Why Dennis Gates Hopes 'Heaven is On the Way Into the Hall of Fame'

COLUMBIA, Mo. — The farthest Dennis Gates could get was three words before tears hijacked his speech following the Missouri Tigers' Senior Day celebration.

"I thank our players," Gates said into the microphone following Missouri's final game of the regular season, a loss to Kentucky.

He paused to wipe tears from his eyes. Before he could finish two more sentences, his whole team was surrounding him.

"You guys are a special group," he repeated.

"I specifically wanted to talk to our players and tell them how proud I am of them and thank them and their families for believing in just our vision, my vision as a head coach," Gates said of the speech in his postgame press conference.

The regular season ended with a three-game losing streak, but that doesn't take away from the impressive feat Gates and his Missouri team accomplished after going winless in conference play last season.

To bounce back from that winless season, Gates leaned on the advice of his mentor, Leonard Hamilton. Before his success at Florida State, Hamilton went through a winless season at Miami in the 1993-1994 season.

Three decades later, Hamilton is set to step down after this season, his 23rd with Florida State. He's built a resume that will put him in strong contention for the Hall of Fame.

Gates had another phone call with Hamilton Saturday morning ahead of Missouri's game with Kentucky. They discussed the possibility of making it into the Hall of Fame.

But for both the mentor and his mentee, the plaque in the Hall of Fame or any banner raised isn't what they care about the most when they lay down their head at the end of the night.

"He [Hamilton] said, 'Man, I hope Heaven is on the way into the Hall of Fame,'" Gates recalled in his postgame press conference. "That's how he approaches coaching. He tries to impact people, and he's done that for me, leave no doubt about it.

"These guys mean a lot to me. I'm not afraid to tell them I love them."

Jan 14, 2025; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Missouri Tigers head coach Dennis Gates talks with Missouri Tigers center Peyton Marshall (21) against the Florida Gators during the first half at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Before the advising of Hamilton, Gates felt the impact of the coaches he had in his life as a player. From California's Ben Braun to his former AAU coach Larry Butler, Gates recognizes the meaning his coaches hold in his life.

“The coaches in my life, they saved my life,” Gates said of his former coaches in a press conference to open the 2023-2024 season. “They gave me some confidence that I didn’t have as a youngster.”

Gates has looked to instill that same confidence in his players. He wants them to be confident as players, constantly encouraging his best shooters to shoot an exorbitant amount of 3-pointers, no matter how many they miss before.

But more confident and secure as people too.

The impact Gates is capable of can be seen in the transformation of Missouri guard Caleb Grill, who transferred from Iowa State ahead of the 2023-2024 season. During his last season before transferring to Missouri, Grill was battling issues with mental health all season.

He was looking for a fresh start when entering the transfer portal. Gates provided that and more.

"It's a role model that I needed in my life," Grill said of Gates in a press conference on Nov. 21. "And getting the opportunity to come here and forming the relationship is what I have with him is what I needed for myself on the basketball and off the basketball court as well. He's just someone I can go here, when I'm away from my close family and friends from back home, he's just someone I can trust."

After Grill checked out of his final game at Mizzou Arena, he fell into the arms of Gates on the sidelines, crying into his coach's shoulder.

"I think that's always been really hard with my life is really trusting people," Grill said. "Just the ability where i feel like I can tell him anything and everything and just we have that relationship with each other is something that I'll cherish for the rest of my life, and I hope he does as well."

Gates, sitting in the back of the press conference room at Mizzou Arena, watched and listened to Grill's praise. "I love you too," the coach called out from the back of the room.

"That man has defied some odds, and you guys don't even know half the story," Gates said of Grill. "That's the funny part. Y'all have no clue. I think he can write a book. I encourage him to write a book."

March 8, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers head coach Dennis Gates hugs guard Caleb Grill (31) during a game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Mizzou Arena. | Amber Winkler/Missouri On SI

Being able to find a new home with a coach able to form that relationship like Grill was able to with Gates has added to the desirability for players to transfer or commit to Missouri. The top-five rated freshman class and top-15 transfer class Gates recruited certainly wasn't coming to Missouri on the premise of any success experienced in the 2023-2024 season.

It's a significant part of what lured Duke transfer Mark Mitchell to the program. When Mitchell's childhood friend, Missouri guard Tamar Bates, was trying to bring the forward to Missouri, he was insistent on the positive culture Gates had built.

It's also part of what made South Carolina transfer Josh Gray make Missouri the final stop of his collegiate career.

"The environment that I'm in now is such a different environment than what I'm used to," Gray said in a press conference on Jan. 30. "Everything that I've absorbed here, that I've got to witness and be a part of, it's been great ... I wish I had more time."

Feb 19, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers head coach Dennis Gates talks to forward Jacob Crews (35) during the second half of a game at Mizzou Arena. | Amber Winkler/MissouriOnSI

That playing career under Gates will be coming to an end within the next month for Gray and others. But Gates hopes the relationships he creates with players never expire because they're predicated on the team's core values of "FLAT DUET," meaning friendship, love, accountability, trust, discipline, unselfishness, enthusiasm and toughness.

"I'm not afraid to put my arms around them let them know I care, or put my arms around them and give them a headlock if they need that," Gates said of his relationship with his players. "Growth and development requires accountability and these guys allow me to hold them accountable in every facet of the name of a head coach."

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