The Hoops HD Panel takes a look at all the teams in the SEC. We look back at how Kentucky’s season ended in perhaps one of the biggest surprises in the history of the sport last year and discuss their chances of getting to a Final Four or winning it all this year. We look at Arkansas’s really strong recruiting class, Auburn’s returning players and key transfers, Tennessee who is returning a lot of talent, and much more.
And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…
We are less than 2 weeks away from the tip-off of the college basketball season, which means that we still have time to start preparing for the action ahead. We will do so via a series of season previews featuring the best players/coaches in the country. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel continues our coverage with new Mississippi State coach Chris Jans, who talked about being hired last March and his expectations for this season.
You played basketball at Loras College: how good a player were you back in the day, and how did you get into coaching? Not many people ask me about my playing career! I probably thought that I was better than I actually was while growing up in small-town Iowa but I kept with it and became a decent D-3 player. I am built like a PG but was a better shooter than ball-handler so I played the 2 a lot. Growing up all I ever wanted to be was a high school PE teacher/coach. I could wear sweats to work and get paid for it: I thought that it was the coolest thing ever! However, my dad thought I should strive for more so I got a couple of business degrees but I kept feeling the pull of coaching.
In 1998 in your 2nd year as head coach at Kirkwood Community College you went 31-6 and beat Sinclair Community College in the D-2 junior college title game: what did it mean to you to win a championship? Dumb luck! I probably did not deserve to get the job at age 26 but it was a relationship-driven opportunity. I did not have much of a resume back then but we had a good 2-year run. I tried to “keep it simple, stupid” and we played hard and had some good players. I thought it would be like that each and every year but I was mistaken. I still have a great relationship with several of those players and have even started to recruit some of their sons!
In 2014 as an assistant to Gregg Marshall at Wichita State you started 35-0 before losing to Kentucky on a missed 3-PT shot at the buzzer: what made that team so magical? We were coming off of a Final 4 run and our core group of returnees were so hungry for more. Their mindset/approach was off the chart that summer and we added some pieces to the mix. We had some tough guys like Fred VanVleet/Ron Baker who understood the daily grind that is required to win. There is always a thought that losing a game would help us refocus but I disagree. Everyone was on board as we tried to make some history. The Kentucky game was the highest-level college game that I have ever been around. Both teams shot well over 50 FG% and there were a handful of future NBA players on the court.
In 2020 as head coach at New Mexico State you finished the regular season on a 19-game winning streak (including a win over Mississippi State): what was your reaction that March after learning that the entire postseason was getting canceled due to COVID? Most of us will never forget where we were when it surprised all of us. It was tough to try to live through a pandemic but we are settling in for the most part now. From a basketball standpoint it was devastating. I remember walking into my hotel room in Vegas: we were the #1 seed and had all the momentum in the world despite being really banged up in the fall. That Mississippi State game in December helped us turn things around. For the guys who had exhausted their eligibility they were just crushed. It is 1 thing to lose your final game of the season on the court…but to have it taken away without playing an opponent was hard to describe.
Last March in the NCAA tourney you had a 7-PT upset of UConn: how big a deal was it to get the school’s 1st officially recognized NCAA tournament win since 1970? It felt great! That fanbase/administration/university deserved to have that feeling and pump their chest out. We wanted to get them over the hump. When you leave a job and it is better than where you found it: that is a good barometer of success. They were good before I arrived but my staff and I helped take it to the next level. To leave on a high note made me feel really good. People had been coming to games every season and had been disappointed in March so many times before.
Your .765 winning percentage ranks 3rd in the nation among active coaches behind Mark Few/Bill Self: what is the secret to being a great coach? Having the best players! I cannot even tell you what my record is because I do not focus on that. I have been fortunate to be at good programs with great staffs and coachable players. It will be hard-pressed to continue that in the SEC but we will give it a shot.
You were hired at Mississippi State last March: why did you take the job, and how is it going so far? When you do this for 31 years you learn/grow/get curious. A lot of coaches will talk about the fit with their family or the part of the country…but at the end of the day I get to compete against the best coaches/players in the nation every night so it is a dream come true. I was not sitting around hoping to get a specific job: that is not how it works.
