Missouri basketball coach Dennis Gates held a press conference Tuesday ahead of the Tigers’ matchup with the Oklahoma Sooners.
Here are a few of his quotes that I found most telling and what I believe went unsaid in them.
In his opening statement
What Gates said: “On Oklahoma’s staff, I have a younger brother, Armon Gates, I’m very proud of what he’s done in this profession. He’s an unbelievable coach, he’s been on staffs that have won and changed programs.”
What went unsaid: This is really just a fun note about the game. The Gates brothers are coaching against each other for the first time since 2009 when Dennis was an assistant at Northern Illinois and Armon was an assistant at Kent State.
Armon’s Golden Flashes came out on top in both matchups that season.
Dennis Gates talked a lot about his brother during the press conference and I’ll have a story about the brotherly love reuniting on the court later today.
When asked about Anthony Robinson and Trent Pierce
What Gates said: “For Ant, it’s staying out of foul trouble, figuring out how he can stay aggressive offensively and defensively without getting in foul trouble, right? Trent Pierce, same thing, but more so, how can he continue to spark us defensively, rebound and get deflections, but also not just making it about 3-point makes. There’s other things he does, he connects us offensively with his great passing, he’s versatile, he does a tremendous job. And we just got to make sure these guys get out of their own way. You’ve got to understand, they’re still young and if I had to guess about a wall, they’re probably at their wall right now, but not approaching it, I think they’re on the peak of it, climbing it and getting to the other side as sophomores.”
What went unsaid: After how well both Robinson and Pierce were playing for a significant part of the season, it was easy to forget that they’re both still in just their second season of college basketball. And that comes with some mistakes and rough patches when you’re playing in the most physically demanding conference in the sport.
Part of the question was about shaking up the starting lineup and Gates effectively worked around that part with his answer.
So as much as I think it could help Ant to come off the bench for a game or two, it seems like Gates is set in sticking with them, even if that means they only play a handful of minutes after they first rotate out.
When asked about how he sees the program in a developmental sense
What Gates said: “We’re still in infant stages. I say that from a standpoint of, I just had a mentor retire after being at a pace for 23, 24 years. That’s uncommon and it’s going to become more and more uncommon. I want to be at a place for 20-plus years, too. I want to be here for 20-plus years. And when I say infant stages, look at the duration of just growth of an individual. You’re an infant for a while and there’s a lot of future ahead. That’s a lot of bright things ahead.”
What went unsaid: He went on to talk about how certain goals indicate the advancement of a program. An SEC championship, a Final Four, catching up to Norm Stewart in wins, stuff like that.
Obviously, it’s nice to hear a coach say that they want to be somewhere for 20 years, will it happen? Who can say.
As Gates said, it’s very uncommon these days, but if that’s his goal, then great. Making the tournament twice in his first three years is a good start.
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