WATCH: Coach Jans Media Session
March 06, 2025 | Men's Basketball
2024-25 Mississippi State Men's Basketball
Media Session – March 6, 2025
Head Coach Chris Jans
Q: How have you seen your team bounce back from the tough losses you've had in the past this season, and how do you expect them to bounce back from Tuesday's loss?
CJ: "Well, fortunately or unfortunately depending on your perspective, this team has proven to be able to regroup and bounce back after some tough losses. Going into the SEC schedule in the back of your mind, you knew that everything wasn't going to be clean every game. You're probably not going to go undefeated in league play. You're probably going to have some tough stretches, which we've had before. You're hopeful that each group finds a way to have a toughness about them to move on, learn and grow. But be ready to go like you said, when the ball tips the next game. Hopefully, history will repeat itself in that way."
"In terms of particular this week, we were off yesterday. We still have practice in the afternoon [later today]. So, I don't have a vibe yet of exactly where we're at heading into prep for this game."
Q: How would you describe Dellquan Warren's game, and what do you look for when he's playing?
CJ: "Early on, we were really impressed with Dellquan as an incoming freshman in terms of his motor, his defensive capabilities and his upside. It started there for us. He gave some of our more experienced guards some fits in the summer. Certainly, like every kid that's new but especially a freshman, he had a lot to learn in terms of the level, the standard and the daily system. But we felt like he had a legitimate chance to help us, especially as we got into the SEC schedule, and he had more experience under his belt."
"It's been a mixed bag with him, to be honest. We want him to get minutes. We want him to be able to spell Josh [Hubbard] on the floor, but it kind of depends on how he's doing to be honest with you. If he gets the second run, that's just the blunt and honest answer. Sometimes, his first run isn't what we need or what we'd like. I think he understands that as well, but he's got a bright future. I think eventually going into his second year, these minutes and the exposure of just being apart of it are going to be valuable for him. We love him as a competitor, as an upside kid, as a motor and he's got a big future ahead of him."
Q: It's been an up-and-down-season for Arkansas, what impresses you the most about them?
CJ: "I think the first thing that comes to mind is just their resiliency. They've had some tough injuries earlier in the SEC with [guard] Boogie Fland going down. I'm not sure what his status is for the rest of the season, but [forward Adou] Thiero had developed into a mainstay for them. He hasn't played the last two or three games."
"They've been able to survive a tough start to the SEC schedule. I don't know exactly what their record was [0-5 to start SEC play], but it wasn't exactly what they wanted it to be. In the last x amount of games, they've shown a resiliency amongst themselves to stick together and kind of reinvent themselves so to speak to be in position to be playing in the NCAA tournament. I don't know exactly where they stand, but that's obviously one of everyone's goals when you start the season. So, that sticks out to me is their ability to change. Obviously, they've got some really good players, but they've withstood some tough adversity, and they've handled it really well."
Q: What does a John Calipari team look like to you when you're scouting them?
CJ: "Well, the thing that sticks out to me I guess for this particular team, I haven't really thought about his teams prior to that because I'm only worried to this team. It's just their size, their positional size. They've got big guards. Their guards are physical, they're lengthy and they're obviously skilled with [D.J.] Wagner and [Johnell] Davis. They're downhill guys. You'd better be hooked up, motored up and be ready to guard the ball, because they're going to be in attack mode for the majority of the 40 minutes while you're on the court."
"Then, their length. They're big, and they play a big lineup. They're only playing seven guys right now with Thiero out, but all of them are rangy and long and can get to the rim. Certainly, they've got the size at the rim to be able to protect the basket. They're fourth in KenPom defensively in the SEC. So, they're very good on the defensive end. They're a little like us on the offensive end in terms of how they're better in transition. They don't shoot the three as well as I think either one of us would like, but they're really good at driving the basketball and being athletic and just using their size to their advantage."
Q: You've struggled to put together a long winning streak this season, how do you think you can put together a longer winning streak to stay alive down the stretch especially about to be going into a territory where it's a one-and-done type format?
