'He'll Get a Shot': Mizzou Head Coach Primed for Brotherly Battle Against Oklahoma

Missouri Tigers head coach Dennis Gates might have a little extra motivation to walk away with a win against the Oklahoma Sooners on Wednesday.

On its coaching staff is his younger brother, Armon, an experienced assistant who continues to move up the ranks of assistant jobs throughout the country. The brothers will meet on a big stage in an Southeastern Conference showdown, with some added emotion in the air before tipoff.

“Very proud of what he's done in this profession," Dennis said of Armon in a press conference Tuesday. " I'm excited to see my brother. I hadn't seen him in a while, but our schedules are always like two ships passing in the night. When I get to get the opportunity to see them, that'll be great pre-game. But it's still competition, no different than sibling rivalries always are."

Despite only holding an assistant coach position, Armon has done nothing but good things wherever he's been in his career. He does have quite a few stops on his resume, with plenty of wins to show for it.

Armon seems destined to find himself in a head coaching position eventually. He's held assistant positions with Kent State, TCU, Loyola-Chicago, Northwestern, Nebraska, Oregon and now Oklahoma. His impressive coaching resume should give him as good a chance as any to land an eventual head coaching job.

“He'll get a shot to become a head coach at some point and that's a tremendous accomplishment once that day comes."

Dennis's brother has plenty of big wins under his belt, along with some player development victories. He's coached players such as Vic Law of Northwestern and Dalano Banton of Nebraska, both of which have NBA experience. Countless players for Armon at Nebraska, Northwestern, TCU and Loyola-Chicago went on to have career-defining seasons.

“He's an unbelievable coach. He's been on staffs that have won and changed programs.”

Some of Armon's best work came early in his coaching career with Loyola-Chicago, where he first united with his current head coach Porter Moser. Armon helped immensely with player development there. He helped give the Ramblers its first player in five seasons to receive All-Conference honors.

“He started at Kent State, where he played. He also coached there. I'm just so proud of his development, to see him go and do what he did with Porter [Moser] at Loyola [Chicago].”

The two coaches are obviously at different levels but both are making huge impacts for their teams. Armon has also made his presence felt in Norman as a recruiter, helping to land star guard Jeremiah Fears. Whether Dennis and Armon's teams are facing each other or not, it's clear that there's a level of respect and pride between the two.

“I’m very proud of what he's done thus far at Oklahoma for the staff that he's done it for."

Right now, Oklahoma holds onto a 16-7 record. Armon isn't responsible for all of that, but there are no doubts that he is making an impact for the Sooners. With his double-digit years of coaching experience leading the way, Moser has a good one on his bench to aid in tactical decisions and help bring in talent.

"My family very excited about the game, my mom, dad, siblings, aunts, uncles, high school coach, AAU coach."

The two teams square off at 8:00 p.m. CT in Mizzou Arena. Whether there are bragging rights involved between the siblings won't matter in the end, with both teams having a shot to add another impressive win to their records.

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