Buzz Williams defines Chris Jans as the most unheralded head coach in basketball

Texas A&M‘s Buzz Williams is one of the more experienced head coaches in the SEC, dating back to his time before arriving in College Station. He has gone up against plenty of coaches in the conference since being hired in 2019. And ahead of Tuesday’s game against Mississippi State, Williams was singing the praises of Chris Jans.

“He is the most unheralded head coach in the country,” Williams said. “Period. On both sides of the ball. I know a lot has been said about how he plays defensively. But I tell him this every time I see him. ‘You’re the most unheralded, undervalued coach in the country.’ Not in the SEC, not when he was at New Mexico State, not when he was at Bowling Green, not when he was at Chipola. He can really coach on both sides.”

Jans got his start at the JUCO level, with Williams even mentioning one of his stops. Bowling Green was the first Division I school to hire him, eventually leading to New Mexico State and then Mississippi State. Of the possible seven postseasons Jans’ teams have been eligible for, there have been five NCAA Tournaments and one CIT with Bowling Green.

Mississippi State is on track to once again be in the field of 68 this year, being a six-seed in the latest Bracketology projections from On3’s James Fletcher.

Williams respects a whole lot more than what Jans has accomplished on the court, though. He was complimentary of nearly every facet of the program Jans runs in Starkville. From his coaching staff to inside the locker room and even with the media.

“He hires really good people,” Williams said. “He’s very aware of who he is and what his strengths are. I have the utmost respect — how he handles the media, how he handles his players, how he coaches his players. I think he’s as good as there is.”

Since Jans arrived, there have been two head-to-head matchups against Williams. They have been split thus far, with Mississippi State winning in 2022-2023 and Texas A&M a year later in ’23-24. With Tuesday night being the lone scheduled game between them, this could serve as a nice tiebreaker for now. Maybe we will even see the two face off in Nashville during the SEC Tournament for a little more excitement.

No matter what happens over 40 minutes, there will be a great deal of respect coming from Williams.