Eventually, maybe we’ll see some intense emotion out of Dennis Gates. I said eventually. Not Friday night. Not after a 70-55 loss to Memphis. Not in game two of the season.
Gates, who has earned a reputation among—and, I might note here, some admiration from—Mizzou fans for his calming presence and never-changing demeanor on the sideline, had no rants or raves and never even raised his voice in a 14-minute post-game press conference after what might have been his worst night as Missouri’s basketball coach.
To be fair to Gates, in 19 months, there haven’t been many bad nights from which to choose. Friday was unquestionably one. They happen. They’re no fun when they happen to you, but they happen to everybody.
“This is our second game of the season so you’re trying to get into that rhythm,” Gates said. “I’m not surprised at the phase of the season we’re in. That’s where I would look at probably a little different if it was our tenth game or our last third of our season. But these guys know and understand I think ultimately we’ve got to do a better job and it starts with me.”
It’s easy with some distance to think this never happened to Missouri last year. Gates’ first season was so out of the blue and gave Mizzou fans so much joy that we’ve glossed over or completely blocked out some of the bad days.
