Why Dennis Gates Wants to Coach Mizzou for '20-Plus Years'

As Dennis Gates' tenure with the Missouri Tigers exemplifies, growth is neither liner nor rapid.

Through his first two seasons, he often would say the program was in the "infant stages" of building what he envisioned.

The team has certainly took major steps this season, with Gates earning the first win of his career over Missouri's biggest rival, Kansas. With a 6-4 start to conference play, Missouri sits at No. 7 in a stacked Southeastern Conference. The Tigers are poised for a favorable spot in the NCAA Tournament.

But, Gates still believes the program is in those same infant stages.

"When I say infant stages, look at the duration of just growth of an individual — you're an infant for a while," Gates said in a press conference Tuesday. "There's a lot of future ahead. There's a lot of bright things ahead."

Approximately 20 minutes before tipoff at each game at Mizzou Arena, which Missouri is 15-1 at so far this season, a video plays on the video board in which Gates says "we will raise banners."

The banner hanging in the rafters celebrating the Tigers' berth in the NCAA Tournament for the 2022-2023 season is surrounded by those celebrating only the achievements of the program before Gates arrived. For Gates, he has a direct vision on what he wants to add to those rafters.

"The only banner we have up is a NCAA [Tournament] banner. I want an SEC Championship regular season, [banner]. I want [SEC] Tournament championship banner. I want NCAA [Tournament] banner. I want a Final Four banner, a National Championship banner in Mizzou Arena. That's what I want."

Mar 15, 2023; Sacramento, CA, USA; Missouri Tigers head coach Dennis Gates during practice day at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images | Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

A look up at those rafters is a reminder of the legacy Gates is looking to uphold. The accomplishments of his predecessors serving as a constant reminder. The most iconic of which, Norm Stewart, serving as a high measuring stick.

"I got a lot of catching up to do. He's an all-time winningest coach, so ... we're in the infant stage as compared to what Norm has accomplished."

Gates recently the earned the 100th win of his career, and sits at 50 in his time with Missouri. With how much has changed in the over two decades since Stewart retired, Gates likely won't ever "catch up" to the Hall of Fame coach's 634 wins.

But Gates hopes to take the Tigers to a place Stewart, nor any other coach has: the Final Four.

The program has a lot of momentum building for it, in large part thanks to Gates. He's proven his ability as an elite recruiter, most recently bringing in the No. 5-rated freshman class. But, he won't consider the program to be at a new stage of growth until he can take Missouri to new heights.

"We're in infant stages until those things happen [making a Final Four]. But we're in the best platform to be able to compete night in night out, to continue to show people the direction that we're heading."

Even with clear goals in mind, Gates can't know exactly what the next years of his career will look. Going winless in conference play in the 2023-2024 season certainly wasn't in the cards. But whatever path he goes on, he's committed to carrying out his vision with the Tigers.

He sees the career of his mentor, Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton as the blueprint. On Feb. 3, Hamilton announced at the conclusion of this season, his 23rd with Florida State, he'd be resigning. He'll retire as the sixth-longest tenured active coach in all of college basketball.

"I just had a mentor retire after being at a place for 23 years.," Gates said of Hamilton. "That's uncommon, and it's going to become more and more uncommon. I want to be at a place for 20-plus years too. I want to be here for 20-plus years."

In this moment, Missouri's trajectory is pointed upward. The performances the Tigers have strung together through the first 10 games of conference play are arguably the best of any under Gates. But until that's turned into postseason success with banners to show for it, Missouri will remain in the same stage. At least in Gates' eyes.

"I think we're steadily getting slow results, but we got to get over the hump, and until that happens, I'll probably say that we're in infant stages."

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