1 of your new players is Jamel Horton, who was America East DPOY at Albany last year: what does he bring to the table? He has great size for his position and has good instincts on defense. He can really see the court on offense and will act as our QB. He has great experience so we are excited that he is here and learning our system as a PG. I like the progress that he has made so far.
Your non-conference schedule includes games against Marquette/Minnesota/TCU (plus either Georgia Tech/Utah in Game 2 of the Fort Myers Tipoff): which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? If I was a neutral observer I would say that this coach is not very smart because it is a pretty tough schedule! There are a lot of games on our schedule on a neutral court (including Akron in Philly and Drake in Lincoln): if I was still at New Mexico State I would be licking my chops to get a chance at a team like Mississippi State! If we are successful in a majority of those games then it will look great at the end of the season.
What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? We have daily expectations to go about our day at an elite level, be it on the practice court or in the weight room/study hall. If that eventually takes hold then you have a good program. We want to play to the best of our abilities and will be judged on our wins/losses so we will treat every game like the Super Bowl. Everyone is fresh and has big dreams but our goal is always to win games in March and go on a run.
The Big 12 is crazy good this year. We think there are five teams in the conference that could end up as protected seeds, and as many as six or seven that can make the Tournament. Teams like Baylor and Kansas may be Final Four contenders, Texas appears to be very strong, and TCU could have a special kind of season and compete for a spot at the top. Some of us (well, one of us) also really like Oklahoma State as a dark horse. We look at all ten teams, discuss who we think will make The Tournament, who we think will be on the bubble, and more.
And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…
CLICK HERE for All of Hoops HD’s Continued and Extensive Preseason Content
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST 1ST TEAM:
-Ryan Kalkbrenner – JR, C – Creighton
-Jared Bynum – SR, G – Providence
-Posh Alexander – JR, G – Saint John’s
-Colby Jones – JR, G – Xavier
-Jack Nunge – SR, F – Xavier
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST 2ND TEAM:
-Arther Kaluma – SO, F – Creighton
-Ryan Nembhard – SO, G – Creighton
-Kadary Richmond – JR, G – Seton Hall
-Caleb Daniels – SR, G – Villanova
-Eric Dixon – JR, F – Villanova
-Justin Moore – SR, G – Villanova
COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
-After returning a lot of the core that lead Creighton to an NCAA Tournament last year and adding a huge transfer in Baylor Scheierman from South Dakota State, expectations are understandably high for the Blue Jays this year. One of my criticisms of this program has been how they always fizzle out in last 4-5 weeks of the season. While they did lose in the Round of 64 last year, they still played very well in the second half of conference play so I am backing off my belief that this team just cannot get it done down the stretch. They are good enough to earn a protected seed and be a Sweet Sixteen team or better this year. Speaking of teams not doing well down the stretch…
-Xavier finished last year’s regular season by losing 8 out of 11. Prior to that they appeared to be a shoe-in for the NCAA Tournament. They made a coaching change in the middle of the NIT, then won the NIT, and then made another coaching change with the re-hiring of Sean Miller. He was successful during a previous stint at Xavier and was also successful out at Arizona. While ongoing NCAA investigations could be a factor, the expectations at Xavier is that they will once again be NCAA Tournament regulars under Miller. As for this season, three starters are back, they are picked to finish second in the conference, and are also expected to be safely inside the bubble.
-Villanova begins the post-Jay Wright era with Kyle Neptune. It is not easy replacing a Hall of Fame coach, but Neptune was with Nova for a long time and in his one year at Fordham he did a fantastic job (at least by Fordham’s standards). Although Collin Gillespie is gone, which is a huge loss, a lot of other contributing players are back from last year’s Final Four team. I think we will see them as top-25 regulars and safely inside the bubble this March.
After that it starts to look a little bubblicious…
-UConn made the NCAA Tournament last year and will likely be on the right side of the bubble this year. They did lose some key pieces but they return enough and add enough to where they should still be competitive. Dan Hurley has this program moving in the right direction and I think that will continue this year.