CJ: "We've got to play better. It just boils down to execution. It boils down to trying to avoid tough stretches. We had two, make that three of them, as I looked back to the Texas game were we had a three or four-minute segments where we just didn't play well. Two in the first half and one in the second. We've just got to be more consistent in our play. We can't let a sloppy turnover, or a missed assignment effect the next play. We've got to regroup quicker and faster. In terms of like winning streaks and things of that nature, I don't know how many games we won in a row in the fall or even how many we won in a row in the SEC. But that's not a big thing that I talk about or concern myself with. We're just trying to prepare for each and every game."
"Certainly now, like you mentioned after Saturday, we're going to be entering hopefully two tournaments where it's win and advance or lose and go home. Everybody plays with a little more desperation when it gets to that point, and that's what I want to do for Saturday. I know Arkansas is going to be in that mind frame. They're going to thinking about what they need to do as their opportunities dwindle. We're in the same boat. We need to improve our resume and improve our vibe before we head to Nashville. It's going to be difficult. We've got to go into a tough environment. I'm sure with Senior Day, and the way they're playing and fighting, I'm sure it will be an incredible crowd. It'll be our first 11 a.m. tip if I'm not mistaken. So, we'll have deal with an early morning for everybody, and we've got to make sure that when they tip that ball at 11 that we're juiced up and ready to play. But we've certainly got plenty to play for come Saturday."
Q: Cameron Matthews left it all on the court on Tuesday. He had 12 points, five rebounds, multiple assists, multiple blocks and made both of his free throws. What did you see from him in his last game at the Hump?
CJ: "You bring up free throws, that's the area that we've done better the last six games. I think we're 77 percent or something like that. Knock on wood, if that could continue when we're in more tight games which I imagine we will be, at some point it could benefit us trying to win one of these games we have coming up."
"Cam, you talk about it, he emptied his tank. If I really look back and go back to watch all of the games, there's not many that he doesn't. There's just not many where he doesn't. We talked in here on Tuesday. For me to go at length and talk about a Cam or anyone else for that matter that is still playing, we'll have time to reflect. I just really don't want to because we're focused on the next game and this team, and we're far from finished. We've got a lot of basketball to be played. To me, there's a finale to those kinds of conversations that happen when the season's complete, and there's no more games to play."
Media Session – March 6, 2025
Head Coach Chris Jans
Q: How have you seen your team bounce back from the tough losses you've had in the past this season, and how do you expect them to bounce back from Tuesday's loss?
CJ: "Well, fortunately or unfortunately depending on your perspective, this team has proven to be able to regroup and bounce back after some tough losses. Going into the SEC schedule in the back of your mind, you knew that everything wasn't going to be clean every game. You're probably not going to go undefeated in league play. You're probably going to have some tough stretches, which we've had before. You're hopeful that each group finds a way to have a toughness about them to move on, learn and grow. But be ready to go like you said, when the ball tips the next game. Hopefully, history will repeat itself in that way."
"In terms of particular this week, we were off yesterday. We still have practice in the afternoon [later today]. So, I don't have a vibe yet of exactly where we're at heading into prep for this game."
Q: How would you describe Dellquan Warren's game, and what do you look for when he's playing?
CJ: "Early on, we were really impressed with Dellquan as an incoming freshman in terms of his motor, his defensive capabilities and his upside. It started there for us. He gave some of our more experienced guards some fits in the summer. Certainly, like every kid that's new but especially a freshman, he had a lot to learn in terms of the level, the standard and the daily system. But we felt like he had a legitimate chance to help us, especially as we got into the SEC schedule, and he had more experience under his belt."
"It's been a mixed bag with him, to be honest. We want him to get minutes. We want him to be able to spell Josh [Hubbard] on the floor, but it kind of depends on how he's doing to be honest with you. If he gets the second run, that's just the blunt and honest answer. Sometimes, his first run isn't what we need or what we'd like. I think he understands that as well, but he's got a bright future. I think eventually going into his second year, these minutes and the exposure of just being apart of it are going to be valuable for him. We love him as a competitor, as an upside kid, as a motor and he's got a big future ahead of him."
Q: It's been an up-and-down-season for Arkansas, what impresses you the most about them?
