Bulldogs already looking ahead to next season
It was all about the belief on what might happen with the Mississippi State Bulldogs in Chris Jans first season as the head men's basketball coach.
The MSU faithful knew about his reputation of getting New Mexico State to the NCAA Tournament, but there were some doubts that he would be able to do it in his first season in Starkville.
Jans and the Bulldogs proved many people wrong when they won over 20 games and reached the NCAA Tournament for the 12th time in school history.
“Maybe a few people outside our locker room really believed that we had a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament, and I said, there's probably people in this locker room that questioned it when we first arrived, so yeah, I mean, first year, and we reached it this year,” Jans said. “We'll see when we get into next year how it goes, but it's a credit to these guys. It really is. Coaches are going to coach, work and plead and try to get the most out of them, but if there's no buy- in, there's no belief, then it's not going to happen. Some of it was blind faith. I didn't have deepseated relationships with any of these guys when they chose to come back, and then we added pieces to the puzzle, and we end up having a good year and something they'll be proud of the rest of their lives.”
Jans was able to mold a group that included returners from last year in Tolu Smith, D.J. Jeffries, Shakeel Moore and Cameron Matthews, along with newcomers Dashawn Davis, Eric Reed Jr., Will McNair Jr., Tyler Stevenson and Shawn Jones Jr., and formed a winning team.
MSU finished with a record of 21- 13 and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019.
There was no settling for the National Invitational Tournament this season for the Bulldogs. Jans made sure of that.
“I don't necessary believe that we put them on the map, but we reintroduced ourselves to college basketball,” Jans said.
Smith led MSU's resurgence this season with his 15.7 point and 8.5 rebounds per game. He was voted first team AllSoutheastern Conference by the coaches and media and won the Howell Trophy for the best men's college basketball player in the state of Mississippi.
It remains to be seen if Smith will return for one more season with the Bulldogs. He does have one more season of eligibility if he wants to use it.
Whether Smith decides to come back or not, it will still be a very important offseason for Jans and his staff.
Jans said recruiting has already begun and “that never ends if you're playing (in the postseason) or not.”
The comfort level between Jans and his players should be much better as relationships have been established. He thinks that will make a huge difference in year two.
“It's more fun in your second year because you've got guys that get it, that understand what they've went through, what lies ahead,” Jans said. “To be able to have players coming back, to be able to talk to recruits when they're on campus, and then when our team eventually arrives to be able to lead them, just get them to understand from a player's perspective, the expectations that we have on a daily basis and how we do things in practice, in the weight room, in the class room, and the community.
“Your first year is always tough because everybody is new regardless if they played there or not, and hopefully we'll have a bunch of guys back heading into next season.”
There should be no surprises going into next season for the Bulldogs that return. They will have a better understanding of what to expect.
“Keep believing, keep fighting, keep trusting in ( Jans) and he'll get us where we want to be,” Jeffries said. “Just got to stay together.”