Everything Dennis Gates Said to Preview Miami in the NCAA Tournament

ST. LOUIS — Missouri is set to play Miami in the Round of 64 in the NCAA Tournament at 9:10 p.m. Friday. Head coach Dennis Gates spoke to the media Thursday in St. Louis to preview the matchup. Here's everything he had to say.

Opening statement...

"Definitely excited about the opportunity to represent our SEC conference, but also the tenure that I am in here as the head coach of the University of Missouri, to be able to be here in the city of St. Louis, congrats to St. Louis. Not only are we here, but you have an unbelievable fan base, unbelievable institutions that is also going to bring excitement to this city as you guys host March Madness. With that being said, two programs similar in identity, great coaching staff at the University of Miami. Great players. Our guys are definitely excited. No different than our opponents will be excited. It is going to be a nip-tuck game, I truly believe, trying to figure out what that separation point will be will bring us there. A lot of relationships. Obviously a former assistant coach Charlton Young. Marcus Allen, who was just diagnosed with cancer, on that team, but also the relationship of Mark Mitchell and Coach (Jai) Lucas, who was on the staff at Duke when he was there. And Ant Robinson and Tre Donaldson, high school career crossed paths in the city of Tallahassee coached by the great Charlie Ward. A lot of things at play. More importantly players make plays. We will do our very best. We are excited to be here."

On if Missouri and Miami being similar teams make the Hurricanes easier to scout compared to when preparing for Drake last season...

"Nothing is easy in this month as we embark on games in March Madness. Last year is last
year. This team is a completely different team with a completely different identity. What we do is look at what we have done this past year against our SEC opponents. If you look at the last game at there SEC, there are so many ramifications, you can either finish third or fourth or all of the way to tenth. Even in our conference tournaments. It was a feel of a tournament atmosphere because so much was on the line. That's what this is. Every possession is going to either indicate a separation or something different. A lead or trying to cut a lead, everything is on either defensive execution or offensive execution. You either win or go home."

On what he's learned about coaching in the NCAA Tournament...

"When we speak of successes and not successes, I look at it as a success. Coaches get fired left
and right for not taking the team to the Tournament. Some coaches have gotten fired and have gotten fired for taking their team to the First Four. For me being in the Tournament four times in my seven years as a head coach, three in the last four and obviously, you know, we put a team together in that year that we did not get into the Tournament that I thought was even the most talented team that we dealt with injuries. There's no school in this Tournament right now that has dealt with the cards we have been dealt with. So I am proud of my staff for how we have handled our team, because we went through a lot of injuries, and we had to put things back on the track so to speak to move forward. While other teams may have been in the stages of development because they had their core together since the beginning of November, we hadn't had a core until January. We are really young whether it comes to the experiences this season. But where there's youth there's also experiences. We have a lot of experiences. That's what the SEC has given us. For me, I don't look at it as a negative at all in terms of us getting in the Tournament. The history of our program is a storied history. This program has never gotten to the Final Four, never won a championship. So for me in the last 25 years we have done some things that has never happened: Back-to-back seasons in an NCAA Tournament, two ten-win, double-digit wins in SEC conference play. I am proud of the staff. I am proud of the players who believe in me as their head coach to want to decide in the transactional world to take less money because they want the relationship with Coach Gates and they want me to motivate and push them. Those are the wins and I am proud of our donors and crowd and fan base that makes our home court an advantage. It is a true advantage in there. To be able to win or only lose I think four or five games in the last two years is awesome. Would love to be undefeated, but we are not. There's a lot of positives before I think about the negatives. This SEC schedule prepared us for NCAA. You cannot complain, you cannot sit here and over analyze seedings, you just got to make sure you are excited about the opportunity, and we are excited about the opportunity to be in the NCAA Tournament."

On if he views playing in St. Louis creating what will be similar to a home enviroment...

"I don't view anything as a home game because it is not at Mizzou arena on Norm Stewart Court. I
can't project the ticket sales. We look at it as the NCAA Tournament. And NCAA Tournament is all about neutral sites. That's why the growth of MTEs took place, so you can have a postseason sort of experience in a preseason. Once you get selected and once you get the site you are supposed to go to. For us we are looking at it as a game at a neutral site court. Purdue travels. So I am sure their fans are going to buy a lot of tickets. Queens, first-time tournament team, Coach has done a tremendous job there, they are excited. They are going to buy a lot of tickets. So whatever allotment that was given to us, I know it is not the entire arena. I do know that. We will see what it looks like, what it sounds like. But I am excited about the opportunity, that's how I see it. And our guys are excited about being a participant in this tournament and our staff are excited as well."

On Trent Pierce's impact...

