Mississippi State staff geared up for another run at March Madness

With the season opener less than a week away, Mississippi State had numerous players and assistant coaches meet with the media on Wednesday. That included Bulldog assistants Patrice Days, Dave Anwar and Scott Padgett.

Entering the season, Mississippi State has a mixture of several new faces from the transfer portal and recent signing class. Some of those players were discussed by the assistant coaches, as well:

Q: Coach Padgett, what was it about Jamarion Davis-Fleming to where the staff thought he could play at the five spot?
Padgett: When you go back to his recruitment, he’s got that length and athleticism. I think with him, it’s more of a comfortable level finding what he is comfortable doing, and he’s starting to figure out what we do as a team. He is starting to find his niche within the program. You look at his size, he’s a 7-5 wingspan and he can get off the ground, he run the floor. So I think all the way back to his recruiting, he is a guy that can play all those spots.

Q: Each transfer class is different and has had a different look with Chris Jans. What was the goal and emphasis with this recent transfer class?
Anwar: Really, just to improve shooting and obviously, we need to get better at that. And guys that fit Coach Jans and our culture. The transfer portal is hard. You look at pieces of paper and you see numbers. But do they fit what we want to do and what Coach Jans is about? It’s a lot more difficult than what people think.
Days: I would say guys that fit Coach Jans. Kids that are willing to buy in that understand what the program is about. Especially in today’s world when you talk about NIL, guys who want to come here and get better and be a part of winning, I think that’s really key.

Q: Quincy Ballard is a different type of center than what this program has had before. What does he add that your previous centers haven’t done before?
Padgett: I think first and foremost, he’s a rim protector. Though we’ve had some really good bigs, I don’t know that any of them we can call shot-blocker, rim protector guys. He can block shots, alter shots and make it tough around the basket for other teams. On the other end, he was one of the country’s Top 10 percentage-wise in ball screens we are in. We really haven’t had a lob threat off the ball screen.

We’ve run plays to get people lobs but not just off of ball screens. We can get downhill and be able to throw it up and he can go get a lob. I think he is going to help our ball screens because now that threat behind the defense is there. That’s going to allow Josh Hubbard and some of our other guards to get down in the paint and make a last-second decision to lob or get to the basket and finish. That will help our ball screens a lot.

Q: What’s the process of having the older veterans teaching the younger guards what it is like to play in this program?
Anwar: The older guys are really good. Shawn Jones, Josh Hubbard have talked to our guys and helped them with what Coach values and teaches, especially with defensive rotations and scouting reports. One thing Coach values the most is who can guard the ball. So they’re all about working to become the best on-all defenders they can so they don’t have to create help.

Q: Chris Jans has said this offseason that last year’s team took a step back, defensively. Do you see this roster getting back to that solid defensive showing this year?
Anwar: I think so. I think we’ve upgraded with competitiveness. I think guys are really competing on the defensive end. I think we have upgraded because they will compete. They want to guard and they know that’s their calling card and know that is what they have to do to get in the game.
Padgett: I agree with a lot of that. If you’re going to play for Coach Jans you’re going to have to have a defense-first mindset. That’s where we’re going to win games is with our defense and our rebounding. Then your offensive skills and all that is what helps put games away. But we’re a defense-and-rebounding team. That’s where we make our bones at.

Q: What did you take away from the exhibition game against Houston?
Days: I really liked their togetherness. I think the score was 1-9. Especially early on in the season, especially guys that haven’t really been in that situation before, they get nervous and get antsy. Sitting on that bench, you can hear a lot of those guys being positive with one another, talking about what they see and things like that. I think that was really encouraging. Especially going in a hostile environment that was basically like a home game for Houston, guys didn’t seem scared or intimidated.

I think it was just like a boxing match and trying to figure that part out. But that was really encouraging and the fact that we competed at a high level even with Jayden Epps out and then not having Ja’Borri (McGhee) for most of the game. I think that was very encouraging for us. I think, offensively, we will be fine. There are some things we can correct and clean up on, defensive-wise and cleaning up assignments. But it was very encouraging.

Q: What was it about Sergej Macura that made the staff want to sign him?
Anwar: Actually, Coach Jans asked me one day about some foreign players, I sent him a couple of films about some foreign players and he (Macura) was the one he really liked. So credit Coach Jans. i had a relationship with people over in Serbia that had Sergej and we worked to get him to Mississippi State. But Coach Jans and I both and our staff liked his athleticism and how fluid and the athlete he is and how he can get up and down the court. You don’t need to run plays for him. He’s going to get it on cuts and rebounds and he would fit into what we needed in that role. He also played very well against a U19 United States team. I don’t remember what FIFA tournament that was but he was very impressive in that game. So he showed he can play with athletes at this level.