Underneath the extravagant chandeliers of the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Birmingham, Alabama, Mizzou men’s basketball coach Dennis Gates took the stage Tuesday at SEC Media Days with an adopted mindset of restraint .
His team played to an 8-24 overall record, 0-18 Southeastern Conference finish and 19-game losing streak to conclude the 2023-24 campaign.
“Life happens in seasons, and — in real life — you can’t start back at zero,” Gates said. “That’s the unique part about basketball or college sports. We’re 0-0, just like everyone else.”
Graduate guard Tony Perkins and junior forward Mark Mitchell — transfers from Iowa and Duke, respectively — flew in with Gates for this week’s events. Gates praised their character and experience when asked about his choice to bring the first-year Tigers.
“They’re first-season guys here, but they’re seasoned,” he said. “These guys (have) been in battles their entire careers. ... I think those guys give us unbelievable experience, when you look at the games that they’ve played, but also the character that they are.”
The SEC preseason media poll released Monday had the Tigers at the No. 13 spot in the 16-team league, and MU had no players named to the preseason all-conference teams.
Mitchell and Perkins praise Gates’ transparency
Mitchell and Perkins account for two of the 11 new additions to the Tigers’ 18-man roster — five incoming freshmen and six transfers — and they both attributed Gates’ transparency as one of their main reasons for transferring to Missouri.
“When I first talked to Coach Gates, I could feel the authenticity coming from him and for his program,” Mitchell said on “The Paul Finebaum Show.” “Just being around winning, you know what winning is. Just talking to him, talking to people in the program, I could tell he was a winning guy.”
“First talking to Coach Gates, (there) was already a connection,” Perkins said. “(We stayed) in contact ever since.”
Gates assesses roster additions
Gates praised transfers Mitchell, graduate center Josh Gray and true freshman guard Annor Boateng in response to questions regarding MU’s new roster additions.
Gray and former Mizzou forward Jordan Butler swapped programs during the offseason, when Gray and Butler transferred to Missouri and South Carolina, respectively.
“Well, that was the first in-season trade,” Gates said. “But (Gray’s) just an unbelievable young man, great leader in our community, and we’re excited and thankful that he chose Missouri.”
Gates believes that Mitchell’s arrival in the portal from Duke contradicts the narrative of transferring.
“Just because kids are in the transfer portal doesn’t mean they’ve failed at all,” Gates said. “He’s an unbelievable teammate, hard worker, passionate about the game and plays the right way.”
When asked about Boateng’s impact going into the upcoming season, Gates expressed his excitement for the four-star recruit.
“We won’t know until we get into games where Annor is,” Gates said. “But from what I see, he’s one of the most talented guys that I’ve coached as a freshman.”
The Tigers open their season on the road Nov. 4 against Memphis.
Mizzou gears up for difficult schedule
The preseason AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll consists of nine SEC teams, including Alabama (second), Auburn (11th), Tennessee (12th), Texas A&M (13th), Arkansas (16th), Texas (19th), Florida (21st), Kentucky (23rd) and Ole Miss (24th).
Mississippi State did not make the list, but the Bulldogs received six votes.
Gates looks forward to a schedule that features many ranked conference foes.
“That’s what this conference is about, creating great memories together and against each other,” he said. “I just hope we don’t beat ... up each other too much in this season.
“We have 16 unbelievable teams, great coaches, and I would love to see ... not just nine teams but what if about 12 teams get into the NCAA Tournament from the SEC?”
The most bids by one conference in a single NCAA Tournament is 11, which came from the Big East Conference in 2011.
Gates believes that Missouri’s nonconference schedule — featuring clashes with California on Dec. 3, No. 1 Kansas on Dec. 8 and Illinois on Dec. 22 — will prepare the Tigers for a deeper SEC.
“I just think our schedule is built to continue to get us better as a program, and that’s what we’re going to focus on,” Gates said.
Gates on being a Black DI coach
Gates was asked about the progress he’s seen regarding the number of Black coaches in the SEC.
That followed Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton’s statement about the increased number of Black coaches in the ACC since 2020 at ACC Media Days on Oct. 9.
Gates credits Hamilton’s mentorship at Florida State from 2004-05 and 2011-19 as one of the main reasons why he is the coach he is today.
“I’m just thankful that Leonard Hamilton put his arms around me how he did and put me in position to learn on his watch, learn the hard way and learn through failure,” Gates said. “And he never took those responsibilities from me. ... He allowed his doors to be open; he shared stories.”
Hamilton — coaching at Miami — went 0-18 in Big East play in the 1993-94 campaign.
“One of the greatest stories he ... told me, was not when he was Big East Coach of the Year, not when he was associated head coach for Joe B. Hall at Kentucky, but when he was at Miami and he went (0-18) in conference,” Gates said. “That was one of the greatest stories.”
Similar to Gates’ winless SEC season, Hamilton — coaching at Miami — went 0-18 in Big East play in the 1993-94 campaign.
“One of the greatest stories he ... told me, was not when he was Big East Coach of the Year, not when he was associate head coach for Joe B. Hall at Kentucky, but when he was at Miami and he went (0-18) in conference,” Gates said. “That was one of the greatest stories.
“I didn’t know back then why he would share it. All those trophies, all those rings, he would share the story every single month — or every two months — of how he struggled in certain situations.”
Copyright 2024 Columbia Missourian
Local News
Comments / 0