WATCH: Coach Jans Postgame Presser - No. 7 Texas A&M
February 18, 2025 | Men's Basketball
Mississippi State Head Coach Chris Jans
Q: How different was your team's intensity in the second half compared to the Florida game?
CJ: "Obviously, you guys know they [the players] don't listen to me that often, but it was the last thing we talked about before we went out. I don't want anyone in the locker room talking about what we should have done, and I want you to leave everything you've got on the court. We've been in these situations. We've got to come out of the gate and play even harder, because they're going to. My big theme with them the last minute before we left to go get warmed up was, I don't want that locker room to be like that, where we are talking about what we should have done next time. Like you said, they had a great intensity. It started on the defensive end. Certainly, when you start making shots, it builds everyone's confidence."
Q: Coach, this is the second game now that Claudell Harris Jr. has come off the bench and all the sudden you've provided a spark in the second half with his three-point shooting. What did you see from him, and did he look like he had a little pep in his step?
CJ: "Yeah, again you know me, I don't like to talk for them [the players]. But, first of all, he handled it well with nothing. He was like, 'Whatever we've got to do, Coach.' You know, he's about winning. We just felt that it was time to just tweak it a bit and change up some of the guys that were playing together more minutes because of how you start and how you sub."
"He works so hard, and he's such a good guy. He's as energized as we have in terms of shootarounds, in terms of stuff they're not excited about doing, walkthrough stuff or half speed stuff. He's always leading the charge in terms of his energy, his talk and his focus. Our staff appreciates him so much. You root for all your guys, but when you get a one-year guy and he's totally in the culture the way he has, you want him to do well. He's had some frustrating performances because he's known as a scorer-slash-shooter. He went through some games where he wasn't shooting at the level that he used to, but he stuck with it. This is a great example of who he is on our team."
"One of the first opportunities he had to shoot the ball in the first half, he turned it down. As he was coming back on defense the next time, it was a dead ball, I heard him say it and I looked and there were three guys, one's standing up barking at him to shoot the darn basketball. I'm like, 'Okay, shoot it Claudell. Keep shooting the ball'. I joined the party, but that tells you a lot – the respect he has from his teammates that early in the game for them to encourage him to not turn down shots."
Q: What did you do with your guys to keep setting the tone and keep playing the way you wanted to play?
CJ: "Well, like you said, Texas A&M is really good at dragging you into the ring. They're a physical basketball team. They're number one in the country in offensive rebounds. They're number one in the SEC in offensive rebounding. They're number one in defensive rebounding, and they're number one in an unbelievably athletic league in forcing turnovers."
"We obviously knew exactly how they were going to play, and you don't have a choice at times. We talked a lot about that, and we were going to have to get in the trenches. In the second half, we talked about the trenches going deeper. We've got to keep diving in there because that's the way they're going to pull us down. You've got to expect it at times, and you've got to do your best to match what they're doing, certainly trying to exceed it."
"They won the rebounding battle, and to be honest with you, deep down I didn't know if we could win the rebounding battle. I was just hoping to neutralize it because of what they do, that's what they do. I thought in the second half, especially, we won the turnover battle. To me, that was the story of the game, how many times we turned them over and how many times we turned defensive into offense. Certainly, when you start making three's, that's the separation in the game."
Q: It was the kind of night where y'all brought some grit between forcing turnovers and playing great defense in the second half. What did you think of your team on that side?
CJ: "I thought three games in a row we've done that – at Georgia, at Ole Miss and certainly tonight. When we were in the locker room, celebrating with the music going, I heard Shawn Jones say it two or three times, 'That's Bulldog Basketball.' I heard him say it, just kind of to whomever. When I got a chance when they quieted down, I said, 'Shawn, tell them what you said,' and he said it. I told him that's right. That's who we are, you all knew that before you got here that needs to be part of our DNA. It's been part of our DNA sometimes, but it hasn't been on a consistent basis for us. Hopefully, now that it's had some success. They've seen how it can work for this particular team, we will have complete buy-in."
