Everything Mizzou's Dennis Gates Said After Win Over Vanderbilt

The Missouri Tigers moved to 2-1 in league play Saturday afternoon, earning a 75-66 win over the Vanderbilt Commodores.

Missouri was led by the offensive efforts of Mark Mitchell, who scored 19 points, and the physicallity of center Josh Gray on both ends of the court.

Missouri head coach Dennis Gates spoke to the media following the win, highlighting Gray's performance, and to break down the game. Below is a full transcript from his press conference.

Opening Statement:

"Great atmosphere. I thank our fans for creating an environment that was conducive to our energy, and they provided some great energy in spurts. We gave them great reasons too, but then again, we kind of took the air, or even the wind out of the sail on a couple possessions that I thought, and I credit Vanderbilt defensively for making us stagnant. We got to do a better job, but our guys, specifically Josh Gray, being able to get another double digit rebound outing provided some depth, some defense around the rim. And these two to my right [Mark Mitchell] and left [Anthony Robinson II] did a wonderful job executing down the stretch, the 'and one' with Mark and then obviously, Ant Robinson, on the back door layup that we got for [Caleb] Grill, which was timely on his execution, but also being able to knock down the two free throws that he had after missing two previously. So definitely, our guys played with some resolve, resilience and some fortitude to come out with a victory."

On scoring seven unanswered points to end the game:

"We stopped the second-chance points. We kept them off the free-throw line. I think their last couple points came off free throws and fouls and our lack of discipline in terms of giving the shooter space to land. And in addition to that, we went zone. Kept us out of rotation, Mark Mitchell, whoever was in that middle, was able to rebound, and our guards ended up rebounding too. So to have back to back games being able to win the rebounding battle says a lot about our character and their growth."

On Vanderbilt's ability to cut back on Missouri's lead:

"Vanderbilt is a good team. They're a good team. I'm never going to take the credit off of a good team. That's a good team. They did some things from transition, but also we got to do a better job stopping and impeding the progress of the basketball by having our rim protection there. And I thought they exploited opportunities to get to the foul line, but also getting the ball up the court on speed dribbles, especially when they had shooters coming down on the wings.

But AJ [Hoggard] is a great point guard, Big 10 experience, and you can tell just from the standpoint of the Florida game where he was able to get creases, and that's what took place.

It was a round of two halves that they had. The end of the first didn't go well for us, but we ended up closing it out. And then obviously they cut that lead coming into the second but again, this is the SEC that's a great basketball team, and obviously I'm proud of our guys,"

On Caleb Grill bouncing back after starting the game missing all five of his first attempts:

"When you have a kid like Grill out there, the gravity of the situation allows space no different than that foul that he got on a catch and shoot, a guy tried to rip it and got all of his hand and it was called, and he knocked down three free throws. But Grill doesn't think he was 0-for-five, and he's not going to ever catch the ball thinking that way, nor is his teammates. His teammates want him to shoot the ball, and he was able to make some great three-point shots for us tonight, but make some great defensive plays, some rebounds, and having him back playing the majority of the minutes that he did after his injury is crucial. And I thought he was able to make some unbelievable, timely execution on the other end"

On Missouri's quick start, Vanderbilt's defense:

"The game is won on the defensive end, and our guys executed that. It is what allowed us to get the numerical advantage on the offensive end. But when we got five on five, referees allowed us to play a couple times. We got the ball in places that we wanted, but didn't come away with the foul shots that we were anticipating. So when there's a gap of foul shooting in addition to missed shots, I thought we relaxed sometimes the silver lining in making your first couple threes is that you live now the entire game with three point shots. Think about Trent Pierce his last three attempt. It's a great shot if he makes it, but that's an opportunity where you got to punish the defense and get downhill, especially in that situation, in the first half, we were in a bonus and we still locked down on three point attempts. So the ratio of three point attempts during that run helped their defense, and credit to their defense, meaning Vanderbilt's defense, they were tough.

That team may be undersized, but they got they got heart, and they're going to beat some teams again. A great, great program, great coach, much respect. They are very talented. They may not have the size, but they have a heart, and that's that's how they play the game.

Defensively, what they did was gap coverage. They did a lot of gap anticipation, and that's what allowed us to pass and make quick decisions for those early threes. And ultimately, what we got to balance against a team like that is post feeds with pinch post catches with threes and try to make sure they're off balance."

On Josh Gray's impact:

"Josh is a first team All-Conference defender, and sometimes the things that he does is overlooked and under appreciated. We appreciate everything that he does, ball-screen defense is excellent. His rebounding is excellent and phenomenal. When he has in his mind that he's going to change a game with his rim protection, pursuit of the basketball, and obviously the IQ that he has, it's going to be in the positive, and that's what he did tonight. He was able to do a lot of things that it does not show up in his stat sheet. So Josh Gray in my eyes, you can look at everybody's stats and say somebody else was the MVP, but I take Josh Gray any day of the week as the Most Valuable Player this game."

On Anthony Robinson's performance:

"This is a public challenge to Ant Robinson, because I'm gonna call his mom after this and tell her the same thing. Ant's growth has been great, right? Everybody sees it. Everybody can document it. You can see the clips. Ant's next stage of growth is ignoring his mistakes, his missed free throws, because he makes it so visible, and then that distracts him from executing the next game plan, right? I think he could have played 10 times better in the last four minutes, but after those two missed free throws, you visibly saw his his upset or anger or just the negative thought. You got to look past the negative, Ant, I'm going to talk call his mom and set up a meeting and continue to talk to him about the same thing, because he's valuable. But how can you be valuable if you're concentrating on the mistake. So in essence, I've been working with Ant on this.

You got to recover from what?"

Robinson: "My mistakes"

"You got to come recover from his mistakes. And ultimately, that's, that's what will allow him to continue to grow in the direction that he's he's growing in."

On the reasoning behind the starting lineup with Trent Pierce over Josh Gray:

"What I would say is more versatile, a more versatile offensive team, a more versatile defensive team. We're able to switch one through five versus Josh. Josh is one of the best ball screen defenders in the country, and it's almost like no different than man to man to a zone disrupts some teams, going from a hedge to a switch on ball screens, disrupts teams as well.

So Trent Pierce gives us that. Mark Mitchell does a great job of playing two or three positions, whatever I need him to do. His versatility speaks for itself. And when you have guys that don't pigeon hole your decision making as a coach, it allows us to play a fluid basketball game.

Josh Gray, believe it or not, can switch one through five, and that's something that we'll also look at. But don't think that Josh Gray, footwork isn't good enough to switch one through five, as you see him hedging ball screens the way that he does. We just opt to keep him closer to the rim because of his rebound and prowess and obviously, ability to hit and get."

On relying in veterans in closing minutes:

"Look, their experience is their experience. They understood the Florida game. Thought they were clicking in all different ways. I wish I could throw some young guys in there, but at the end of the day, these are the games you have to win in this conference. You got to take care of home court, especially against a team like Vanderbilt, and obviously against a team like LSU. Being able to now move on the road, it gives us an opportunity moving forward, to again, go against one of the top teams in the country and also a potential No. 1 seed, and that's what we're facing. I just want our guys to play free and play to their instincts."

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