CJ: "I think the first thing that comes to mind is just their resiliency. They've had some tough injuries earlier in the SEC with [guard] Boogie Fland going down. I'm not sure what his status is for the rest of the season, but [forward Adou] Thiero had developed into a mainstay for them. He hasn't played the last two or three games."
"They've been able to survive a tough start to the SEC schedule. I don't know exactly what their record was [0-5 to start SEC play], but it wasn't exactly what they wanted it to be. In the last x amount of games, they've shown a resiliency amongst themselves to stick together and kind of reinvent themselves so to speak to be in position to be playing in the NCAA tournament. I don't know exactly where they stand, but that's obviously one of everyone's goals when you start the season. So, that sticks out to me is their ability to change. Obviously, they've got some really good players, but they've withstood some tough adversity, and they've handled it really well."
Q: What does a John Calipari team look like to you when you're scouting them?
CJ: "Well, the thing that sticks out to me I guess for this particular team, I haven't really thought about his teams prior to that because I'm only worried to this team. It's just their size, their positional size. They've got big guards. Their guards are physical, they're lengthy and they're obviously skilled with [D.J.] Wagner and [Johnell] Davis. They're downhill guys. You'd better be hooked up, motored up and be ready to guard the ball, because they're going to be in attack mode for the majority of the 40 minutes while you're on the court."
"Then, their length. They're big, and they play a big lineup. They're only playing seven guys right now with Thiero out, but all of them are rangy and long and can get to the rim. Certainly, they've got the size at the rim to be able to protect the basket. They're fourth in KenPom defensively in the SEC. So, they're very good on the defensive end. They're a little like us on the offensive end in terms of how they're better in transition. They don't shoot the three as well as I think either one of us would like, but they're really good at driving the basketball and being athletic and just using their size to their advantage."
Q: You've struggled to put together a long winning streak this season, how do you think you can put together a longer winning streak to stay alive down the stretch especially about to be going into a territory where it's a one-and-done type format?
CJ: "We've got to play better. It just boils down to execution. It boils down to trying to avoid tough stretches. We had two, make that three of them, as I looked back to the Texas game were we had a three or four-minute segments where we just didn't play well. Two in the first half and one in the second. We've just got to be more consistent in our play. We can't let a sloppy turnover, or a missed assignment effect the next play. We've got to regroup quicker and faster. In terms of like winning streaks and things of that nature, I don't know how many games we won in a row in the fall or even how many we won in a row in the SEC. But that's not a big thing that I talk about or concern myself with. We're just trying to prepare for each and every game."
"Certainly now, like you mentioned after Saturday, we're going to be entering hopefully two tournaments where it's win and advance or lose and go home. Everybody plays with a little more desperation when it gets to that point, and that's what I want to do for Saturday. I know Arkansas is going to be in that mind frame. They're going to thinking about what they need to do as their opportunities dwindle. We're in the same boat. We need to improve our resume and improve our vibe before we head to Nashville. It's going to be difficult. We've got to go into a tough environment. I'm sure with Senior Day, and the way they're playing and fighting, I'm sure it will be an incredible crowd. It'll be our first 11 a.m. tip if I'm not mistaken. So, we'll have deal with an early morning for everybody, and we've got to make sure that when they tip that ball at 11 that we're juiced up and ready to play. But we've certainly got plenty to play for come Saturday."
Q: Cameron Matthews left it all on the court on Tuesday. He had 12 points, five rebounds, multiple assists, multiple blocks and made both of his free throws. What did you see from him in his last game at the Hump?
CJ: "You bring up free throws, that's the area that we've done better the last six games. I think we're 77 percent or something like that. Knock on wood, if that could continue when we're in more tight games which I imagine we will be, at some point it could benefit us trying to win one of these games we have coming up."
"Cam, you talk about it, he emptied his tank. If I really look back and go back to watch all of the games, there's not many that he doesn't. There's just not many where he doesn't. We talked in here on Tuesday. For me to go at length and talk about a Cam or anyone else for that matter that is still playing, we'll have time to reflect. I just really don't want to because we're focused on the next game and this team, and we're far from finished. We've got a lot of basketball to be played. To me, there's a finale to those kinds of conversations that happen when the season's complete, and there's no more games to play."
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's BasketballJosh 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