline, side out, it doesn't matter. They're always messing with you. They're always trying to find a way to turn you over."
"Offensively, they've got great confidence. They're shooting the three at a 38-39 percent clip in the SEC. They've got one of the best three-point shooters in the country, Caleb Grill. He's in one of those zones that we all see shooters get in. He's been defended some players where it didn't matter and that you couldn't defend any better. He still made the shot. Guarding the three-point line will be big key for us."
Q: How can you improve on late-game situations, and how do you prepare for situations like that?
CJ: "First of all, I think experience is the best teacher. You're having those types of situations at this point when you're 21 games into the season plus others. They're just great teaching moments. We're trying to break it down to them what we did well and what we didn't so we can learn next time we're in those situations. At this point, to try and replicate all the scenarios that could happen in the last minute or two of a game is hard to do. You're not practicing as long as you would in the fall. We're talking about it and showing them what we need to be doing. It's what we we're continuing to try to do. In the end, it's not a video game. The clock's moving, the players are moving and we've got to make a play."
"The last play of the game, I didn't see it live because of the angle. I wanted to tie it up obviously. But, if you watch their bench as the clock's going down, they're all going like this [signaling for a foul]. I wanted to avoid a foul. I wanted to get as clean of a look off as possible. I felt like our percentage to tie the game was better with a three-point look than with a one free throw and a tip-out. That percentage isn't as high as a clean look."
"So, for whatever reason, they didn't get the signal in quick enough. I thought we were going to have a chance to get a shot off, but the handoff didn't go as smoothly as we wanted. They made some tough shots, they really did. They made some tough shots down the stretch. We're going to be in other close games. We've won some, and we've lost some. You want to win every one of them, but hopefully, that experience will help us next time."
Q: What have you seen in the locker room in terms of leadership from guys like Cam Matthews, KeShawn Murphy and Josh Hubbard?
CJ: "If they weren't hurting, I would've been surprised. I love this team. I've told them that time and time again, I believe in this team. I have confidence in this team. I know how they work, I know what they're made of. I feel and see and sense their camaraderie, and their belief in one another. It's a fun team to be around. They've got a competitive mindset. Certainly, they get tired of me because we're always wanting more. There's always more because we can get better at this or that or the other. As a player, it can be a drag at times. We try to get them to understand that it's for your best interest. Short term, long term, certainly for us collectively. They've just got a good vibe amongst them."
"Talking about leadership, I just talked about Cam speaking up in the locker room when it was a pretty somber situation. That's what makes coming to practice every day giving me a bounce in my step knowing what I'm going to walk into. I want them knowing to have the right frame of mind and to be better to meet the next challenge."
Q: It seemed like Josh Hubbard came back from that injury and was playing mad. How did you see that game unfold for him?
CJ: "I don't know if mad was the right word. He just had a great energy to him. I thought he moved like he had an extra bounce to his step. He had done that in practice two days leading up to this game. His jump shot had a little more pop in it maybe than in the previous couple of weeks. Certainly, when he went down, that was a rough moment. RJ [Melendez] had just gone down, and then he went down. I was thinking, 'Okay, this isn't really happening.' When you get that word from the trainer after they do what they've got to do. They evaluated them and gave the nod that they were available, which was a pretty comforting feeling. Like I said after the game, I'm disappointed that his individual night was in a loss. If you win that game, that's talked about in some circles for a long time. I know how badly Josh wants to win. Hopefully, this won't be the first time. We're going to have plenty more opportunities for him and for us."
2024-25 Mississippi State Men's Basketball
Media Session – January 31, 2025
Head Coach Chris Jans
Q: You talked about how your locker room being down after the loss on Wednesday, how has your team responded in practice over the last couple of days?
CJ: "You've heard me say that before: kids recover quicker than the coaches. Everywhere I've ever been, that's just the case. That's a good thing. People talk about short memories in our sport and in a lot of sports for that matter. You need it during the game. You make a bad play or miss a shot to get to the next play. That's a universal phrase that coaches use across all sports, and we're no different that way."
"I expected them when we met yesterday to be in decent spirits, and they were. Even in the locker room, Cam Matthews was talking about sticking together while I was sharing my comments about getting ready for Saturday and what a great opportunity and challenge it was going to be. He was sharing the message that I would want him to share. They were good. We certainly talked about the Alabama game and did what we needed to do to learn from that particular game. Then, how we can use it going forward. Obviously, all our focus is on Missouri."
Q: Missouri has had one of the most impressive turnarounds from last year to this year. What stands out to you from watching their film?
CJ: "Coach Gates has done a tremendous job since he's arrived. I'm sure they were very motivated and hungry once the season was complete last year to get it right with the recruiting and certainly with their play. So far, it's been impressive. They've got a gaudy record. They're 5-2 in the SEC on steroids. Their only losses are at Auburn and at Texas. They're in a great position. I'm sure they're playing with a ton of confidence."