-Providence was a protected seed a year ago. Providence also lost all of their starters and are in complete rebuilding mode. Not much is expected of them but we have all seen this movie before. They have some key transfers coming in and Ed Cooley is a fantastic coach, so will the Friars once again be able to surprise all of us and end up having a big year?
-Saint John’s kind of fell apart in the second half of conference play last year, but they did show some signs of being pretty good prior to that, and they have enough coming back that they may end up being in the discussion come March.
-Seton Hall welcomes Shaheen Holloway as their new head coach. He was last seen taking Saint Peter’s to the Elite Eight. While it is a good hire for The Hall, he has his work cut out for him this year. Just two starters are back so they have hit the transfer portal to try and round up some new players who can step into contributing roles.
-Butler welcomes a new/old head coach in Thad Matta! While he was only the head coach at Butler for one season, he had been with the program a while before that, and even played for them once upon a time. He was very successful at Xavier, and then again at Ohio State, so he will look to rebuild the Bulldogs back into being on the national map. It probably will not happen this year, though. They struggled last year, and lost some of their better players, so they are definitely in rebuilding mode.
-Marquette did make the NCAA Tournament last year, but they kind of backed into it by losing six of their last nine and a lot of key players from that team are gone. I do not think they will finish quite as low as they have been picked, but they are a young team and it could be a rough season.
-Georgetown won just six total games last year and none of them were conference games. They may be a little better this year…but that is not saying much. Simply winning one conference game at any point would be an improvement.
-There always seems to be a moment during the season where DePaul looks like they have a reason to be excited. It does not last long but the last several seasons seem to have given us that. At one point last year they were 9-1 with a win at Louisville. They proceeded to lose 9 of their first 10 Big East games after that. But, I do not think DePaul finishes last this year. Two starters are back and they have some decent looking transfers. I do not think they are anywhere near the NIT but I think they are certainly better than the last place team in this league.
CLICK HERE for All of Hoops HD’s Continued and Extensive Preseason Content
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-BIG WEST TEAM:
-Noel Coleman – G – Hawai’i
-Andre Kelly – F – UC Santa Barbara
-Ajay Mitchell – G – UC Santa Barbara
-Joey Murray – G – Long Beach State
-Elijah Pepper – G – UC Davis
-Zyon Pullin – G – UC Riverside
COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
I love watching the Big West. I really do. It is one of my favorite leagues and the reason I am sleep-deprived for much of the year. Last year was so frustrating because while everyone was thrown off-kilter by COVID, this conference was thrown further off than pretty much any of the rest. I am very much looking forward to what I hope (and think) will be the first normal Big West season in three years.
-The Gauchos of UC Santa Barbara are pretty much the consensus favorites to win the league and I think they may be in the top group of all the Under the Radar teams this year. They got off to a rough start and had a lot of games cancelled last year but were playing really well down the stretch. With four starters back as well as some guys who missed last season due to injury, they are looking really strong this year. It would not shock me at all to see them end up on the bubble come March. They can shoot, they can defend, they have good balance, and good depth.
-Hawai’i is another team that has high expectations, and who looked really good throughout most of conference play last year. They also have some guys that look to be healthy again after missing all or part of last season. Their leading scorer is back in Noel Coleman and he appears to have a good supporting cast around him as well.
-After a few years of decline, Long Beach sprung back in a big way last year with a first place finish in the conference and 20 total wins. Dan Monson is a coach I like despite some of the valleys he has been through. This is his 15th year at The Beach and I still think he can turn them into a top-level Big West and Under the Radar program. Three starters are back including Joel Murray/Jadon Jones. They also add some transfers who should give them some depth. I think The Beach can finish at the top of the league. I do not know if it is fair to call them a dark horse since they finished in first place last year, but I like them about as much as I like UCSB.
-UC Irvine has slid down the hill a little bit from when they used to be league frontrunners, but they are still one of the teams that should finish in the top half of the conference. Three starters are back from a team that finished in a modest 4th place last year, and that is where many think the Eaters will end up again this year.
