WATCH: Coach Jans Media Session
July 14, 2026 | Men's Basketball
STARKVILLE - Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans met with the media on Tuesday afternoon before one of the team's summer workouts.
2026-27 Mississippi State Men's Basketball Quotes
Media Session – July 14, 2026
Head Coach Chris Jans
Q: Looking back, how do you reflect on last season? What are some lessons learned?
CJ: "Hopefully, we've learned a lot. I guess we'll see when this season unfolds how much we've learned, but it definitely was a humbling experience."
"If I'm being truthful, I hadn't been through that as a head coach, like you mentioned. Certainly, didn't prepare for it. We did the best that we could every single day. We tried to prepare our team and put them in the best position possible. Obviously, with the results, it wasn't what anyone wanted or expected. It starts with me. I know our fan base didn't like it either, nor did our players or anyone invested in this program."
"At this point and I've mentioned it before, I think it's important as a program – and it starts with me. We tell our players all the time, and I'm sure you've heard this from other sports. You can't let a bad play lead to another one. You sulk about it, you pout about it. Then, you make another mistake [if you don't move on]. I think for me and our staff, we can't let that affect the next season in a bigger picture. Again, it starts with me, and I'm the biggest culprit. I'm the one that probably brings it up more than anybody does. I've got to have some self-discipline and move on which I think I have for the most part."
"As we sit here on July 14th, you don't really have a choice. The season gets over, and it's retention slash portal mode. You don't have a lot of time. Even the teams that end the way they want it to end, they don't have a choice either. They jump right back on the horse and get ready for the following year. It was a heck of an experience and not a good one. At this point, all we can do is grow from it, learn from it and do the things necessary to ensure that it never happens again."
Q: How did you want to build the roster during this offseason?
CJ: "Yeah, we had a lot to accomplish. Get better and be better – all of it to be honest with you. I certainly wanted some more guys that could score the basketball up and down the roster. We needed more positional size defensively. We were poor on both sides of the ball. It wasn't one glaring issue in my opinion. Having a defensive disposition walking in the door, we needed more of that from individuals to try to put them in the pot and make it come out the way we want to. We just had a lot of holes to fill, and we'll see in the next few months how we did."
Q: How would you compare the team to last year's team at this point in the summer?
CJ: "I'm careful because I've been doing this long enough to understand what they look like in June or July doesn't necessarily mean what they're going to look like in November or March, because it's just different. We haven't had any adversity yet. How are they going to react when they've had some adversity? How is it going to be when everyone's excited to be back and all that good stuff all over the country? When playing time starts getting doled out, how's that going to go? What's our mood going to be like then? What's our culture, and what's our relationships going to be then?"
"But, having said that, I love walking in the gym every day. The energy and the vibe – I don't care if it's a two-man shooting group or a 15-person practice. If you walk into our gym right now, there's an energy pumping through it, and it feels good. I can hear it from my office before I get down there some days. It's not just the players. It starts with the staff, the managers, the GAs and the coaches. There's just a renewed sense of energy. It's renewed for me because I've been here. Some of these guys, that's all they know. They just got here. To me, it sticks out more than anything."
"Again, we haven't had a lot of adversity yet, but I just love the quality of person that we have in the Maroon and White every day right now. They've been off the charts. They've been on time every day, they're ready to go and they've had a great approach. It's going to get a lot harder as we get deeper into the preparation time for the games. The early returns, the mood and the vibe, it's really, really good right now."
Q: Can you talk about the new assistant coaches?
CJ: "Yeah, we've had more change in this offseason than we've had since I've arrived. These [coaching] staff's have mushroomed to be so big compared to 10, 20, 30 years ago. So, it was bound to happen. In the past when we've had three or four [assistant coaches], the continuity was probably a little bit easier that way."
"I've loved the staffs that we've had. They've been really, really good. And the early returns, I really love this one too. We've got some new guys, a couple of guys that I'm more familiar with. Shunn Buchanan, he played for me [at New Mexico State]. Then, he was a GA here at Mississippi State for our first two years. He went back to New Mexico State coincidently for a couple years [as an assistant coach] and got on the floor. Now, he's back on a completely different role. He's been awesome. He has got a chance to be a superstar in this business, and I'm excited for him. Our relationship obviously has changed over time, which is really fun for me. I'm assuming it is for him. His relatability to the players, his understanding of me and how we're trying to do things is off the chart because of obvious reasons. He's hit the ground running and is doing really, really well."
