WATCH: Coach Jans Media Session - SEC Tipoff '26

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Mississippi State men's basketball coach Chris Jans spoke at SEC Tipoff '26 on Wednesday inside the Grand Bohemian Hotel.

Mississippi State Men's Basketball Quotes
October 15, 2025 – SEC Tipoff – Birmingham, Alabama

Head Coach Chris Jans
Opening Statement
CJ: "Thank you. As always, excited to be here. Fourth year standing up on the podium. I was talking to [SEC Men's Basketball Associate Commissioner] Garth Glissman, waiting to be introduced. I remember when I first got here, my wife and kids, anyone else real close to me was glued to the SEC Network to watch this presentation or this talk, if you will. Now, I guarantee they're not watching today. They're doing their things. It's old hat for them now. We're grizzled veterans of this league, if you will. Other than my mother. She's been texting me all morning asking me what time I was going on, eastern time, central time, et cetera."

"In terms of our team, like all the other coaches are talking about, we've got 15 players. It's the smallest roster I've ever had as a head coach at any level. It's new territory for me that way. I've been accustomed to having a lot of bodies in practice. It's caused us to change how we organize our practices and certainly how we run our practices. We have four guys who were in uniform last year. One starter, two in the rotation. That means we have 11 new players. Of those 11, four of them are high school players and six of them were transfers. Then, we have an international player, as well."

"We're trying to find our identity, to be honest with you. I remember a few weeks ago struggling internally about who our team is going to be and how we're practicing, et cetera. I've got to believe now, looking back, talking to other coaches, that it's a similar feeling that's going on across the country. You're just not quite there yet. Your personality hasn't quite formed yet as a basketball team because you just haven't had the necessary time and reps and adversity that you're comfortable with having so many other players back from years past. We're excited about this season."

Q: A lot of times, coaches with junior college backgrounds are more used to frenetic roster building. What are your thoughts on when the transfer portal opens?
CJ: "Yeah, I adhere with why you complain, nobody pays attention when you do it anyway. But it's certainly been a hot topic for years now, since the portal has become a part of our landscape. For me personally, I've been championing the weekend after the [NCAA Tournament] Sweet 16. I think that's the perfect time for it to open, where there are only four teams that are left playing. Boo-hoo to those four, they're playing in a Final Four. They've got to be able to get in the portal a little bit but still prepare for their team. I'm sure they would all take the inconvenience. I believe when it started two years ago, before the NCAA tournament, that was a travesty, in my opinion. I get that there are a lot of talking points that come with it. I can't imagine a better sweet spot than the Monday after the Sweet 16 weekend."

"Even for the coaches and the staffs and their families, when you lose the last game of the year which all but one of us do that are in the NCAA Tournament, you don't get to take a breath at all. You don't even get to internalize what happened. It's very emotional. You don't have a choice. You'd better jump in the portal with both feet, both hands and every part of your body to be able to do what you've got to do because it's very time sensitive. I think it gives the players time to decide if they want to go in or not. It gives the coaches time to re-recruit, if you will, some of the players that are on the fence."

"I know there will be people who will say, 'Well, we need to know, right? It's going to give time for coaches to get behind the scenes and do what they do. Let's be honest, that's going on anyway (smiling). I tell our coaches all the time that everybody is in the portal. That has to be your mentality regardless if they're officially paperwork-wise in the portal."

Q: There was some question regarding Josh Hubbard coming back for this season. What are you looking for in him to take that next step to help your team get over the hump?
CJ: "There may be some uncertainty at a national level, but I didn't have any uncertainty with it because I'm with him daily. I've gotten to know his family very well, what kind of people they are and what they stand for."

"I understand the narrative. Anyone that good, that young, there's going to be talk about it. Again, what I said earlier, I look at returnees as everybody's in the portal. I think it speaks volumes to who he is, what kind of person he is, how strongly he believes in our program and our community and this University [at Mississippi State]."

"I never get tired of talking about Josh. I had someone come to talk to me after practice the other day who comes around once a year. He asked me, 'Is he really as good a kid as he seems to be?' I told him that he's better. A lot of coaches talk about kids being better people than they are players. It's a cliché, but that's Josh. That's his identity. That's who he is. That's a heck of a statement because he's a hell of a player. To say that he's a better person just speaks kudos to the quality human being that he is."

Q: In this day in college sports, continuity seems rare. How important has Josh been this offseason in integrating the new players?
CJ: "He's been crucial. He took a leadership role last year as a sophomore, along with Cameron Matthews. He was definitely the little brother of the duo. He did it more silently than Cam did. He's got all of the qualities you would want if you're looking at it from a coach's perspective in terms of ability. He's got respect that way. He's as hard a worker as we have in the program, which gives him a little more confidence in allowing him to say things to his teammates."

"I really don't like the kids who start taking over leadership roles, and they're not doing the right thing every day. That's counterintuitive. I get frustrated when I see that happening. With Josh, no worries at all. He's stepped up a level in terms of using his voice. That was the thing I said last year, Josh needs to find his voice in our program internally. He's done that and more. He doesn't just lead by example now; he uses his voice. He's working harder than he ever has. He's practicing more consistently, especially on the defensive end, than he ever has. I think once we start playing these games, people will watch him play and see he's gotten even better. He's continuing to strive to be a two-way player and improve his game all around. We're seeing it develop in front of us every day."

Q: What have you seen from your new players in the front court so far in practice?
CJ: "Well, people talk about 'The Dentist' that I didn't coin myself. I had nothing to do with that name [that was given to me by CBS' Jon Rothstein]. We were known for being a tough-nosed team, blue-collar."

"Last year, I wouldn't have described our team like that. Our analytics flipped a little bit. We had a very good offensive year historically for Mississippi State and for my teams. We were ranked in the top 25 efficiency-wise, and we scored the second-most points in the history of Mississippi State. We had a lot of other highs for our program."

"Defensively, we took a couple of steps back. I knew we would, I just didn't want to take two steps back; we took more than we wanted. We had that in mind when we jumped in the portal this year and tried to get, like you said, some length and more defensive-minded guys. We'll see how that plays out, but that's definitely something we're trying to get back to."

Mississippi State University Athletics

WATCH: Coach Jans Media Session - SEC Tipoff '26

Players Mentioned

Josh Hubbard

Cameron Matthews

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