TRANSCRIPT | Everything Chris Beard said after the Rebels’ win over State: ‘…If you’re going to win the fight, you’ve got to get in the fight’

OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss men’s basketball defeated Mississippi State, 86-82, Tuesday night in a rivalry game played at the SJB Pavilion in front of a record crowd.

The Rebel faithful showed out, shattering the previous attendance record by over 1,000, as 10,630 fans witnessed the Rebels’ win. It was the highest attendance for an Ole Miss basketball game in the 114 years of the program.

Here’s everything head coach Chris Beard had to say after the game in his postgame press conference. 

Coach Beard’s Opening Statement

“You know, obviously one of the best environments in college basketball tonight, right? Record attendance here at the Pavilion. It starts with our student body getting here early and not only coming to the game, but just bringing the energy and bringing the juice. So that was pretty cool.

“I’ve been fortunate to coach in a lot of great environments over the years, and tonight was special. So we’re building something here. It’s year one, but to have this kind of game in late January with our students show up like this, and our season ticket holders were there in full force. Thank you, not only thank you for the attendance, but thank you for impacting the game with the environment. So, that’s pretty cool.

“College basketball is a players game. It always has been. It always will be, in my opinion. So whenever you beat a really good team that’s well-coached like we did tonight, you know you had some guys step up. So certainly for JuJu (Jaylen Murray) to have 11 assists and only one turnover in the game — he’s kind of disappointed about the one turnover. But the 11 assists, it was elite. His mind was in the right place. JuJu’s had some really good offensive coaches growing up in the Bronx. I’m still waiting to talk to the guy who taught him how to play defense, but we won’t talk about that tonight.

“And obviously, TJ (Caldwell), I think I said this the other night, those of you that were here, this wasn’t a one-game deal. TJ’s been really doing well in practice. He’s getting himself ready. In my mind, this is 4 or 5 straight games where the young guys have been really ready to play and dialed in tonight. The basket opened up to him with his talent; he got two steals, some big rebounds. So it’s a players game. You know we don’t win tonight without TJ’s performance coming off the bench. Really proud of TJ.”

Question: Coach, I think (Josh) Hubbard had five points in the second half, kind of what went into stopping him after a weak first half?

Coach Beard: “(He is a) special young player, I have a lot of respect for him. And I think (Mississippi State head coach Chris) Jans is doing a great job with him, obviously. He’s gotten better from game one to tonight….special player and I don’t know if it was anything that we did.

“We obviously reminded the guys of the original game plan and maybe had a few more focused possessions on him, but Jans had us spread out pretty good, so it wasn’t like we could make a make a big kind of basketball adjustment. At the end of the day, you’ve got to guard your man. But no, he’s a really good player, and he gave us all we could handle tonight. So a lot of respect for him.”

Question: To see TJ (Caldwell) have a have a game like this off the bench and see him stay true to his process like this, what does it say about him? He just keeps his head down.

Coach Beard: “Same things I have always said for TJ. He’s a talented young guy — just striving for consistency like we all are, myself included. But I’ve been really impressed with his approach the last several weeks in practice, individual workouts, and film sessions. TJ’s got a demeanor about him. He doesn’t get too high. He doesn’t get too low. In my opinion, this will translate to him not only being a great player in the SEC, but being a pro one day.

“He’s just got a poise about him that we feed off of in a lot of ways. And again, it’s a player’s game, right? We had some adversity with some foul trouble and some other guys not bringing their A game tonight. And you need that. And same for Mississippi State, right. They had a special special performance from one of their guys coming off the bench too. But no, TJ is a guy that I really believe in. If he runs his own race, I think he’ll be a pro.”

Question: Chris, what went into getting this environment built tonight?

Coach Beard: “A lot of work that starts with a vision from the Chancellor, the athletic director of ‘let’s do this.’ Let’s get into this game of men’s basketball in the SEC, and let’s just kind of try to be a part of the fight. And if you’re going to win the fight, you’ve got to get in the fight. And you know, I think we’re definitely doing that.

“It started back in November, right, where we sold out several games in the non-conference. And there’s two things we’re fighting for, two objectives. You know, you want every seat filled. And then once the seats are filled, you want to have those people in the seats impact the game. We’re just continuing to grow it tonight. So from the marketing department here at Ole Miss, there’s a lot of people who went into this. It’s not a one or two-man deal. A lot of people have worked on this and we’re super appreciative.”

Question: Chris, what have you seen since that Auburn game in your team over these three games?

Coach Beard: “I’m not good at thinking back. I look at the next game on the schedule. But, obviously, if I’m not mistaken, Auburn was the second or third road game in the SEC and it just didn’t feel like we played our game that night. So I think we’re starting to play our game.

“Sometimes you’re going to win, sometimes you’re going to run out of time. But, it’s starting to feel like there’s a little bit more relationship between what we want to do and and what we get done. So I guess the answer to that question is we’re becoming more consistent — not where we need to be to have a great February and March — but I think we’re definitely trending in the right direction. I don’t think anybody would disagree with that.”

Question: Coach, with this environment — Ole Miss, Mississippi State — how does it compare to some of the other big rivalries that you’ve been a part of as a head coach and assistant throughout your career?

Coach Beard: “It’s cool. The other day I was getting gas at Rascals and somebody was kind of yelling at me and stuff. And you don’t get that a lot in Oxford. You get it a lot in other places in coaching. But I didn’t know if I kind of took his pump or maybe cut him off, I don’t know. So I kind of looked at him and he had a Mississippi state shirt on. So then he winked at me at the end.

“So I’ve only been here a few months, but I’m starting to understand this deal. It’s a great rivalry. I’ve been watching this for a long time, certainly with Kermit’s teams and AK’s teams. And Mississippi State’s had some great basketball over the years. You know, in my opinion, Chris Jans is one of the best guys in our game. No doubt about it.”

Question: Chris, you start the second half with a 14 to 3 run. State never regains the lead. I guess what goes into that start of the second half and holding them off?

Coach Beard: “Yeah, I wish I could say we planned that. But what we do talk about is there are spurts in the 40 minute game.  There’s ten, four-minute games. And to beat a good team you’ve got to hold serve in the match. You can’t get beat in one of those four-minute games. You can’t let a team double you up. And that’s happened a few times this year in our road games. So, then, you certainly have to separate in a couple.

“So obviously for us, that was the most important four minutes of the game for us coming out of halftime. I think we got some stops, which disappeared later on, and then offensively, we were in a pretty good rhythm early in the second half.”

Question: Moussa (Cisse) got into foul trouble early in the first half. And you kind of had to turn to Rashaud Marshall. How do you evaluate the freshman’s performance tonight?

Coach Beard: “I thought he played great. To me, it’s all about his attitude and his body language. And are you ready to play? It’s not necessarily about the plays he’s going to make. And, I thought he was good. He was dialed in. He was physical. He got a basket there, if I’m not mistaken, and I know he’s dialed in. The eye contact in the huddles, and I think his heart was in the right place tonight. He answered the call. So good performance from Rashaud. No doubt about it.”

Next Up

Coach Beard and the Rebels will be back at home in the Pavilion on Saturday, February 3rd to take on the Auburn Tigers for the second time this year. Tipoff is set for 5 pm CT on the SEC Network.

(Feature image credit: Ole Miss Men’s Basketball)