Chris Jans
Hall of Fame Enshrinee Information
                                                                                                                                       
Chris Jans
Inducted: 2010

Years at Loras: 1987-1991
Sport: Basketball
ACCOMPLISHMENTS/HONORS:
 
There are seasons to remember, and then there are seasons to remember! There are sharp-shooters, and then there are sharp-shooters! These are just a couple of the reactions basketball fans surely have had when watching Chris Jans play basketball - and certainly when presented with his 1990-91 season statistics, not to mention his career numbers in the purple and gold from 1987-1991. Just as the three-point arc was being implemented into the college game and growing in importance, Jans was attacking it for a school record 214 three-pointers.

Jans was undoubtedly knocking down three-pointers his whole career, but emerged in his senior season to set Loras' all-time scoring record. Jans scored 707 points that year in 25 games, good for a 28.3 per game average, both records that have not been touched in 20 years. A grand total of 399 of those points came from his 133 made baskets from behind the arc – also a Loras record. No one in the NCAA averaged more three point field goals per game than Jans did that season (5.3). Jans made 93 of his 133 three-pointers during Iowa Conference games, a record that still stands today. He is also a member of the 1,000 points club, concluding his career with 1,206 points.

At the time of his departure from the program, Jans held the NCAA Division III record for three pointers made in a season. Even today, he is 13th on the list, behind only a handful of players exclusively from programs who run the unorthodox, high paced, and long distance offenses (Grinnell and Redlands). For his efforts during the 1990-91 season, Jans was named first team All-Iowa Conference and NABC All-West Region.

Today, Jans remains in the game of basketball as an assistant coach at Wichita State in Wichita, Kansas – a NCAA Division I and Missouri Valley Conference member. He began his coaching career at Elmhurst College in 1992, won a National Junior College Athletics Association (NJCAA) championship with Kirkwood College in 1998, and stopped at seven additional colleges or universities before landing at his current position with the Shockers. Among those stops were a mix of head and assistant coaching positions across a number of competitive levels. Jans lives in Andover, Kansas with his wife Sheri and his stepchildren, Nick and Maddie.