Missouri basketball coach Dennis Gates held a zoom press conference on Monday ahead of the Tigers’ matchup with Tennessee on Wednesday.
Here are his quotes I found most telling and what was left unsaid.
When asked about a previous quote about the team not playing all that well
What Gates said: “The ceiling of our team has not been reached yet. I truly believe that there’s another level or two that we can go. I’ve mentioned before in the past and sometimes you guys think I’m just making statements, but I really do mean that, because I base it off the potential that I see every day in practice, but also the group of men that we have in our locker room.”
What went unsaid: I’ve been one who just considers that a coach platitude, so I’m part of being called out there. Which is fine, Gates has been right.
Is he still right? I don’t know.
It’s hard to envision the team able to play much better than it did Saturday at Mississippi State, but at this point, I’m not going to argue. If Gates says there’s another level that this team can reach, great. I can’t wait to see it because the level the team is already at is pretty exciting.
When asked a follow-up about what the next steps are
What Gates said: “Making sure that we’re showing up from an emotional, mental and physical standpoint to each and every game, no matter the environment. The other part of it is making sure all cylinders are clicking. We’ve yet to play a game where every single person is playing, you know, up to their potential, and that’s what I gauge it off of.”
What went unsaid: OK, my opinion of team sports is there’s almost never a game where literally every player on a team is playing fully up to potential.
It just doesn’t happen often where every player is having their best game at the same time, so if that’s what we’re waiting on, I think we’ll be left waiting.
I also guess I don’t see the drop off in showing up recently outside of the Texas game, so if that’s just based off that one matchup, alright. But the Tigers were pretty fully there and ready to play both at Mississippi State and at Florida. It took a second to get going when hosting Ole Miss, but not too long and they’ve sprinted out to leads enough that they’re up by double-digits at halftime more often than they aren’t this season.
Gates has been asked this question before this year and this is the first time where I don’t think I agree what the next step is, but it’s not up to me and he’s done a fantastic job, so I’ll trust his judgement about his team.
When asked about giving the green light for all players to shoot
What Gates said: “Confidence is something that a coach can instill in his players, but also confidence is something that players instill in each other. Because you have to remain comfortable in taking those risks and whatever risks that they are, … I think, ultimately, I’m just here to reinforce and encourage. At the end of the day, every player knows their strengths and weaknesses.”
What went unsaid: We’ve talked a lot recently about the culture Gates has created within the program during his tenure. I think this is a key part of it.
It’s not just about saying “let’s chuck up 20 3-pointers a game with everyone taking a couple and see what happens.” It’s telling players, “I have confidence in you to make the right choice, and if the right choice is to shoot, go for it.”
It’s having faith that you’ve done a good enough job coaching your guys and instilling in them a confidence in themselves that they know what to do.
And it’s working.
When asked about playing a deep rotation
What Gates said: “Our experience and our depth allows that to take place. … This isn’t where everybody just gets participation minutes. I think our guys have earned consistently, the minutes that they’ve gotten at different phases. And I’m excited to see which one of these young, young kids step up in addition to our veterans.”
What went unsaid: I wanted to include this one because I think the matchup with Tennessee is another opportunity where a deep rotation can make a big difference.
The Volunteers are coming off a game where they used seven players, they should be back to their regular rotation of eight guys on Wednesday.
Tennessee likes to slow the game down and play stifling defense, if the Tigers can get out and running, using the fresh legs they regularly bring off the bench to wear the Vols down, that seems to me like a great strategy for another big win.
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