Mississippi State's Josh Hubbard focused on being better leader with better production

Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard had a heck of a welcome to the SEC last year. And more times than not, the freshman All-SEC performer never flinched.

Last season Hubbard led the Bulldogs in scoring (17.1 ppg) and 3 pointers made (100), and his 3 pointers made also led the SEC. Hubbard poured in 598 points during his rookie campaign and that also set a school record.

Looking towards his sophomore season, Hubbard is nowhere near satisfied. On Friday afternoon Hubbard discussed his offseason goals with local media among other topics:

Q: What did it mean to you to see the fan’s reaction when you announced you were returning to State or did you even ever entertain leaving?
Hubbard: There was no entertainment. With today’s society and the portal, you never just know from a fan’s point of view. In today’s society you want to make things clear for the fans and people that care about the basketball program. So I just decided, me and my dad and Coach (George) Brooks, to tweet it out and let everybody know since everybody was wondering.

Q: What did it mean to you when you tweeted it out and saw that reaction?
Hubbard: It was a good feeling to have those fans behind me and wanting me to come back. I already had a plan to come back after Year 1 for the development in the program under Coach (Chris) Jans.

Q: What’s your focus on your game this offseason?
Hubbard: To become a better leader and personally, to get my numbers higher. To lead and to facilitate better and make that jump into a mature guard.

Q: This staff added transfers Riley Kugel, Claudell Harris and Kanye Clary to the backcourt. How are those additions going?
Hubbard: I know it’s real early but they can all shoot the ball well. From their previous schools their numbers are good. They love to play fast and I like that. In the first few weeks of practice we’re all actually doing a good job of building chemistry. We are doing it quickly and it’s all a blessing.

Q: How’s it been guarding Kanye Clary in practice?
Hubbard; Man, it’s like guarding myself. We both have a quick first step on both offense and defense. We both can shoot it over the top of each other. It’s really fun to compete against somebody that has your similar build. Iron sharpens iron so when we play against other people, we have an advantage.

Q: With guys looking to you as ‘the guy’, how does that affect the way you approach the offseason workouts?
Hubbard: Really no difference. We’re all still hungry. After the first year we were not satisfied with the way things ended. So we are motivated even more to fix those things so when we do get back to postseason, we know what to expect.

Q: Seems like the staff emphasize scoring in the transfer portal. Does that take pressure off of you?
Hubbard: Yes, it is all great. Offense is great and I love the way we play and our capabilities on the offensive end. But we’re also going to defend, as well. We might even defend better this year just because of the way Coach Jans wants us to defend and the program and our values in the game. Yeah, the offense is great and it will always be there. But defense wins games.

Q: How is freshman Dellquan Warren adjusting so far?
Hubbard: He is adjusting real good. Like every freshman and like what I went through, it’s the physicality, the speed of the game. He is adjusting real quickly. He is doing a great job facilitating well and getting his teammates involved. He’s being a great teammate and knocking down open shots. He’s doing a great job, for sure.

Q: What does this team need to do to make a deep run in March?
Hubbard: Just closing out games. Last year, not letting teams get momentum and controlling the game, controlling the pace and things like that. We have the guys to do that this year and we had the guys to do it last year. But we were unfortunate with how things ended. We got a good squad this year to make those capabilities work.

Q: You hit some big shots in big moments last year. What’s it like to make big shots like that?
Hubbard: It’s a surreal feeling when you look back at it. But some of those big shots I couldn’t even process it because I had to get back on defense. But watching the videos to how the crowd reacts and the arena erupts, especially in The Hump, it’s an unreal feeling and no better feeling in the world.

Q: The past few seasons the offense has been geared around Tolu Smith. How different is the offensive focus this year with the transfer additions?
Hubbard: Especially with the new guys we got, we can play really fast. I think that’s what we’re going to add to our core, just breaking down the defense quicker, not setting up as much, attacking and putting pressure on their feet whether they make it or miss it. Just creating easier buckets and paint touches and things like that.

Q: Yourself, Kugel and others can play multiple spots. How versatile does that make the offense?
Hubbard: Really versatile. We’re all positionless, multiple positions. We can spread the court and anybody can play anywhere the way we’re playing. We’re excited about that, too.

Q: With the close wins and close losses, you had the ball in big moments last year. How did that feel to get that experience as a freshman?
Hubbard: It was a blessing, especially from my teammates to put that trust and belief in me, Coach Jans, as well. We practice situations like that in practice all the time. Everybody has gotten that shot in practice because there’s going to be situations like that at the end of the game. I would just shout out to my teammates and the staff for putting that belief in me.