Everything Dennis Gates Said at 'Zou to You' Event in St. Louis

ST.

CHARLES, Mo.

Missouri Tigers head coach Dennis Gates made a pitstop outside of Columbia on Tuesday night, taking the time to speak at the 'ZOU to YOU' with Missouri athletics supporters.

Gates eventually had the opportunity to meet with select fans and supporters later in the event, but first, he addressed the media.

Here's everything Gates said on Tuesday night in Saint Louis.

Opening statement "Well, I'm very excited to be here in Saint Louis and obviously share the will to win tour.

Obviously, that starts with the will to support, and we have so many willing fans out there that have made the sacrifice to come down to Como and support our student athletes, not just with men's basketball, but with every sport.

The success of our department bleeds into each and every sport.

We use it as recruiting tools." "Our national logo is out there in every possible sport, and it plays a part in our institution.

It plays a part in our student body, and it just plays a part in our overall spirit of our institution.

So I'm excited about where our program is.

Obviously, we're in portal combat season, and it's exciting." On the transfer portal feeling like combat: "It's always been combat.

Recruiting is always combat.

You have games where players are playing, and now you have the recruiting combat that adds to that dimension.

And, ultimately, with the combat that adds to that dimension." "With the recruiting, you go off your seasons.

You go off, player development.

You go off to campus leadership.

You go off to campus support, being able to talk about how we've been 18-2 at home, talk about the court stormings.

Those things matter.

Obviously, you guys do a great job narrating the story of Mizzou athletics, and that's what plays a part in everything." On the difference last year compared to this year selling his program to recruits: "I'll say this, it's never easy and sometimes, we try to make it look easy, but there's a lot of sleepless nights.

There's a lot of sacrifices.

To be a successful coach, you got to be absent from your home.

You gotta be on the road recruiting.

You have to be able to be in multiple places." "I just thank our support.

I thank our administration for being able to allow us to get to these places because it's not done without the resources.

It's not done without our alumni, our boosters, our donors, and the support that we have.

The relationships we've built and I've built over the last twenty years of my career, being able to maximize those is helpful." On navigating the transfer portal: "I feel that I've been, in the last three years, as Whitten Family head men's basketball coach.

I've also been the president of operations.

I've been a GM.

I've I've been holding these professional sort of titles that speaks to the growth of our game.

College athletics is changing.

We're at the forefront of innovation.

Being in the SEC matters, but more importantly, being ahead of the curve." "We're not successful going to two NCAA tournaments out of three years without innovation, without relationships, without the ability to have conversations with not only agents, but students.

Being able to sell our institution.

They're still 17, 18 to 22-year-old young people and emotionally, there is a way to connect with them in a special way.

They're not professionals, but they are going to receive institution or becoming a millionaire, becoming a billionaire because they've put their money in the right places and made the right investments." "Right now, we won't hear those stories because we're right in the middle of the transition.

But in five to ten years, I hope that's also a story that each of you guys are able to write about because that's what balances it, what we're going through.

And it sounds or can sound a little bit visceral, a kid making certain amount of money.

But let's talk about how much money the NCAA has made over the years.

And some of that money has been exposed during the COVID time, where emergency funds were just sitting there, thankfully, but ultimately, these student athletes deserve it." "And it's their name, it's their image, and it's their likeness that's keeping one of the greatest sports events alive.

And that's March Madness." How Gates has replaced his lost staff members: "You're not a coach doing your job if you don't have players going to the NBA, right? And if you don't have staff moving on and matriculating and ultimately being a part of the transition, where other staff want to poach them because you're doing something the right way." "[I'm) proud of Rob Summers becoming a head coach.

I think this is the fourth head coach I've had in my head coaching career to become, transition from assistant to that.

And, obviously, Charlton Young, he's done a great job helping us build this program.

I'm excited about what we do return, the growth of Kyle Smithpeters, what he's been able to do.

Ryan Sharbaugh, Matt Clein, Dickie Nutt, obviously our new, assistant." "I'm excited about Steve Wright.

He's a great, great product, and he's an unbelievable coach.

He's the last high school coach to have a player drafted in the NBA.

Darius Bazely was a first-round draft pick and one of the first high school kids to go through the NIL process.

If you do a little bit of homework, he's been at the forefront of that and been right in the middle." "His national relationships give us an advantage recruiting internationally, his playing career, and he's a great coach, great at player development, unbelievable relationships.

I'm excited about the addition and what he brings to our program." On why Gates thinks now is the time for a general manager: "I thought about it, after my first year, and I just wanted to keep that role as my dimension of the changing times around us.

I thought it [was] the right time or think it's the right time now to do it.

But ultimately, what do I think it'll allow me to take place in? It'll allow me to continue to do other things without dividing time." "Agent relationships is a real thing.

It's very important throughout the season.

It's very important in the offseason, and it frees any staff up and allows guys to really focus on the players in your program.

And not saying that I've, you know, divided my time, but the reality is the portal opens while the season is still remaining.

Well, you have to have an identity, and we know the identity." "We want to find guys that really, extenuate our core values of friendship, love, accountability, trust, discipline, unselfishness, enthusiasm and toughness.

Every team will always have holes in their armor.

We wanna make sure those holes are very minimal, and we wanna make sure we cover each other's weaknesses.

And I think that's the roster that we're building.

That's the core group of guys that we retained because we're recruiting your own guys are very important, like you guys mentioned earlier." "The other part of it that we have to understand is, player development.

Player development is at an all-time high.

Because once you retain, you have a group of guys that you're able to now, share your culture, share your mantra, and they get to pass that to the new guys.

And that's what we saw.

We saw great leadership in Caleb Grill, Tamar Bates." "We saw Ant Robinson as a captain in training.

Take a big jump.

Trent Pierce take a big jump.

Now the question is Annor Boateng, T O Barrett.

Those guys making big jumps." "Now you look at Trent Burns.

Where will he be at? Unbelievable length, unbelievable size.

I'm excited about this group that we have returning, and I'm excited to share that with you guys when we have media day and everything above." On what his program is capable of: "I want to say this loud and proud.

I'm thankful for our fans and what they've been able to provide us as an eighteen and two team at home and an unbelievable environment.

You saw the court storm as you saw great, great energy in the building.

Sometimes we lose sight, me specifically as a head coach.

I judge myself on what we did last, and I have to take a step back from a turtle view, look at the giraffe view, which is a different angle, and look at how far we've come and the accomplishments that have taken place.

We've won three games against teams in the top five.

We were [the] only SEC team to defeat Florida at their home court.

We were able to do some special, special things.

We beat a number one team in the country.

Well, specifically, two number-one teams.

"Because if you take the national champions, we beat them.

You take [the] University of Kansas, we were able to defeat those guys.

Those things are important.

And I think ultimately, you have to hang your hat on what a wonderful body of work we were able to accomplish together.

And we were able to accomplish that with our fans, our student body, and the entire community in the city of Columbia.".

This article has been shared from the original article on si, here is the link to the original article.