"What sticks out to me from the video is how hard they play. They play so hard and have that confidence because they play so many guys. They play 10 guys on a consistent basis for double figure minutes. You don't see that often anymore. Then, they've got three [guys]more that play eight minutes, five minutes, three minutes. They're games where I wouldn't be surprised if they play 11,12, 13 guys. They're shuffle them in and out. I'm sure a part of their mantra is, 'Don't hold anything back.' They've got subs coming in. So, you know you're not going to play 35 minutes. It's a great luxury to have, especially given the style that they play with. They're as good as anybody in the league at turning you over in a league has got a bunch of teams that do it well. They're just relentless with their denial of passes and with their contesting of ball reversals. When you catch it, they don't give you any room. They're constantly trying to just frustrate you, speed you up and get you to throw errant passes. They tip balls. Your ability to pass and catch the ball against them is tested."
"You hear me talk about how we're best when we ignite our offense from our defense, and that's what they're best at, too. They start turning you over and get out in numbers and score in transition. They just pressure you. If you're taking the ball out of bounds, baseline, side out, it doesn't matter. They're always messing with you. They're always trying to find a way to turn you over."
"Offensively, they've got great confidence. They're shooting the three at a 38-39 percent clip in the SEC. They've got one of the best three-point shooters in the country, Caleb Grill. He's in one of those zones that we all see shooters get in. He's been defended some players where it didn't matter and that you couldn't defend any better. He still made the shot. Guarding the three-point line will be big key for us."
Q: How can you improve on late-game situations, and how do you prepare for situations like that?
CJ: "First of all, I think experience is the best teacher. You're having those types of situations at this point when you're 21 games into the season plus others. They're just great teaching moments. We're trying to break it down to them what we did well and what we didn't so we can learn next time we're in those situations. At this point, to try and replicate all the scenarios that could happen in the last minute or two of a game is hard to do. You're not practicing as long as you would in the fall. We're talking about it and showing them what we need to be doing. It's what we we're continuing to try to do. In the end, it's not a video game. The clock's moving, the players are moving and we've got to make a play."
"The last play of the game, I didn't see it live because of the angle. I wanted to tie it up obviously. But, if you watch their bench as the clock's going down, they're all going like this [signaling for a foul]. I wanted to avoid a foul. I wanted to get as clean of a look off as possible. I felt like our percentage to tie the game was better with a three-point look than with a one free throw and a tip-out. That percentage isn't as high as a clean look."
"So, for whatever reason, they didn't get the signal in quick enough. I thought we were going to have a chance to get a shot off, but the handoff didn't go as smoothly as we wanted. They made some tough shots, they really did. They made some tough shots down the stretch. We're going to be in other close games. We've won some, and we've lost some. You want to win every one of them, but hopefully, that experience will help us next time."
Q: What have you seen in the locker room in terms of leadership from guys like Cam Matthews, KeShawn Murphy and Josh Hubbard?
CJ: "If they weren't hurting, I would've been surprised. I love this team. I've told them that time and time again, I believe in this team. I have confidence in this team. I know how they work, I know what they're made of. I feel and see and sense their camaraderie, and their belief in one another. It's a fun team to be around. They've got a competitive mindset. Certainly, they get tired of me because we're always wanting more. There's always more because we can get better at this or that or the other. As a player, it can be a drag at times. We try to get them to understand that it's for your best interest. Short term, long term, certainly for us collectively. They've just got a good vibe amongst them."
"Talking about leadership, I just talked about Cam speaking up in the locker room when it was a pretty somber situation. That's what makes coming to practice every day giving me a bounce in my step knowing what I'm going to walk into. I want them knowing to have the right frame of mind and to be better to meet the next challenge."
Q: It seemed like Josh Hubbard came back from that injury and was playing mad. How did you see that game unfold for him?
CJ: "I don't know if mad was the right word. He just had a great energy to him. I thought he moved like he had an extra bounce to his step. He had done that in practice two days leading up to this game. His jump shot had a little more pop in it maybe than in the previous couple of weeks. Certainly, when he went down, that was a rough moment. RJ [Melendez] had just gone down, and then he went down. I was thinking, 'Okay, this isn't really happening.' When you get that word from the trainer after they do what they've got to do. They evaluated them and gave the nod that they were available, which was a pretty comforting feeling. Like I said after the game, I'm disappointed that his individual night was in a loss. If you win that game, that's talked about in some circles for a long time. I know how badly Josh wants to win. Hopefully, this won't be the first time. We're going to have plenty more opportunities for him and for us."
Josh Hubbard - "I'm Back"
Friday, April 17
MEN'S BASKETBALL | Chris Jans & Players SEC Tournament Postgame vs. Auburn - 3/11/26
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