What Mississippi State's Chris Jans, Jimmy Bell Jr., Andrew Taylor Said After Win Against North Alabama
The Mississippi State men's basketball team defeated North Alabama 81-54 on Tuesday night to continue their hot 3-0 start to the season. The Bulldogs also tallied their fifth win against the Lions, and have yet to lose in the series dating back to 1982.
Here's a full transcript of what Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans, forward Jimmy Bell Jr. and guard Andrew Taylor said after the game:
Chris Jans
Jimmy Bell Jr, when he transferred here, he probably had a new goal in mind of what his role was going to be. With Tolu out, what was his mindset knowing he was going to have more responsibility?
“That would be for him more. I haven’t seen a big change in his mindset. He’s been pretty business like since he’s arrived. He’s a been there, done that kind of guy. There are some things we’ve got to work on – he’s not getting low enough in the post. Some guys that are as heavy as him are holding their own a little bit. You got to leverage it a little bit better. He missed a couple of short hooks that I thought normally he would make. He missed a couple free throws we thought he’d put in as well. He's logging more minutes than he’s probably used to, he probably didn’t expect that. He’s certainly gaining confidence in the system. Our other players and our coaches are gaining confidence in him too.”
To have a senior guard like Shak [Shakeel Moore] coming off the bench at the end of the half and settles things down, what is the luxury of having a veteran guy like that?
“Yeah, it’s almost to the point now where I’m cognizant of the minuets a little bit, who am I going to put in next and who’s the next sub. We’re going to have to work all that out with the injury situation. More decisions we’ve got to make in the game, but especially up front when we’re fully healthy, we’ve got lots of different options. We’ve got to continue figuring that out as we go forward. I thought Shak looked comfortable out there, I knew he would. I love to see him knock down that open three, and he got to the paint a couple times. I thought there in the second half, he had a couple chances to get his hands on balls that he normally does. For whatever reason he didn’t, but it was nice to have him back.”
Do you see Andrew Taylor settling in more now that you’ve got these three games under your belt?
“Yeah, I think so. He’s getting more comfortable on the court. There’s new surroundings and a new role. He had a different role at Marshall. He could shoot almost any ball he wanted, and there’s no consequences, where around here that’s not the situation. We’re trying to take our best shot, work together on offense and take shots that make sense for us. There’s definitely an adjustment.”
“With the defensive standard that we have, he has gotten way better on that end. Tonight, he had some good ones. But then, he just wouldn’t finish the play. Like he’d guard him, guard him, guard him, and the last dribble he would quit with it. He’s just got to finish each slide, each closeout or each possession, whatever the case may be.
“At least from where I sit, he just looks a lot more comfortable. I think people are starting to see he’s not just a shooter. He’s a player. He’s crafty. He knows how to play, and he’s really good in ball screens. He’s got unbelievable finishes around the basket that we can’t take any credit for.”
Did you see a spark come from your team after the double techs and in the second half?
“Again, from where I sat, what stuck out to me was Cam [Cameron] Matthews. His on-ball, he got a deflection and he got a dunk. I’m glad he did it, but I was really disappointed with the first four or five minutes until he flipped that switch, because the intensity wasn’t there. We didn’t come out of the locker room breathing fire. We came out of the locker room like the game was over. Certainly, that’s not what you’re trying to do.”
Q: What do you anticipate about that trip to the Hall of Fame Classic in Connecticut?
“I’m looking forward to it. We need a day off. We’ll end up playing five games in 12 days, and that’s a lot. You think about the regular season or the SEC season where you’re playing twice a week. So, do the math. That’s a lot of games to start because we didn’t start on opening day. We had a gap of two days [starting Wednesday versus Monday last week].
"So, we’re going to play five games in 12 days. You don’t have a lot of down time once the games start with how our schedule unfolded. So fortunately, we’ve got a complete day off tomorrow, which everybody needs. Everybody needs a day away from the grind, to take care of their business and get a little more refreshed. Then, we’ll have a couple days to prepare for two games back-to-back, but we’re going to play for a championship.
“I’m sure every team that’s in the tournament will all have the same mindset. It’s going to be great competition. I can’t wait to get up there, see how we compete and see how we handle the neutral sites and the size. The size will be different. It’ll be Power 5 type size, Power 5 players, and I’m looking forward to the experience.”
Jimmy Bell Jr.
On his mindset after changing roles due to Tolu Smith's injury in October:
"Just being more focused. Tolu is a big part of this team as he's a preseason All-American. I didn't come here and try to replace him and do what he does, I just came here to be myself and know that I have a big responsibility until he gets back."
On his hot start this season on the glass:
"I didn't have a really good rebounding year last year, so I worked on getting good positioning, getting low on rebounds, chasing them and being relentless on the boards."
On if the double technical added a spark:
"We feed off stuff like that. After that, coach Jans talked to us and we got rolling and that's how we operated."
On forward D.J. Jeffries' offensive performance:
"D.J. is a big part of the team. Like everybody on the team who is having a good shooting night, we're going to tell him to keep shooting. That's the kind of support we have on this team, as everybody trusts each other to make the next shot and move on to the next play. That's what we did for D.J. and he just kept going."
Andrew Taylor
On his veteran leadership off the bench:
"That's been a big part of my growth since I was a freshman all the way to senior year at Marshall. Then coming here, having to step up and be more of a leader. Just continue to be vocal, communication is key, having that energy and bringing it every day is part of growing up and being a leader and it's a step I'm willing to take."
On his confidence after a rough first two games shooting:
"You can't really control the misses, but you can control your work ethic and your energy towards the basketball, looking at the rim, spreading your shoulders and letting it fly. Even if you do miss, you have the whole rest of the team to help you get through the game and come away with the W."
Coach Jans' message when North Alabama cut the lead to three in the first half:
"Energy and effort were some of things that we knew we were going win and we had to put our foot on the gas at one point."
On his second half performance:
"I'm not going to stop shooting. If I get those looks, I'm going to let it fly. I trust everything else that my team is doing. They needed me to knock down shots, and in order for me to be the best player I could be, I got to let it fly."
