WATCH: Coach Jans Postgame Presser - Oklahoma
January 07, 2026 | Men's Basketball
2025-26 Mississippi State Men's Basketball Postgame Quotes
Mississippi State vs. Oklahoma – January 7, 2026
Mississippi State Head Coach Chris Jans
Q: Talk us through the moment when Josh Hubbard got the and one pullup where you got pretty excited on the bench.
CJ: "I don't know. I just liked how we were defending. I thought we were a little more grittier on the defensive end than maybe we had been in the past. When that starts running through everybody's bloodstream, it just makes you feel good. It makes you feel good that, hey, that they can continue to buy into that, who knows? And it just, I don't know, the emotions got a little bit, not the best of me. I guess I have ton of them, but I don't always show them like that. Every coach coaches the way they coach, but I just felt really good about where we're at in the game and how we'd been defending up until that point."
Q: Talk about the development of the team over the past couple of weeks specifically from the frontcourt players.
CJ: "We've got a really good coaching staff. We've got a veteran staff. We're doing a lot of work you in the summer and in the fall. One of my favorite statements, and it's nothing crazy obviously, but the work always shows up. It may not be timely, right? It may not show up the next game or the next week, but if you stick with it, it will come to the surface. It always does. I've never seen it not."
"So, it's something that we preach to our guys all the time about just sticking with it, and not just here, forever. If you're trying to be a pro for a long, long time, right? The work will get to the surface level, and it just isn't always on time. And so, some of these guys are working really, really hard behind the scenes. Certainly, as a coach, you want to get some positive reinforcement for them individually to make them feel really, really good. That's starting to happen a little bit. Their confidence is getting better."
"Brandon Walker gave us some really good minutes again. Jamar [Jamarion Davis-Fleming] maybe had one of his better games, if not his best. I thought he was very physical. I thought he was really physical around the basket, and he had some putbacks. He had some shields when they started doubling Josh [Hubbard] in the middle of the court. That puts Quincy [Ballard] and Jamar in a pretty tough spot. Here they are, big dudes and not guys that play in the perimeter and handle the ball, and that's what you have to do is get them in the middle of the court. Then, they've got to make decisions, and they were okay at it. I think with experience, they'll get better at it because we're obviously going to see a bunch of teams trapping us. But, no question about it that all those guys that you mentioned are getting better and better."
Q: Playing tough defense and having offense in the paint are things that you want that Mississippi State basketball to be. Talk about your players executing those things tonight.
CJ: "If I had my druthers, that's the way we play [all the time]. You've got to mold your team to the pieces that you have. We just finished, and the game was 101-98 I believe. Then, you play in the same week where it's 72-53. So, you just never know how the game is going to unfold, but there's going to be a lot of clips of that grittiness and that defensive identification that we all talk about a lot and what our staples are. Again, without watching the tape, it's at least one of the better defensive games we've had all year long."
"We've got so much respect for Coach Moser and their team. They're a high potent offensive team. They're field goal percentage wise a top team and their fourth in turnover percentage. That was the thing. We turned them over more than I could've imagined, and we didn't do anything aggressively in terms of pressing and trapping. It was just more being stingy on the ball and being handy all the ball. Having some pride in your craft when you guard the ball. I don't know what they're normal percentage is, but they turned the ball over more than they have. That's a credit to our guys being able to buy in."
Q: What does it feel like when Josh Hubbard is succeeding in a game during winning time? He seemed to be dancing with the ball on one of those late step back baskets.
CJ: "Well, I don't think any of us in this room can really understand what that feels like. Like, looking around, I just don't think any of you guys understand what that feels like either [laughter]. I was a division 3 player, and I was pretty good, but I don't know what that feels like. It's fun to see it, you know. I don't need to keep talking about how hard he works and all that, but why not? Because he deserves it. He's about the right stuff, he puts the time in and he works on his craft."
"He's developing now as a scorer, right? He's always been a scorer, but the levels of scoring. The finished package that he has with the high releases and the floaters and being able to take more quality shots even if he takes a big number of shots like he's done the last couple games."
"Then, if things aren't going his way, he's 1-for 7 from three. Okay, I'm going to get to the line. I'm going to get to the cup and figure out a way to help my team. But, yeah, I would love to know what that feels like. I'm sure it's a heck of a rush."
Q: What has been your thoughts about Jamarion Davis-Fleming the last few months? Did you expect him to excel?
CJ: "Yeah, the answer is emphatic no. If anyone in our coaching staff is going to tell you off the record or on the record that oh yeah, they're lying to you. Okay? He's been a huge shot in the arm for us. He's come a long way. We're going to have stories to tell about him later. When he first got here in June, and where he was at. He got thrown in the deep end. I'm not sure he was quite ready for this level of basketball in terms of what's required and the conditioning and the focus and the weights and the individual intensity."
"But credit to him, he kept coming back. He had some rough days, but he stuck with it. And then, wow, Guy [Chol] gets hurt. He starts figuring out, and he's had some big games for us. I don't know where we'd be at, to be honest with you, with this team if we didn't have him. I mean, he's been a huge shot in the arm. I'm very happy for him. Certainly for us, that he's been able to give us the quality play as a freshman walking in the door."
