WATCH: Head coach Chris Jans talks Ole Miss, Trey Fort and Josh Hubbard

Mississippi State returns to the road this week in SEC action and the road has not been kind to the Bulldogs so far. The Bulldogs travel to Ole Miss on Tuesday for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff (SEC Network) and then Alabama on Saturday while looking to improve on their 0-3 SEC road record.

State is 14-6 overall and 3-4 in the league after grabbing another Top 10 win this past weekend against Auburn. Ole Miss is coming off a road win at Texas A&M and the Rebels are 17-3 overall and 4-3 in the league.

Before head coach Chris Jans began his weekly press conference on Monday, he thanked the fans for Saturday’s environment against Auburn and encouraged fans to travel this week to Oxford and Tuscaloosa.

Also before taking questions, Jans said sophomore KeShawn Murphy is working his way back to the court and could be available to play later in the season. With senior guard Andrew Taylor, Jans noted the former Marshall transfer is no longer with the team:

Q: Obviously a different Ole Miss team this year. What are your thoughts on the way they have performed this season?
Jans: Coach (Chris) Beard and his staff have walked in there and did what most of us coaches knew he would do once he was hired at that position. He has won everywhere he’s been and is as good of a coach as there is in the country. He is building his culture and it hasn’t taken him very long. Their start has been impressive. They’ve got a really nice record. They are off to a great start and I have known his teams in the past. They look similar to the teams he’s had prior to coming to Oxford.

Q: Ole Miss has 7-foot center Moussa Cisse and 7-foot-5 center Jamarion Sharp in the post. How does that length affect your guys?
Jans: Yeah it’s a issue. They play volleyball with the basketball on the backboards most nights with Sharp and Cisse. Just their presence gives you pause. You got to make good decisions. You got to know where they are at on the floor and you should know where they’re at by what we’re running. We got to pick our spots. Certainly we can’t play scared. You can’t play on your heels and at times, you’re going to have to go right at their chins and try to put them in the basket.

But at the same time they are a huge factor for their defense. They start their offense with all the alternations in the blocks. I think they are second or third in the country, as a team, and I think those two (Cisse and Sharp), individually, are third and fourth in block percentage. So it’s quite the weapon for them, defensively, and it is something you have to gameplan for.

Q: Any update on Trey Fort‘s injury?
Jans: He sprained his thumb. That is the official word I got this morning after getting the images. So he is day-to-day right now and I have no idea if he will practice today or play tomorrow. I will be with the team here shortly and know more then.

Q: Shawn Jones has played well in spurts this season. What do you see out of him with his role?
Jans: With the roster situation we are in, we need him to play more minutes and we need him to be very productive. We’re going to have to look at sliding him around a little bit more with the knowledge he has of the system with his length and ability to guard different positions. He is capable of doing that.

My thing with Shawn has been with Shawn since he’s arrived and that’s his consistency. At times he looks like the best player on the court in practice and in spurts in games. Just his athletic ability and ability to finish around the basket. He’s an improved shooter. When he takes the right (shots) for him he usually knocks them down. But we need him to continue to get better, need him to work on his consistency on both ends of the floor. He could be a big help for us as we turn the corner here in conference play.

Q: Just your thoughts on how freshman Josh Hubbard has performed in big situations this year?
Jans: I don’t think I can describe it well enough of what a professional approach Josh has to his craft. It is meaningful to him, it is important to him. I don’t ever worry about him not being in the gym for extra shots. I never worry about him not having the right mental approach to practice and film each and every day. He is reliable. He is accountable, he is responsible. He is everything that you want from one of your players and for him to be a freshman, that all sounds good.

Then add the fact that his numbers are off the chart that way. He is having an electric season. He has become a reliable scorer for us and it is what we needed after bringing back the guys we had last year and the issues we had with scoring. He has provided a real bump for us on the offensive end.

Q: Of late Jimmy Bell has not been as productive as he was previously. What are you seeing there from him?
Jans: I wouldn’t say I have the answer of putting my finger right on that. He hasn’t taken a lot of field goal attempts. Obviously, he went 0 of 4 from the line (against Auburn) so that is four points he left on the table and he is more upset about it than anybody else is. He works at the line and sometimes it becomes a mental thing, a confidence thing. You got to help him get back to a good place that way.

We ran an out of bounds play for him right underneath the basket. It is easy for me to say and there’s not 6-10 guys all around me and traffic, etc. He kind of fumbled the ball but otherwise that was a layup for him likely. But he’s been in good spirits and has had good practices. I fully expect him to have some big games for us as the season progresses.

Q: With Andrew Taylor not on the team anymore, were y’all in communication with him or did y’all have hopes he would return?
Jans: Like I said, he hasn’t been with us since mid-December. At this point he is no longer with the team.

Q: Josh Hubbard originally signed with Ole Miss. Do you think that makes Tuesday’s game a bit more special for him?
Jans: That’s an interesting question. I am not sure it will have extra meaning for him. But I would imagine he needs to prepare for what he is walking in to. I can’t imagine he will be treated with a warm embrace by their crowd. But the thing that makes me feel good is he will handle it. He will be mentally ready to go. He will understand what it will be like. If I know Josh like I think I do, it will be motivating for him and he will try to rise to the occasion.

For some kids I would worry a little bit about them walking into that type of situation and how they will handle it for the first time. But I think Josh will be fine.

Q: Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard also got his start in juco like you did at Fort Scott (Kan.) Community College. What is it like with two SEC head coaches on the floor that got their start in juco?
Jans: Yeah that is where I met him, when he was at Fort Scott. I went in there to recruit when I was at the University of Idaho and he was the new head coach at Fort Scott and I had just left Independence (Kan.) Community College. We’ve kind of had a similar background and we have a lot of similar friends. I don’t think about that and I am sure he doesn’t think about that. We are all in prep mode trying to get ready to play an SEC game and it is a rivalry game, to boot.