"He is definitely an impact player for us. Our season had not changed without him being a part of it. He and Jayden Stone's health was very important in that. You could see our team grow from there. Kid with a high basketball IQ. With that he is not a one-on one player. So sometimes kids continue to develop. That's what we want for Trent continue to get better and develop, not just physically but mentally and emotionally. Making sure he is healthy. 6 '10", 6'11" catch and shoot guy is an NBA player in my mind. High basketball IQ on both side defensively and offensively. Progress has to be patient, simply because whether it is offseason, whether it is growth, whether it is mental, whether it is physical, you have to have your own race, and he is running his own race. I appreciate his patience. I appreciate his parent's patience. It has been very refreshing when you can connect with a family and they cut away all of the other things and they just concentrate on the development of their child, and it is not just all basketball talk. We talk about life. For me being a mentor is also something I take pride in. I mentored guys in a way that have a lasting relationship, and I am excited not only where he is at now, but in this transactional world, him being a graduate from the University of Missouri, being one of few players in the SEC or the country being at an institution for four years and then let's see what that pro career looks like. There's no bigger champion for Trent Pierce than I will be. I will push his name and my contacts will become his contacts, and I am excited to see him not only as a professional player, but as a husband and a father, and also the relationship continuing."

On the Oklahoma and Arkansas losses...

"First, my hat is off to those opponents. They have done a great job. When you look at who they were, the two opponents were Arkansas who won the SEC Tournament championship. Who did we play before Arkansas?

"Oklahoma who is one of the hottest teams in the country. You look at how and why, we have played and faced some unbelievable opponents. I am excited about where we are, but then you look at even Kentucky at the SEC tournament. That was a road game, I can tell you that. We just got to continue to watch film. What I am proud about is how we respond. In both those games we put ourselves in position to get the lead. So it says something about our character. Says something about our ability. Now can we do that over 40 minutes, and you know, that will be what you and I will see at the same time."

On Jayden Stone making the NCAA Tournament...

"I think it is awesome. Both he and Shawn Phillips first-time NCAA Tournament kids and their experiences, they are looking forward to it. They are excited. Sometimes the season takes its toll, so we have to make sure we continue to take those baby steps and focus on the little things, the impact on defense, the impact on the intangibles and not just a stat sheet of points. He will continue to do that."

On the preparation timeline for the NCAA Tournament...

"We talk about it in June. We prepare for it. We build teams around it. It is part of our recruiting
conversations. When you look at the big picture you talk about your seasons as it relates to the summer. Obviously preseason, leading into that month or two and a half before the games, and then regular season play. And what those obstacles present and the identity of your team will change and you will see guys lead, you will see guys become vocal, you will see guys grow right before your eyes, but there's no doubt we talk about the entire course of the season, and these guys have been in tournament play. They have played high-level basketball their whole lives, and it is nothing new. So they talk about it amongst themselves. If a conversation starts with a player-first convo, that helps us as coaches. I am just thankful our team talks about those things and they are experiencing them. They are fans of basketball. They understand what the NCAA Tournament is, because the prelude to that is obviously being able to play in the SEC conference tournament."

On if he uses his experience as a player in the NCAA Tournament to inform how he coaches his player for the Tournament...

"That's a good question. I keep in contact with all of my coaches. My elementary coach and his family will drive down. My high school assistant coach will drive down. Ben Brown is probably doing TV but we often talk and converse. Leonard Hamilton somebody I have worked for, he will be watching as he started hi first job was at -- or second job was at Miami. I have a close relationship with those guys. For me, I take my identity as a coach. Ever since I knew that would be my path I put the dos and don'ts, the things I would do, things I would change sort of in a book. In that book I have written things down on how I want my process to go. I don't lead with, I am a former player. My identity is coaching. I am not a player. I don't talk about my playing career. I talk about winning, and I talk about winning championships. I know how to win. That's where I summarize it to. I am not standing on a soapbox talking about I had 30 this game and 15 this game. I don't think I ever scored 30 anyway. But I don't talk about that, right? I don't talk about that. I talk about winning. Winning behavior. And silently, I measure winning and losing behavior and eradicate certain things that need to go. I use it in my intuition. When I can foresee something coming, I use it in my adjustments that I have to make in game. And it is just a plethora of experiences, because I have worked for some great coaches, like great Dennis Johnson, Alvin Gentry in the NBA. I worked for Tom Crane. I worked for Leonard Hamilton. I worked for Ricardo Patton, I worked for Ben Brown. I worked for David Carter. I have worked for a lot of guys that have won a ton of games, and that is not remotely close to where I usually pull from. I pull from others. That's what I have always done in my life."