Mississippi State basketball: Chris Jans discusses defensive intensity with Tolu Smith hurt

The Bulldogs are going to be missing some serious depth as Mississippi State basketball stars Tolu Smith and KeShawn Murphy are sidelined.

The Mississippi State men’s basketball team is going to be missing some serious size, talent, and physicality in the front court as Tolu Smith and KeShawn Murphy are sidelined early. With a significant hole in the Bulldogs’ front court, Mississippi State basketball’s Chris Jans faces a sizable challenge to maintain MSU’s defensive identity.

When Jans was asked about the depth issues in the front court, he acknowledged the obvious issues the Bulldogs would face this season.

“We’re not as big and physical and athletic as we were hoping to be if we were full strength,” Jans explained, according to ASAP Sports’ transcript from SEC Media Days.

Smith and Murphy were expected to help the Bulldogs have an imposing presence inside and allow the Bulldogs to shrink the court, erase mistakes, grab key rebounds, and protect the rim. But with both of them dinged up, that’s going to be a bit of a challenge for Miss. State.

How Mississippi State basketball plans to maintain defensive intensity without key big men

And that means Jans and his coaching staff have to make some noteworthy adjustments.

“Our staff and I are trying to tweak how we play on both ends of the floor, in addition to the defensive side of the ball,” the head coach of the Bulldogs noted.

Of course, this is SEC Media Days. We don’t know exactly what those sorts of changes are just yet. But here’s to hoping that whatever schematic and tactical adjustments Miss. State does make will help cover up some of those notable vulnerabilities near the basket.

“We’re hopeful that the guys that we’ve brought in, the new players that have joined us, will provide some shooting and some scoring that we were lacking last year, at the same time buying into what gets them on the floor and what keeps them on the floor,” Jans explained.

And here’s to hoping that Jans is able to innovate enough and challenge his players enough to get beyond those key depth issues caused by injuries.