Dennis Gates has added eight new faces to the Missouri roster since taking the job less than two months ago. Missouri has two open scholarships remaining and Gates said on Tuesday morning he planned to use both of them. But we took some time to get the coach’s thoughts on the players that have signed on since he took the job.
Below is what Gates had to say about each of the new additions.
D’Moi Hodge and Tre Gomillion: “So when you look at the two individuals that we signed, D’Moi Hodge, first-team all-conference player, but also all-American at the JUCO level, if you look at him being a defensive player of the year, that that is something that obviously shows the value of not only his basketball IQ, but also his willingness to give it all on the other side of the game. And you know, you can have defense in some eyes, you know, sort of a downplay, but those guys take pride in it. Tre Gomillion, the same way. Third-team all-conference player, Defensive Player of the Year. Whenever you can have defensive player two years, no matter the conference, on the same team taking the award from each other, at some point that speaks volumes of culture, that speaks volumes of their belief on that side of the ball and understanding of what it takes to really win. And I'm excited that they decided to call this place home. They decided to call me coach again. But also, you got to understand these young men are unbelievable students, right? They're unbelievable student advocates, and we are lucky to have them because so many institutions were definitely knocking on their door when they put their name in the transfer portal.”
Mohamed Diarra: “Very versatile guy. And I truly believe that his strengths exceed whatever stats he's put out. He’s a recovery type defender, his length, his athleticism, his anticipation is one of his strengths, but also his ability to put the ball on the floor, his ability to sprint and run, his ability to rebound and block shots and assist. And so I don't look at him as a one dimensional guy at all. I look at him as a kid that I truly believe will develop further in his career. When also the talent he's losing with it. What also he looks like he looks the part he looks like a kid that can play professionally at some point in time.”
I know you’re not just moving coach Hamilton’s program across the country, but he’s a guy that looks like the kind of big guy that was playing for Florida State for the last ten years.
“I was there for the last ten years and those are the type of guys that we recruited, right? And identified. I think he has the intangibles. He has the measurement. He has all those things that transcends and transfers or translates into the things and the stats that we would like to have from a shot blocking perspective but also, when you look at deflections, look at assists, when we look at the ability to play the game in a faster pace. But that young man is talented man. He's only the number one junior college player in the country. But he didn't get the award. The funny thing is, his future teammate earned the award as NJCAA Player of the Year.”
Sean East and Nick Honor: So let’s talk about him. Is Sean East a true point guard?
“Sean is a points guard. He's a kid that can score but also facilitate and lead your team. From a pace standpoint. I don't want to slow a kid like that down. That's why it was important to hit a young man like Nick Honor, who is cerebral, who's able to slow down the pace, played in the Brad Brownell system. He's able to play in a different pace, but also he can score. I wanted to find kids that can put the ball in the basket and Shawn East does that at a high level shooting pretty much 40/50/90. And that's what is valuable, the marks over a period of time, that’s valuable and when you look at any kind of scorers.”
I understand things are different now with the transfer portal, but when you look at a kid who’s going on his fourth school in four years, is that something you have to look into why when you start recruiting him?
“No, Sean is a great kid. He's a great kid, and you got to look at a couple of things. You got to look at how COVID impacted one of his decisions, you got to look at where in that mental space was at while he was growing. There was a coaching change at some point, he wanted to reset his career. And he did that and he reset it and now that is experience that I truly believe will allow us to be a program that that is going and trending in the right direction, Shawn East, but also we have to understand Nick Honor. Nick Honor is not going to make it easy for no one I can't wait to see both of them on the court at the same time.
I was gonna say, can they play together?
“Yes they can. hat was the objective to make sure we had guys that can play together. Because we got to take care of the ball at this level. We got to have a positive assist to turnover ratio and throughout both those guys careers they've had that.”
Pictures of Nick look like a guy that could have played running back for Clemson just physically.
“He’s a diminutive point guard, a guy that can obviously pick up 94 feet guy who has great basketball IQ. A true leader, he has something that is very valuable. Only (a few) guys have it and that's the NCAA experience. And Nick Honor was a huge part of that. He's a coach's son, you know and he's has unbelievable shooting ability, scoring ability, but also defensive prowess. I truly believe as it relates to the development, he carries what I truly believe is very important. And that's the understanding of how to do it every day. Every day every day you will wake up what's your routine, Nick Honor gives us that and he can show the way and I'm excited about the other guys who also can can do the same things, but it starts with our point guards. Nick Honor, Sean East is truly an asset to us. But most importantly, them playing the game together will be central in our in our growth.”
DeAndre Gholston: “DeAndre Gholston, he's a young man that I've recruited long before I became a head coach here but he was behind, you know, some successful years after walking. Had a great career. Last season didn't go as planned. Obviously, Patrick Baldwin Jr. was there with him and it didn't go where they wanted it to go. But he knows how to play with great players. He's a young man that I truly believe with his strength, with his scoring abilities, with his physicality, he can give us some other things that we need. That’s the ability to stretch the floor, the ability to rebound, the ability to defend. He has to become a better defender. That's a challenge, but he also knows that he can do that under our system, as he's seeing Tre Gomillion, D'Moi Hodge become defensive player of the year winners in our conference and while stripping that award from each other as teammates. That’s not common. And I'm excited to see the addition of all those things.”
I’ll ask you the same thing I asked you last weekend. Do you expect to use the last two spots?
“Yeah, I'll use the other two spots without a doubt. I'm excited. I'm excited about all our future announcements that's coming up. Be prepared for the Gates signal to hit. I'll say this. We were able to send it out the other day, just yesterday. As you guys see our addition. I'm excited about our walk ons and our walk-on program. Every step of the way, we’ve had successful walk-on programs. So if there’s student athletes out there that's curious about potentially walking on, or high school kids that want to walk on in this great state of Missouri, please contact us. And I truly mean that because our success at Florida State started with our green team, and that was our walk-on program which I was in charge of throughout throughout my tenure, right. And then you take that same mentality to Cleveland State. Those guys bring it every single day on and off the court. And I cannot wait until we continue to build it right now with our guys. Right now we only have two kids that I truly believe our assets. Obviously, you guys know who the last one was coming from Cleveland State (Ben Sternberg), understands our culture, but also you look at addition of Jackson Reed-Francois, who I truly believe comes from a great basketball program at Bishop Gorman and a culture. So I'm excited about the addition, I'm excited about where we're headed. I'm excited about our vision in that department because there's not one person more important than the next and our walk-ons play an integral part of our every day and in our success.”
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