Q: How different was your team's intensity in the second half compared to the Florida game?
CJ: "Obviously, you guys know they [the players] don't listen to me that often, but it was the last thing we talked about before we went out. I don't want anyone in the locker room talking about what we should have done, and I want you to leave everything you've got on the court. We've been in these situations. We've got to come out of the gate and play even harder, because they're going to. My big theme with them the last minute before we left to go get warmed up was, I don't want that locker room to be like that, where we are talking about what we should have done next time. Like you said, they had a great intensity. It started on the defensive end. Certainly, when you start making shots, it builds everyone's confidence."
Q: Coach, this is the second game now that Claudell Harris Jr. has come off the bench and all the sudden you've provided a spark in the second half with his three-point shooting. What did you see from him, and did he look like he had a little pep in his step?
CJ: "Yeah, again you know me, I don't like to talk for them [the players]. But, first of all, he handled it well with nothing. He was like, 'Whatever we've got to do, Coach.' You know, he's about winning. We just felt that it was time to just tweak it a bit and change up some of the guys that were playing together more minutes because of how you start and how you sub."
"He works so hard, and he's such a good guy. He's as energized as we have in terms of shootarounds, in terms of stuff they're not excited about doing, walkthrough stuff or half speed stuff. He's always leading the charge in terms of his energy, his talk and his focus. Our staff appreciates him so much. You root for all your guys, but when you get a one-year guy and he's totally in the culture the way he has, you want him to do well. He's had some frustrating performances because he's known as a scorer-slash-shooter. He went through some games where he wasn't shooting at the level that he used to, but he stuck with it. This is a great example of who he is on our team."
"One of the first opportunities he had to shoot the ball in the first half, he turned it down. As he was coming back on defense the next time, it was a dead ball, I heard him say it and I looked and there were three guys, one's standing up barking at him to shoot the darn basketball. I'm like, 'Okay, shoot it Claudell. Keep shooting the ball'. I joined the party, but that tells you a lot – the respect he has from his teammates that early in the game for them to encourage him to not turn down shots."
Q: What did you do with your guys to keep setting the tone and keep playing the way you wanted to play?
CJ: "Well, like you said, Texas A&M is really good at dragging you into the ring. They're a physical basketball team. They're number one in the country in offensive rebounds. They're number one in the SEC in offensive rebounding. They're number one in defensive rebounding, and they're number one in an unbelievably athletic league in forcing turnovers."
"We obviously knew exactly how they were going to play, and you don't have a choice at times. We talked a lot about that, and we were going to have to get in the trenches. In the second half, we talked about the trenches going deeper. We've got to keep diving in there because that's the way they're going to pull us down. You've got to expect it at times, and you've got to do your best to match what they're doing, certainly trying to exceed it."
"They won the rebounding battle, and to be honest with you, deep down I didn't know if we could win the rebounding battle. I was just hoping to neutralize it because of what they do, that's what they do. I thought in the second half, especially, we won the turnover battle. To me, that was the story of the game, how many times we turned them over and how many times we turned defensive into offense. Certainly, when you start making three's, that's the separation in the game."
Q: It was the kind of night where y'all brought some grit between forcing turnovers and playing great defense in the second half. What did you think of your team on that side?
CJ: "I thought three games in a row we've done that – at Georgia, at Ole Miss and certainly tonight. When we were in the locker room, celebrating with the music going, I heard Shawn Jones say it two or three times, 'That's Bulldog Basketball.' I heard him say it, just kind of to whomever. When I got a chance when they quieted down, I said, 'Shawn, tell them what you said,' and he said it. I told him that's right. That's who we are, you all knew that before you got here that needs to be part of our DNA. It's been part of our DNA sometimes, but it hasn't been on a consistent basis for us. Hopefully, now that it's had some success. They've seen how it can work for this particular team, we will have complete buy-in."
Josh Hubbard - "I'm Back"
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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
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