Mississippi State vs. Oklahoma – January 7, 2026
Mississippi State Head Coach Chris Jans
Q: Talk us through the moment when Josh Hubbard got the and one pullup where you got pretty excited on the bench.
CJ: "I don't know. I just liked how we were defending. I thought we were a little more grittier on the defensive end than maybe we had been in the past. When that starts running through everybody's bloodstream, it just makes you feel good. It makes you feel good that, hey, that they can continue to buy into that, who knows? And it just, I don't know, the emotions got a little bit, not the best of me. I guess I have ton of them, but I don't always show them like that. Every coach coaches the way they coach, but I just felt really good about where we're at in the game and how we'd been defending up until that point."
Q: Talk about the development of the team over the past couple of weeks specifically from the frontcourt players.
CJ: "We've got a really good coaching staff. We've got a veteran staff. We're doing a lot of work you in the summer and in the fall. One of my favorite statements, and it's nothing crazy obviously, but the work always shows up. It may not be timely, right? It may not show up the next game or the next week, but if you stick with it, it will come to the surface. It always does. I've never seen it not."
"So, it's something that we preach to our guys all the time about just sticking with it, and not just here, forever. If you're trying to be a pro for a long, long time, right? The work will get to the surface level, and it just isn't always on time. And so, some of these guys are working really, really hard behind the scenes. Certainly, as a coach, you want to get some positive reinforcement for them individually to make them feel really, really good. That's starting to happen a little bit. Their confidence is getting better."
"Brandon Walker gave us some really good minutes again. Jamar [Jamarion Davis-Fleming] maybe had one of his better games, if not his best. I thought he was very physical. I thought he was really physical around the basket, and he had some putbacks. He had some shields when they started doubling Josh [Hubbard] in the middle of the court. That puts Quincy [Ballard] and Jamar in a pretty tough spot. Here they are, big dudes and not guys that play in the perimeter and handle the ball, and that's what you have to do is get them in the middle of the court. Then, they've got to make decisions, and they were okay at it. I think with experience, they'll get better at it because we're obviously going to see a bunch of teams trapping us. But, no question about it that all those guys that you mentioned are getting better and better."
Q: Playing tough defense and having offense in the paint are things that you want that Mississippi State basketball to be. Talk about your players executing those things tonight.
CJ: "If I had my druthers, that's the way we play [all the time]. You've got to mold your team to the pieces that you have. We just finished, and the game was 101-98 I believe. Then, you play in the same week where it's 72-53. So, you just never know how the game is going to unfold, but there's going to be a lot of clips of that grittiness and that defensive identification that we all talk about a lot and what our staples are. Again, without watching the tape, it's at least one of the better defensive games we've had all year long."
"We've got so much respect for Coach Moser and their team. They're a high potent offensive team. They're field goal percentage wise a top team and their fourth in turnover percentage. That was the thing. We turned them over more than I could've imagined, and we didn't do anything aggressively in terms of pressing and trapping. It was just more being stingy on the ball and being handy all the ball. Having some pride in your craft when you guard the ball. I don't know what they're normal percentage is, but they turned the ball over more than they have. That's a credit to our guys being able to buy in."
Q: What does it feel like when Josh Hubbard is succeeding in a game during winning time? He seemed to be dancing with the ball on one of those late step back baskets.
CJ: "Well, I don't think any of us in this room can really understand what that feels like. Like, looking around, I just don't think any of you guys understand what that feels like either [laughter]. I was a division 3 player, and I was pretty good, but I don't know what that feels like. It's fun to see it, you know. I don't need to keep talking about how hard he works and all that, but why not? Because he deserves it. He's about the right stuff, he puts the time in and he works on his craft."
"He's developing now as a scorer, right? He's always been a scorer, but the levels of scoring. The finished package that he has with the high releases and the floaters and being able to take more quality shots even if he takes a big number of shots like he's done the last couple games."
"Then, if things aren't going his way, he's 1-for 7 from three. Okay, I'm going to get to the line. I'm going to get to the cup and figure out a way to help my team. But, yeah, I would love to know what that feels like. I'm sure it's a heck of a rush."
Q: What has been your thoughts about Jamarion Davis-Fleming the last few months? Did you expect him to excel?
CJ: "Yeah, the answer is emphatic no. If anyone in our coaching staff is going to tell you off the record or on the record that oh yeah, they're lying to you. Okay? He's been a huge shot in the arm for us. He's come a long way. We're going to have stories to tell about him later. When he first got here in June, and where he was at. He got thrown in the deep end. I'm not sure he was quite ready for this level of basketball in terms of what's required and the conditioning and the focus and the weights and the individual intensity."
"But credit to him, he kept coming back. He had some rough days, but he stuck with it. And then, wow, Guy [Chol] gets hurt. He starts figuring out, and he's had some big games for us. I don't know where we'd be at, to be honest with you, with this team if we didn't have him. I mean, he's been a huge shot in the arm. I'm very happy for him. Certainly for us, that he's been able to give us the quality play as a freshman walking in the door."
Players Mentioned
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