WATCH: Head coach Chris Jans talks Georgia, DJ Jeffries and KeShawn Murphy
Mississippi State didn’t fare too well on the road last week in the SEC, dropping contests at Ole Miss and Alabama. This week the Bulldogs return home to face Georgia on Wednesday evening with an 8 p.m. tipoff at Humphrey Coliseum.
Mississippi State is 14-8 overall and 3-6 in the SEC while Georgia is also 14-8 overall and 4-5 in the league. On Monday morning, Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans met with the media to discuss the matchup with Georgia along with injury updates:
Q: What differences are you seeing with last year’s defense compared to this year’s defense?
Jans: That is a fair question and a statement I would concur with. For whatever reason our defense is not as stout as it was last year in SEC play. But it all can’t be put on the defense. People talk about our KenPom numbers being much higher, offensively, than a year ago and they are. But in SEC play, sometimes things we do on offense affects our defense because of being put in some bad situations with all the turnovers we are committing. About the hardest thing to guard is turnovers.
Our shot selection – bad shots, early shots that are not in rhythm or open – turn inoto fast-break opportunities for our opponents. Certainly, at the end of the day I don’t care how we win and I’ve said that before. I just want to win. But if you want to break it down by numbers, what we’ve relied on to win some games has been on that end of the floor.
Certainly with the output that some of the teams have had against us, we haven’t been able to rely on that as much. But I do believe it is a big picture issue as much as it is on the defensive end.
I will say this and this isn’t excuses but fact. The new charge rules have affected a lot of teams’ defenses depending on how they are put together and what’s important. We try since they made the decision to have a different interpretation of charge/block and what constitutes a charge and what doesn’t. Just the fear of driving in there and knowing they likely can’t get a charge called changes a lot of early help and forcing the ball to the baseline.
It’s not just the charges but the thought of hey, I better be careful is thrown out the window. Like a lot of other teams that play a similar style, it’s hurt them, as well.
Q: Any update on DJ Jeffries?
Jans: Yes, unfortunately he has a knee issue and he will be out for awhile. I am not exactly sure but it won’t be for the long term. But he will be out.
Q: You mentioned the turnovers leading to bad defensive numbers. Is there a thin line there to walk when it comes to being aggressive on offense?
Jans: We talked a lot about this last year, especially. Our margin for error is not as big as it is for other teams in our league. I felt like going into the season that we had, through recruiting and retention, raised our margin of error a little bit. We had built up some margin for error with the pieces we had in place. It usually doesn’t but it hasn’t unfolded quite how we anticipated.
So therefore because of that, we are back to the point where we don’t have a big margin for error in terms of mistakes, in terms of how we have to play to be successful against especially the better teams in the SEC. It’s something that I think all of us have to get our head around and we have to stay in character in how we need to play in order to be successful.
Q: How was the team’s mindset after getting blown out at Alabama?
Jans: There wasn’t a ton of discussion in the locker room. The older I get the more I understand, more often than not, that’s not the time to try to fix the problem. Everyone was obviously disappointed with the result and there’s not a lot said. We try to keep our emotions in check and sleep on it, watch the video and make sure we are setting the correct tone for any type of growth that can be gained when you lose like that.
That is kind of where we are today. Yesterday was a day off for them. I know some of them got in here to take care of their bodies and worked on their shots, free throws, etc., which is usually par for the course throughout the year. I say that because I’ve only been in this league and this job for two years. But the experience I had last year is one we find ourselves in a similar situation.
I remember being in the locker room prior to practice and after practice telling the guys we had a chance to turn this around and that we were right there having a chance to win some of the games we had maybe lost the first half of the conference season. Like I said Saturday night, I don’t have a crystal ball and I can’t predict the future but just because we had a turnaround last year doesn’t necessarily mean we are going to have one this year.
That’s what I got to make sure they understand that it doesn’t work that way. It is important that everybody in our program doesn’t rely on we’ve been there, done this. Other than the fact we do have that experience and that we understand what that feels like. Now how it unfolds is how it unfolds. We are going to have to do the things that are necessary to win games. But the experience of having done that can’t be a bad thing.
Q: With Jeffries out, what are your options to fill in those minutes that Jeffries plays?
Jans: Our options are dwindling. We’re playing eight guys, for the most part, and you take him out of the equation and that’s seven. DJ has started all year long. He’s basically been a starter for two years. He is arguably our best defender depending on who you ask and depending on how you define who’s the best defender. So those are some big shoes fill. A lot of minutes that we are going to have to spread around.
There’s no one that I am obviously saying has to replace DJ. Obviously, Shawn Jones is a candidate to soak up a lot of those minutes because of the position he plays and what he brings to the table. Individually, I thought he showed a lot of fight on Saturday and he played a lot of minutes, especially in the second half. So he is a guy we will try to lean on to soak up some of those minutes and his productivity on both ends of the basketball.
We just all need to play better. If we all look at it as if I have to do my part. If I can play 4-6% better and we all have that attitude, that would be a big positive if you add it all up. That is probably going to be part of the message going forward. We don’t need one guy to go from playing at a C to playing at an A+. We need everybody to pull their weight and everybody leave everything they got, individually, to the side, and be about this team and what we have remaining. Because that is what it’s going to take. Right now with our margin of error slipping, we’re going to have to rally around the team and everybody trying to play a little bit better.
Q: Is there any update on KeShawn Murphy‘s availability and is he a guy that can help soak up some of those minutes?
Jans: Murph has been back with us now and has been on the floor working his way to get himself in position to play in games. Certainly, that would be a nice shot in the arm for us if he was available on game day. But it is a day-to-day situation right now.
Q: Any update on Trey Fort‘s injury?
Jans: He is working with the trainer dilligently to get his injury and hand in position to do things on the basketball court. I get day-to-day updates on him, too, and that’s where we are at.
Q: What differences do you see with this year’s Georgia team compared to last year?
Jans: They just shoot the ball so well. That’s what jumps out to me the most is they have great spacing. One of the reasons they have great spacing is they usually have four guys on the court that are efficient 3 point shooters. So that creates great spacing and then the way that their staff has coached them on spacing and add the factor of putting them in the right spots, it puts you in some tough spots. They’ve got some guards out front that put their head down and bully-drive you and create help situations.
They’ve got a couple of five men around the basket and know their role. They can set ball screens and roll or sit in and score 1 on 1 around the basket. Just been impressed with their ability on offense to put the defense in tough spots and really make you think how you are going to gameplan against them.
Then on the other end, they’re well-schooled. They don’t make mistakes. They know who they are, they’re in the right position and they’re a good basketball team. This league is obviously is hard to win and we are going to have our hands full on Wednesday.
Q: With the way Alabama has good spacing on offense, does facing Alabama help you be more prepared to face an offense like Georgia’s?
Jans: You would think on face value that whatever we were trying to do on Saturday wasn’t working. Maybe it was more hey, we need to change this because it didn’t work and now it’s against a team that has a five-out personality and has a lot of 3 point shooting. But we’re working to try to put our guys in the best position possible like every other game. Hopefully we can come up with a better plan to play against Georgia.
