Dennis Gates held a press conference at Mizzou Arena on Friday ahead of the Missouri Tigers’ matchup with Vanderbilt on Saturday.
Here are his quotes that I found most telling.
When asked about playing with a smaller lineup again against Vanderbilt
What Gates said: “Well, it depends. I still want Josh Gray and Peyton Marshall to be able to make the impact from a physical standpoint, because they are talented in their own right, so I’m not going to predispose that. I think the game will give me an idea of where we should go.”
What went unsaid: The smaller starting with, with Trent Pierce instead of Gray, helped the Tigers get off to a good start against LSU. Vanderbilt is another team that not only doesn’t have a 7-footer, but doesn’t have a player listed on roster as standing taller than 6-foot-9.
The Tigers could pretty reasonably go with the smaller lineup again tomorrow and still have the two tallest players on the court. Gates wouldn’t say specifically, but I expect him to go with an extended look at the lineup of Ant Robinson, Tony Perkins, Tamar Bates, Trent Pierce and Mark Mitchell once again.
When asked about needing to take advantage of home court advantage in SEC play
What Gates said: “You have to definitely take care of home court, but also you have to be able to win some games against high-quality opponents, which is every game on our (schedule). Whether you can get one on the road or one at home, you know you have to cherish the wins when you get the opportunity to be on that side of the scoreboard. But taking care of home court has been an advantage for us.”
What went unsaid: I doubt Gates will say any games are ‘must-win’ especially at this point of the season, but I see home games, especially ones against the couple of teams near the bottom of the SEC standings and NET rankings of SEC teams, as must win.
The Tigers were able to take advantage of one with LSU, now they have to again with Vanderbilt. There aren’t a lot of games on the SEC schedule that you can say the Tigers absolutely have the advantage in, but this is one, especially at home.
When asked about rebounding and specifically coach Kyle Smithpeters wearing a Dennis Rodman shirt to practice
What Gates said: "Coach Smithpeters is doing a great job of rebounding emphasis and his voice is carrying where it needs to be. And Josh Gray, just think about what he was able to do in 15 minutes. But yes, coach Smithpeters walks around with a Dennis Rodman shirt on in practice from time to time."
What went unsaid: First off, that’s just fun.
More importantly, the Tigers have done a much better job fighting for defensive rebounds the past two games since starting SEC play.
Just looking at how Mizzou did on the defensive boards against major-conference opponents: Mizzou had 19 defensive rebounds to Cal’s 14 offensive boards; The Tigers had 23 defensive rebounds to kansas’ 16 offensive boards and Mizzou had 21 defensive rebounds to Illinois’ 12 offensive ones.
Against Auburn, Mizzou had 18 defensive boards to just six offensive rebounds for Auburn and against LSU, that was a 26-8 advantage for Missouri.
Missouri has done a much better job at not allowing offensive rebounds the past two games. If that keeps up, Mizzou will be set up much better than it seemed like it would be through the rest of the season.
Stay up to date on all the Mizzou news with your premium subscription.
Talk about this story in the story thread and discuss so much more in The Tiger Walk.
Make sure you're caught up on all the Tiger news and headlines.
