Chris Jans explains how Mississippi State basketball built chemistry, camaraderie in Portugal

Chris Jans and the Mississippi State basketball team are already seeing some of the benefits from the Bulldogs’ offseason trip to Portugal.

As Chris Jans and his Mississippi State men’s basketball team head into their second season together, it appears that Jans is pretty pleased with one rather significant part of the Bulldogs’ offseason.

Mississippi State’s summer trip to Portugal allowed the team to build some important chemistry and camaraderie (both on and off the court) and that’ll be huge for a team already dealing with injuries.

During SEC Media Days, Jans was asked about State’s trip to Portugal and how that benefitted the Bulldogs. According to MSU’s head coach, the experienced returning players on the Bulldogs’ men’s basketball roster openly embraced State’s newcomers without any hesitation.

“The feedback that I got, which was heartwarming for our new guys, is how welcoming the older vets were. They brought ’em in, welcomed ’em with open arms,” Jans said, according to ASAP Sports’ transcript of the event.

Mississippi State basketball: Summer trip to Portugal helped build bonds between veterans and newcomers on Bulldogs roster

Unsurprisingly, Jans was certainly pleased to hear about how State’s players had positive interactions during the trip. And he’s not wrong to think that could help strengthen relationships this Mississippi State men’s basketball season.

Another key aspect of the Portugal trip is that it allowed for early opportunities to get valuable on-court experience. As Jans’ Mississippi State basketball team is already forced to navigate some notable injuries before the season even begins, that experience is crucial for a MSU team that hopes to make noise in the SEC this season.

“If there’s going to be some silver lining, the injuries that have happened to us, hopefully that will be one of them, is that they’ll bond together and understand that everyone’s got to pick it up a little bit here and there in order to keep the train moving,” Jans commented.

Building chemistry can take time. Especially when you have a such a mix of returners and newcomers. But this trip to Portugal should help give State a head start as the season gets set to begin.

“There’s so many benefits from it,” Jans said of the foreign tour. “But certainly one of them is the expectation that that particular team will become a closer-knit team.”