Mizzou officially hires Dennis Gates as next basketball coach
Missouri has officially hired Cuonzo Martin's successor. The university announced Dennis Gates as its next men's basketball coach on Tuesday morning.
Gates, who PowerMizzou.com first reported on Saturday was expected to be hired pending approval from Missouri's Board of Curators, received that approval during a Tuesday morning meeting.
"“The Board of Curators supports this decision and we offer a warm welcome to Coach Gates and his family," Darryl Chatman, Chair of the University of Missouri Board of Curators, said. "As a board, we support setting higher expectations and making progress in all that we do as a university, and that applies to research and academics, as well as athletics. We look forward to all that Coach Gates will bring to the court and to our student-athletes.”
Gates is the 20th head coach in Missouri history. He will be the sixth different person to lead the program since Norm Stewart retired in 1999.
"After a comprehensive and efficient national search, during which we had the privilege of speaking with an impressive group of coaches, it became clear Coach Gates was what we needed in the next leader of our basketball program,” Director of Athletics Desiree Reed-Francois said in a statement. “He’s smart, driven and focused on winning. He's a proven recruiter, a strong evaluator of talent, an innovative teacher of the game and has a unique enthusiasm and passion for his work and for his student athletes that draws people in. He shares our vision of where Mizzou basketball can and will go. It is our privilege to welcome Coach Gates, his wife Jocelyn, and their family to Mizzou.”
The details of Gates' contract have not yet been released. Gates will be formally introduced to Missouri fans during a press conference on Tuesday at noon.
Gates comes to Missouri after spending the previous three years as the head coach at Cleveland State, where his teams went 50-40 overall. Prior to that, he served as an assistant coach at Florida State for eight seasons under Leonard Hamilton.
“I have been so fortunate throughout my career to work at some outstanding institutions with incredible people, and after doing my research and speaking with Desiree and President Choi, it is clear that Missouri is a tremendous opportunity with unlimited potential,” Gates said in the school's release. “We will build a program that all Mizzou fans will be proud of, for how we play, how our student-athletes represent the University of Missouri and how our togetherness and work ethic will lead to on-court victories. I want to thank President Choi, the Board of Curators and Desiree for an outstanding opportunity.”
Gates took over a Cleveland State program in July of 2019 that had gone 40-89 over the previous four seasons. During his first year at the helm, the Vikings went 11-21. But Gates led Cleveland State to Horizon League regular season titles each of the past two seasons. Last year, the Vikings also won the conference tournament, earning their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2009. Gates was named the Horizon League coach of the year following both the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.
At Florida State, Gates earned a reputation as a strong recruiter, helping the Seminoles land the likes of Jonathan Isaac, Mfiondu Kabengele and Terrence Mann. Gates, a Chicago native, also has assistant coaching experience at Nevada, Northern Illinois and California.
Gates' hire comes 11 days after Missouri announced that it had parted ways with Martin. Martin went 78-77 during five seasons with the Tigers. He led the team to two NCAA Tournament appearances, most recently in 2020-21, but the team slipped to 12-21 this season. Missouri agreed to pay Martin $6 million across 24 months to buy out the remainder of his contract.
Gates inherits a roster at Missouri that currently includes nine scholarship players. That does not include senior Javon Pickett, who is eligible to return for one more season due to the NCAA granting all athletes an extra year in 2020. Missouri also has one incoming freshman signed to the roster in East St. Louis point guard Christian Jones. Four-star wing Aidan Shaw from Blue Valley (Kan.) high school had signed with the Tigers under Martin but tweeted last week that he has received a release from his National Letter of Intent.
Gates has not yet announced any staff hires, but sources have indicated to PowerMizzou.com that he will likely bring his brother, Armon Gates, to Columbia as an assistant coach. Armon Gates has spent the past three seasons on Fred Hoiberg's staff at Nebraska. He spent the previous five years as an assistant coach for Chris Collins at Northwestern, and before that worked under Porter Moser at Loyola Chicago.
PowerMizzou.com will have full coverage of Gates' introductory press conference later today.
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