Everything Mizzou's Dennis Gates Said After Win Over No. 1 Kansas

The Missouri Tigers claimed a season-altering 76-67 win over the No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks at home, thwarting its rival on offense and jumping down its throats in the first half. Here's everything head coach Dennis Gates had to say after the win.

Opening Statement:

"I don't think I have a statement. But I'd have thanks. And my thanks is to our fans, former players, these guys up here to my right [Josh Gray] and left [Tamar Bates], those that continue to believe in what our mission is to continue to impact young people as they go through this phase in their lives. Thank our staff. They did a great job, wonderful job.

I think at the end of the day, what we did was respond in a way that represents our character what we've done since we got together in June, and what we've worked on, our guys never severed, never went there different directions. They stayed connected. They stayed true to the scouting report, and they challenged each other, and those that were challenged responded in the right way and accepted the challenge that they was given from their teammates. Electric atmosphere, as you know. And I'll say this. I repeatedly watched DuJuan Harris's press conference, and he said he wanted to see what Mizzou arena looked like. Well, he did. He did. He saw what it looked like, but in looking at it, our players saw what it looked like. And I just want to use this moment to build what we need to continue to build here in these infant stages of the program."

On Josh Gray's Impact;

"First Team All-Defense. Unbelievable character, glue. Infectious personality. Having fun. Big time three that he's upset they called it a two. But what he did was he's allowed us as a program to pour into him. He's allowed me, as a head coach, to love him and believe in him. And I think when you have that, you are able to give yourself and give more. And he's been giving more every single day, every single week, and Tamar Bates did a great job of challenging him personally, he challenged Josh, and Josh responded. And Josh knows my rule, you get 10 rebounds, you can shoot a three. He knows the rule, and trust me, he was counting the rebounds. And, the best part about it is, just as he made that three, he was excited about his rebounds. He wasn't just excited about the rebounds and a three. He was excited about the screens. He said he was excited about running up and down the court. He was excited about every part of the basketball game that may not show up in this stat sheet. And ultimately, he's just an impactful dude, and I love him for believing in us, believing in me, and allowing me to put my arms around him, tell him the truth when he's wrong, or motivate him when he needs it. And that's what coaching is about. But also that's what being a good teammate is."

On Tamar Bates' performance:

"Look, at the end of the day, tis is the part I look at [gestures to Tamar's baby, in his arms]. I see how he fathers his daughter, and it's beautiful to see. And I think when you put things in perspective, this is what it's about. It's not about anything else. He didn't want to be the leading scorer. He just wanted to win, and that's how he practiced. He practiced that way. We knew we lost a voice with [Caleb] Grill, and he's done nothing but step in. And I didn't, I didn't have to ask him at all. He stepped in, stepped up and it's his voice that we hear consistently, it's the echoes, and it's almost like he beats me to these statements that I need to make in a huddle. And players are looking at me like, 'yeah, Tamar just said that.' That's what it's about, having the players believe in each other, and they'll have each other's back."

On the signifigance of this win:

"Man, this is not just a game. It's not. It's not a game. And what we talked about was building memories. 20 years from now, I want these dudes to remember what they accomplished, and that's what we talked about in our scouting report. Well, how do you want 20 years from now when you look back, yes, our great players, our greats, monolouged the video on our Instagram page or Twitter page, right? They monolouged it. I want these dudes to be able to do the same 20 years from now and inspire the people that come behind them. And ultimately, they deserve the moment. The history of our program, the history of our rival, is entrenched. And you think Norm Stewart Court was crazy after the game? I want to see live video in people's living rooms. That's what I want to see. Because I'm sure, I'm sure, on Kansas' side, some people broke TV screens, and on our side, we broke ceilings by jumping up and down. And that's what it's about. That's the rival. It's not just in this moment or the people that's here. It's the people that can talk about, the people that can brag. And at the end of the day, it was a battle. They hit back and we responded the right way".

On his reaction to the court storm:

"What I wanted to do in that moment was take the perspective on and see what it looked like and observe people enjoy what took place. So I walked all around the court, and I ended up near the drums by [band director] Dr. Knopps, and I just stood there because I wanted a different view. I didn't want to be down. I wanted to get a little bit higher, and it was beautiful to see. And like Tamar mentioned, is very important, and that's why I give credit to our fans, so they can understand behind the scenes, their level of involvement is impactful. It's very impactful at the games, the sacrifices that they make to show up is important. Outside of that, you guys write more about us if our fans are engaged in your writings, in your subscriptions in your job, and that will give them more of a hands-on approach to it being not though, as the Whitten Family Head Men's Basketball Coach, but it's their program. It's their program. It is our fan's program, and if the ownership is there on their behalf, which it has been. It was beautiful today. I just wanted to see it. I just wanted to view it, and I wanted to take it in, because you don't get those moments. We live in a cell phone world. People with the cell phones, did they really enjoy it? I know I did. I took it in and I was able to view it in a special way. Those opportunities don't come. We don't play Kansas on contract at home again. Yes, we would love to renew it, but the next two games are neutral in that rivalry."

On calling a timeout for Kansas' players to get off the court safely

"Sportsmanship. That's all. It is. Sportsmanship and that's how I would want to be treated. When I become a Hall of Fame coach and I'm the number one team in the country, I will want my opponent to respectfully do the same and no matter what, no matter what's going on, I'm always going to treat people how I want to be treated, regardless. I think player safety is important. I got upset at the table for making an announcement to tell our fans not to rush the court. You got to be kidding me. I was about to end the game take the mic and say, rush the damn court for real and I think they deserve that moment, but I didn't want it at the cost of a player getting hurt, getting ran over, getting trampled, because it's a tight squeeze in that area for the players to leave. It's all about respect, man. Some people look at it a certain way. I just look at it. That's how I want to be treated."

On Mark Mitchell's confidence

"Mark missed his last three and that's what confidence is. That's what confidence is. I want to say I drew the play. It sounds good. Mark made a big-time play. He believed in himself. It's the confidence that we talk about is no different than Josh's attempt, right? We want guys to play that they do it in practice and they believe in themselves, and as coaches like I told you guys, Bill Self is not making a jump shot, nor am I and Mark Mitchell made a big-time jump shot. So did Josh Gray but your guys defended. They defended first. They defended first. That's what I want to say. They defended first, and they came out on top."

On the absence of Caleb Grill

"We want the entire unit to be home, and we want Caleb Grill to get healthy, but in his absence, his words, his encouragement, every practice has been as if he's between the lines and he's getting a head start in coaching, and this is opportunity in it, but speedy recovery to him, I just think at the end of the day, it was balanced. Our attack was balanced. Our guys did a tremendous job adhering to the game plan, and it's not a difficult game when you're connected. It's a team sport, and teams win, not the individual. And these guys, again, challenged each other, no matter if they played DNP's or not. These guys toughed out a situation, and they were able to execute a game plan in the right way."

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