"Corey Barker is someone that our players aren't familiar with, but I am. We've worked together; this will be our third time. He was with me at Bowling Green and at New Mexico State. Obviously, I've got a huge belief in him in what he brings to a program. Just being on the road, I can't tell you how many people came up to me and patted us on the back for adding him to the mix. People in the [coaching] industry that have influence were so excited that Corey is with us. He's so connected across the country. His reputation of being a big-time relationship builder with both your own players and certainly potential incoming players, it's off the chart. He's a positive guy. He's always has a positive energy to him, and he's helping that way."
"Then, someone that I wasn't that familiar with and didn't know him at all that I got to know throughout the process, was Alex Barlow. I'm not afraid to hire people that I'm not familiar with. I've done it plenty of times in the past. There are times when I like to do that because I think it gives you a whole different approach. It gives you new ideas and lets you be outside the box. Just a different mindset, and he has a unique background. It's something that I wanted. I didn't want a normal college coach's resume. I wanted someone that had coached in professional basketball somewhere. Obviously, his resume with eight years in the Celtics organization and working for one of the best organizations in the NBA. He played for Brad Stevens [at Butler]. Then, Brad Stevens left after his freshman year [to go to Boston]. Then, he hired him after he graduated from Butler. That speaks volumes for how someone like that looks at him and views him. I actually had a chance to talk to him [Stevens] on the phone during the process, and I just saw him this past weekend as well. He's [Barlow] a bright young guy that has great ideas, and he's going to work with us more on the offensive end."
Q: How has Josh Hubbard's leadership been so far, and how has he welcomed the new players?
CJ: "Yeah, he's been awesome. He's turned the page. I talked earlier about getting to the next play. We've got to get to the next season, and we can't linger too much. I'm the biggest culprit because that isn't going to help us. We've got to learn and grow and help each other that way. His energy, his approach and his leadership have been at an elite level thus far."
"He's excited about his new teammates. I think he's excited like I mentioned earlier about the vibe and the mood inside our walls thus far. Again, with a little caveat of that we haven't had a lot of adversity yet. I think we'll create some maybe down the final stretches of July because we'll have more team practices. I'm in the midst of and our staff is as well, a heavy recruiting period right now … The last couple of weeks [in July], we'll have more of a rhythm and more of a practice mentality than just an individual improvement. Then, we'll probably test them to see how they handle some harder situations with some longer practices and a tougher environment, if you will."
"But Josh, speaking just to him, he's a veteran. He's been there and done that. He has seen unfortunately, the good, bad and the ugly now in his career. I know he likes the good, like everybody does more than the other parts. I think he's going to do everything in his power to make sure that it doesn't happen again either."
2026-27 Mississippi State Men's Basketball Quotes
Media Session – July 14, 2026
Head Coach Chris Jans
Q: Looking back, how do you reflect on last season? What are some lessons learned?
CJ: "Hopefully, we've learned a lot. I guess we'll see when this season unfolds how much we've learned, but it definitely was a humbling experience."
"If I'm being truthful, I hadn't been through that as a head coach, like you mentioned. Certainly, didn't prepare for it. We did the best that we could every single day. We tried to prepare our team and put them in the best position possible. Obviously, with the results, it wasn't what anyone wanted or expected. It starts with me. I know our fan base didn't like it either, nor did our players or anyone invested in this program."
"At this point and I've mentioned it before, I think it's important as a program – and it starts with me. We tell our players all the time, and I'm sure you've heard this from other sports. You can't let a bad play lead to another one. You sulk about it, you pout about it. Then, you make another mistake [if you don't move on]. I think for me and our staff, we can't let that affect the next season in a bigger picture. Again, it starts with me, and I'm the biggest culprit. I'm the one that probably brings it up more than anybody does. I've got to have some self-discipline and move on which I think I have for the most part."
"As we sit here on July 14th, you don't really have a choice. The season gets over, and it's retention slash portal mode. You don't have a lot of time. Even the teams that end the way they want it to end, they don't have a choice either. They jump right back on the horse and get ready for the following year. It was a heck of an experience and not a good one. At this point, all we can do is grow from it, learn from it and do the things necessary to ensure that it never happens again."
Q: How did you want to build the roster during this offseason?
CJ: "Yeah, we had a lot to accomplish. Get better and be better – all of it to be honest with you. I certainly wanted some more guys that could score the basketball up and down the roster. We needed more positional size defensively. We were poor on both sides of the ball. It wasn't one glaring issue in my opinion. Having a defensive disposition walking in the door, we needed more of that from individuals to try to put them in the pot and make it come out the way we want to. We just had a lot of holes to fill, and we'll see in the next few months how we did."
Q: How would you compare the team to last year's team at this point in the summer?
CJ: "I'm careful because I've been doing this long enough to understand what they look like in June or July doesn't necessarily mean what they're going to look like in November or March, because it's just different. We haven't had any adversity yet. How are they going to react when they've had some adversity? How is it going to be when everyone's excited to be back and all that good stuff all over the country? When playing time starts getting doled out, how's that going to go? What's our mood going to be like then? What's our culture, and what's our relationships going to be then?"
