Mississippi State guard Kanye Clary confident in Bulldog backcourt

Kanye Clary has rarely had issues on the offensive end of the court. But there’s a lot more to his game than just scoring and Mississippi State fans are excited to see that this season.

The former Penn State transfer point guard arrived at Mississippi State in June and wasted little time building chemistry with his new Bulldog teammates. Last season the Virginia native paced Penn State in scoring with 16.7 points a game while shooting 37.7% from 3 point range.

Clary, entering his junior season, is just one of several new offensive weapons added to the 2024-25 roster by head coach Chris Jans and his staff during the offseason. Last week Clary sat down with local media to discuss his time in Starkville along with his expectations for the season:

Q: How’s the competition in practice in the backcourt and how’s it been guarding Josh Hubbard?
Clary: He’s very challenging to guard, especially on the defensive end. He’s very aggressive and can shoot the ball from anywhere once he steps past halfcourt. So you’ve got to be alert. As far as practice, even if Coach (Chris) Jans wasn’t so aggressive with his style of play, me and Hubb are naturally going after each other. So it’s very competitive.

Q: What was it about Mississippi State and Jans during your recruiting process?
Clary: It’s his foundation and principles and how he runs his program. He treats everybody the same way and he’s about winning. I feel like as a player, there’s no better place than to be here.

Q: What was it about Mississippi State’s program and Jans’ success that intrigued you?
Clary: Just seeing what he did his first two years here was just interesting and exciting to watch. I was a fan of his play style and how they defended and got after it. When I found out he was interested in me when I got in the portal, it was a no-brainer for me and my family.

Q: With a good bit of proven backcourt talent, how key is it for the chemistry to be there?
Clary: Coach Jans spoke on being selfless and being a team-first guy. Your team will always win over individual accolades each and every day. There’s no better feeling than going out there and giving your all for your team and getting a winning outcome.

Q: You were the go-to guy at Penn State last year and Mississippi State returns Josh Hubbard. How do you adjust to having a different role this season?
Clary: Honestly, Josh and the rest of the team has made it very easy for me to come here and just be myself. They expressed openly that you can still play your game and be you. But you still got to play within the system. Coach Jans has done a good job of just telling me to go be me and it made an easy transition for me.

Q: What are the simple things that make up a Chris Jans’ defense?
Clary: Never stop playing no matter what happens and giving it your all. I’d say those are the two keys there.

Q: Your thoughts on Michael Nwoko and Jeremy Foumena at center and how they are progressing?
Clary: Michael and Jeremy have been tremendous to play with, just watching their growth since they got here. They’ve been picking up all the concepts and calls that the coaches are doing. They’re doing a great job of adapting and trying to be the best version of themselves every day.

Q: How different are the practices and conditioning at Mississippi State compared to Penn State?
Clary: We ran our fair share of sprints and suicides at Penn State but I would say nothing compared to this. Coach Jans, you are definitely going to get your miles in with conditioning. But it just makes you better.

Q: How much of that do you think is due to the athletes in the SEC?
Clary: I would say that’s half the battle right there. The SEC is known for being fast with elite athletes.

Q: One concern fans may have is having smaller guards like yourself and Hubbard on the floor together. Your thoughts?
Clary: I don’t really think that will be too much of a problem because we’re both stocky in size, good defenders and we’re fast. One thing about Coach Jans, defense is what he preaches and what he does. So he’s going to figure out a way to get everybody to defend.