Candidate Profile: Dennis Gates
After Missouri parted ways with Cuonzo Martin a week ago, athletics director Desiree Reed-Francois is in search of a new basketball coach. Martin's replacement will take over a program that made the NCAA Tournament twice during his tenure, in 2018 and 2021, but went just 12-21 a season ago.
A list of potential replacements for Martin can be found within our most recent hot board. Each day, we'll go a little bit more in depth to break down candidates in whom Missouri has expressed interest.
Cleveland State head coach Dennis Gates hasn't been the buzziest name among current mid-major coaches, but sources have indicated to PowerMizzou that Missouri has at least expressed interest in Gates. After three seasons with Cleveland State, Gates has also been linked to the opening at South Carolina.
Dennis Gates
Age: 42
Current position: Cleveland State head coach (third season)
Past head coaching experience: none
Salary: $550,000
Buyout: $600,000
Gates' record during his three seasons at Cleveland State — 50-40 — doesn't jump off the page. Unlike some other candidates who have garnered buzz during Missouri's search, his team isn't playing in the NCAA Tournament.
But Gates has impressed his peers in the Horizon League, at least. Gates got voted as the conference's coach of the year following each of his first two seasons at Cleveland State. Add that to his eight years of experience as an assistant coach under Leonard Hamilton at Florida State, and Gates has apparently piqued the interest of the Missouri administration.
Gates, a Chicago native, played his college basketball at California. During his senior season, the Golden Bears made the 2002 NCAA Tournament. He actually began his coaching career in the NBA as a skill development coach for the Los Angeles Clippers, but he returned to college coaching shortly thereafter. He worked as a graduate assistant both at Marquette and at Florida State.
In 2005, Gates returned to his alma mater as a full-time assistant. He spent two seasons there coaching under his former college coach, Ben Braun. In 2007, he returned to his home state as an assistant at Northern Illinois. He moved on to Nevada for two seasons, then migrated to Tallahassee, where he joined forces with Hamilton.
At Florida State, Gates was credited with some of the recruiting success that allowed the Seminoles to overcome a four-year absence from the NCAA Tournament and emerge as a perennial power. The Seminoles made the Sweet 16 during Gates' first season at Florida State, but averaged just 19.25 wins over the following four seasons. That resulted in some pressure on Hamilton, but due in large part to some positive momentum on the recruiting trail, the administration kept him in place.
That momentum largely stemmed from the commitment of Jonathan Isaac in the class of 2016. The five-star prospect went on to become the ninth selection in the 2017 NBA Draft. The 2016 recruiting class also included future first-round draft pick Mfiondu Kabengele, who Gates was credited with discovering for Florida State, as well as multi-year contributors C.J. Walker and Trent Forrest. The following year, Gates and Florida State inked two more top 150 prospects in four-star RayQuan Gray and five-star M.J. Walker.
That recruiting success translated into a run of four straight NCAA Tournament appearances for Florida State, which would have been five had the COVID-19 pandemic not canceled the 2020 postseason. It also put Gates on the radar for schools searching for a head coach.
In 2019, Cleveland State gave Gates his first head-coaching opportunity. It didn't come without challenges. The Viking program had struggled mightily prior to Gates' arrival, going a combined 40-89 over the prior four seasons. The year before Gates took the job, Cleveland State ranked No. 278 in Division I according to KenPom.
Gates didn't achieve success right away, going 11-21 in 2019-20. But last season, he broke through, leading Cleveland State to a 19-8 overall record and an NCAA Tournament berth. The Vikings won the Horizon League regular season for the first time since 2010 and the league tournament for the first time since 2009. It finished the season ranked 169th by KenPom.
Cleveland State again won the Horizon League regular season this year, although the Vikings lost to eventual tournament champion Wright State in the conference semifinals. The Vikings fell to Xavier by four points on Tuesday in the first round of the NIT, ending their season.
Gates signed a new six-year contract following his trip to the NCAA Tournament last year, but his buyout is just $600,000. In addition to South Carolina, his name been posited by some as a potential replacement for Mike White at Florida.
Previous Candidate Profiles:
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