"But, having said that, I love walking in the gym every day. The energy and the vibe – I don't care if it's a two-man shooting group or a 15-person practice. If you walk into our gym right now, there's an energy pumping through it, and it feels good. I can hear it from my office before I get down there some days. It's not just the players. It starts with the staff, the managers, the GAs and the coaches. There's just a renewed sense of energy. It's renewed for me because I've been here. Some of these guys, that's all they know. They just got here. To me, it sticks out more than anything."
"Again, we haven't had a lot of adversity yet, but I just love the quality of person that we have in the Maroon and White every day right now. They've been off the charts. They've been on time every day, they're ready to go and they've had a great approach. It's going to get a lot harder as we get deeper into the preparation time for the games. The early returns, the mood and the vibe, it's really, really good right now."
Q: Can you talk about the new assistant coaches?
CJ: "Yeah, we've had more change in this offseason than we've had since I've arrived. These [coaching] staff's have mushroomed to be so big compared to 10, 20, 30 years ago. So, it was bound to happen. In the past when we've had three or four [assistant coaches], the continuity was probably a little bit easier that way."
"I've loved the staffs that we've had. They've been really, really good. And the early returns, I really love this one too. We've got some new guys, a couple of guys that I'm more familiar with. Shunn Buchanan, he played for me [at New Mexico State]. Then, he was a GA here at Mississippi State for our first two years. He went back to New Mexico State coincidently for a couple years [as an assistant coach] and got on the floor. Now, he's back on a completely different role. He's been awesome. He has got a chance to be a superstar in this business, and I'm excited for him. Our relationship obviously has changed over time, which is really fun for me. I'm assuming it is for him. His relatability to the players, his understanding of me and how we're trying to do things is off the chart because of obvious reasons. He's hit the ground running and is doing really, really well."
"Corey Barker is someone that our players aren't familiar with, but I am. We've worked together; this will be our third time. He was with me at Bowling Green and at New Mexico State. Obviously, I've got a huge belief in him in what he brings to a program. Just being on the road, I can't tell you how many people came up to me and patted us on the back for adding him to the mix. People in the [coaching] industry that have influence were so excited that Corey is with us. He's so connected across the country. His reputation of being a big-time relationship builder with both your own players and certainly potential incoming players, it's off the chart. He's a positive guy. He's always has a positive energy to him, and he's helping that way."
"Then, someone that I wasn't that familiar with and didn't know him at all that I got to know throughout the process, was Alex Barlow. I'm not afraid to hire people that I'm not familiar with. I've done it plenty of times in the past. There are times when I like to do that because I think it gives you a whole different approach. It gives you new ideas and lets you be outside the box. Just a different mindset, and he has a unique background. It's something that I wanted. I didn't want a normal college coach's resume. I wanted someone that had coached in professional basketball somewhere. Obviously, his resume with eight years in the Celtics organization and working for one of the best organizations in the NBA. He played for Brad Stevens [at Butler]. Then, Brad Stevens left after his freshman year [to go to Boston]. Then, he hired him after he graduated from Butler. That speaks volumes for how someone like that looks at him and views him. I actually had a chance to talk to him [Stevens] on the phone during the process, and I just saw him this past weekend as well. He's [Barlow] a bright young guy that has great ideas, and he's going to work with us more on the offensive end."
Q: How has Josh Hubbard's leadership been so far, and how has he welcomed the new players?
CJ: "Yeah, he's been awesome. He's turned the page. I talked earlier about getting to the next play. We've got to get to the next season, and we can't linger too much. I'm the biggest culprit because that isn't going to help us. We've got to learn and grow and help each other that way. His energy, his approach and his leadership have been at an elite level thus far."
"He's excited about his new teammates. I think he's excited like I mentioned earlier about the vibe and the mood inside our walls thus far. Again, with a little caveat of that we haven't had a lot of adversity yet. I think we'll create some maybe down the final stretches of July because we'll have more team practices. I'm in the midst of and our staff is as well, a heavy recruiting period right now … The last couple of weeks [in July], we'll have more of a rhythm and more of a practice mentality than just an individual improvement. Then, we'll probably test them to see how they handle some harder situations with some longer practices and a tougher environment, if you will."
"But Josh, speaking just to him, he's a veteran. He's been there and done that. He has seen unfortunately, the good, bad and the ugly now in his career. I know he likes the good, like everybody does more than the other parts. I think he's going to do everything in his power to make sure that it doesn't happen again either."
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballTuesday, July 14
Tuesday, July 14
Friday, April 17
Thursday, March 12