Missouri basketball coach Dennis Gates met with a - surprisingly small - group of the media Friday as the team prepares for its matchup with Long Island tomorrow.
Here are some of his quotes I found most telling and what I thought was left unsaid.
When asked about the emotional drop off after a marquee win
What Gates said: “In June, what we did was talk about ourselves as the most important opponent and not having dips in our energy, not having distractions on or off the court,” Gates said. “... We talked about bouncing back from highs, not just lows or the roller coaster of the emotions that come with the season.”
What went unsaid: Ya, there’s going to be a bit of an emotional dip when you go from a rivalry matchup with a sold-out arena to a game against LIU with a lot of empty seats. It’s not a terrible thing, the energy just isn’t going to be the same.
I wouldn’t be shocked if the team comes out a little flat tomorrow, but the Tigers are talented enough that the game shouldn’t be in questions unless that drop off lasts a long time.
When asked about Caleb Grill's health
What Gates said: “Still the exact same,” Gates said. “Caleb Grill is in the same place that I’ve mentioned and I’ll continue to say those same things. He’s day-to-day, but more importantly, you know, we got to see what he feels like.”
What went unsaid: This recovery isn’t going to be fast and I doubt we’ll get a timeline until an update at some point that says ‘Caleb Grill is expected to play against whatever team’ sent out by the staff. We’ll keep asking and Gates will keep giving the same answer. Whiplash and head/neck injuries require a level of caution, this one is going to take a while and I doubt we’ll find out much until the moment Grill is ready.
When asked about the team's biggest area of development going forward
What Gates said: “We got to continue to take care of the basketball, I think possession by possession, that’s important,” Gates said. “I would like to have some more inside basketballs … I think Josh Gray, Peyton Marshall, Mark Mitchell, Aidan Shaw, they can provide that. … I want a bigger deviation between assists and turnovers. … Last but not least is making sure our defense is available and ready every single day.”
What went unsaid: That was a much longer answer, check out the video of the press conference for more. I think the inside baskets have made enough of a difference - along with Grill expected to miss more time - that the offense will continue shifting that way going forward.
The bigger assist-to-turnover ratio is something Gates always talks about and the defensive readiness is a good sign because if the Tigers play as well on defense as they did last Sunday, they could be just about anybody.
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