-UC Riverside has been experiencing more success in the last few years than what they were used to. They have gone from being a conference doormat to being consistently around the middle of the conference and in a position to better compete with the top half. They lost six conference games (including their tourney game) either in overtime or by 6 pts or less. It seems as though they are really close with being able to compete with the teams at the top.
-UC Davis has four starters back. I like the job that Jim Les has done here even though the team has struggled the last few years, and I keep thinking that he can build them into a consistent conference contender. Elijah Pepper is one of the better players in the league, and with a lot of experience returning we could see a bit of a breakout year for the Aggies this year. They are my pick as the conference dark horse.
-I am a little surprised to see Cal State Fullerton picked this low. They won the league last year, made it to the NCAA Tournament, and have three starters back along with some good players off their bench. They have also added a few transfers who they can get some production out of. So…what am I missing?? Why not some more love for the Titans??
-Cal State Bakersfield finished near the bottom of the league last year and appears to be in rebuilding mode this year. Rod Barnes has done a good job in the 11 years he has been the head coach but he once again has his work cut out for him.
-Cal Poly has failed to win 10 total games for the past five years and has finished outside the KenPom top-300 in each of those five years as well. All five starters are back from a year ago so we should see some improvement given all the experience they have, but the expectations are that we will see them closer to the bottom of the league than to the top.
-UC San Diego is a transitional team that I think will get assimilated to D1 rather quickly and be competitive in the conference by the end of their transition.
-Cal State Northridge is not a transitional team and is showing no signs whatsoever of being competitive in the conference any time soon.
We are still a couple of weeks away from the tip-off of the college basketball season, which means that we have plenty of time to start preparing for the action ahead. We will do so via a series of season previews featuring the best players/coaches in the country. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel continues our coverage with Villanova F Maddy Siegrist, who talked about beating UConn last February and her expectations for this season.
You grew up in Poughkeepsie: what made you choose Villanova? It was the biggest school that I felt I could play at back then. I came to campus and just loved the school.
You broke your ankle during your 2nd day of preseason practice when you stepped on your teammate’s foot: how bad was it, and how were you able to come back the following year to be named unanimous 2020 conference ROY? It was tough! I had to get ankle surgery, which kind of sucked: it was the 1st time in my career that I had a set-back like that. Looking back on it now, it helped me appreciate the game more and gave me motivation.
As a sophomore you became the 3rd player in Big East history to lead the conference in both scoring (22.8) and rebounding (9.8): how are you able to balance your scoring with your rebounding? Rebounding is a hustle area: you just need to want the ball and give your team some extra possessions.
Last February you had 17 PTS/12 REB in a 3-PT win over UConn, snapping the Huskies’ 9-year-long 169-game conference win streak: where does that rank among the highlights of your career? It is definitely up there: I would say top-5. It was incredible to be a part of that. We had the opportunity and I could not be prouder of my team.
In 2022 you were named conference POY: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It is such a great honor because it is such a strong conference. It is a reflection of the entire team/coaches: not just me.
You also finished #2 in the nation last with 25.3 PPG: what is the secret to being a great scorer? You have to be resilient and cannot go into any game thinking that you need to score a certain # of points. If you play your best then good things will happen.
You have already graduated with a degree in Communications and are now working on your master’s in education: how do you balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? Time management: you have to prioritize certain things so I try to plan my day out. After sleeping/eating, school comes 1st, and then I make time to get some shots up.
You played for team USA at the 3×3 world championships last month where you made it all the way to the semifinals before losing to eventual champion France: what was it like facing Eve Wembanyama (whose brother Victor is projected to be the 1st overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft) in pool play? I did not even know that: it is pretty cool. All of the French players were really talented. I have seen a bunch of highlights of her brother: he is pretty impressive.
Your father George played basketball at Marist: who is the best athlete in the family? I would say that it is me. He was more of a banger inside so when we played against each other during the summer he used to win all of the time…until a couple of years ago. He will never let me take the same shot twice!
What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? The end goal is to get back to the NCAA tourney so I will do whatever it takes for my team to do that. We cannot look too far ahead so we will just take it 1 game at a time and I will try to be the best leader that I can be.
