Dennis Gates facts for kids
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Gates at Harpo's Bar & Grill in 2024
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| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head Coach |
| Team | Missouri |
| Conference | SEC |
| Record | 55–46 (.545) |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | January 14, 1980 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1998–2002 | California |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2003–2004 | Marquette (GA) |
| 2004–2005 | Florida State (GA) |
| 2005–2007 | California (assistant) |
| 2007–2009 | Northern Illinois (assistant) |
| 2009–2011 | Nevada (assistant) |
| 2011–2019 | Florida State (assistant) |
| 2019–2022 | Cleveland State |
| 2022–present | Missouri |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 105–86 (.550) |
| Tournaments | 1–3 (NCAA Division I) 0–1 (NIT) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Horizon League tournament (2021) 2 Horizon League regular season (2021, 2022) |
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| Awards | |
| 2× Horizon League Coach of the Year (2020, 2021) | |
Dennis Gates was born on January 14, 1980. He is an American college basketball coach. He used to play basketball too. Today, he is the head coach for the Missouri Tigers men's basketball team.
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Playing College Basketball
Dennis Gates played college basketball at the University of California. He was a great student, earning academic honors twice in the Pac-10. He even finished his degree in just three years. In his final year, he was working on his master's degree. Gates was also part of Cal's team that played in the NCAA tournament in 2002.
Coaching Journey
After finishing college, Gates started his coaching career. He worked as an intern for the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team. Then, he moved to college basketball. He was a graduate assistant coach at Marquette and Florida State.
In 2005, he went back to his old college, California, as an assistant coach. From 2007 to 2009, he was an assistant coach at Northern Illinois. After that, he spent two years as an assistant coach at Nevada.
In 2011, Gates returned to Florida State as an assistant coach. He helped the Seminoles win the ACC Tournament in the 2011–12 season. During his time there, Florida State made it to the NCAA Tournament seven times. This included reaching the Sweet 16 twice and the Elite Eight once.
Leading Cleveland State
First Season: 2019–20
On July 26, 2019, Dennis Gates became the head coach for Cleveland State basketball. This was his first time as a head coach for a college team. He won his very first game on November 9, 2019, against Edinboro. Cleveland State won that game 79–54.
In his first year, Gates helped Cleveland State win seven games in the Horizon League. This was the most wins for the school in five years. Because of his hard work, he was named a co-winner of the Horizon League Coach of the Year award. He was only the second coach in Cleveland State history to receive this honor.
Second Season: 2020–21
Gates' second season at Cleveland State started with three losses. However, the team quickly turned things around in their conference games. They beat Purdue Fort Wayne twice. In one of those games, player D’Moi Hodge set a school record by making 10 three-pointers. He scored 46 points, which was the second-highest in school history.
Cleveland State started the Horizon League season with a 2–0 record. This was the first time they had done that since the 2014–15 season. After a win against Wright State on January 15, Cleveland State had an amazing 9–0 start in the Horizon League. This was a first for the program.
Third Season: 2021–22
On May 20, 2021, Dennis Gates signed a new six-year contract with Cleveland State. This new deal was worth about $3.2 million. It made him the highest-paid coach in the Horizon League at the time.
Coaching the Missouri Tigers
Starting Strong: 2022–23
On March 22, 2022, the University of Missouri announced that Dennis Gates would be their new men's basketball coach. He was introduced at a press conference soon after. Gates is the 20th head coach for the Missouri basketball program.
On March 10, 2023, the University of Missouri extended Gates’ contract. His new deal goes through the 2028-2029 season. His pay increased to $4 million per year, with an extra $100,000 each year.
A Challenging Season: 2023–24
The Tigers finished the 2023–24 season with an overall record of 8 wins and 24 losses. They did not win any games in the SEC conference, going 0–18. This was the first time the team had not won a conference game since their 1907–08 season.
Bouncing Back: 2024–25
For the 2024–25 season, Missouri had a strong record of 22 wins and 11 losses. They won 10 games and lost 8 in the SEC. Under Coach Gates, Missouri had big wins against top-ranked teams. They beat #1 Kansas, #5 Florida, and #4 Alabama. The Tigers earned a #6 seed in the 2025 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. They lost in the First Round to #11 seed Drake.
Personal Life
Dennis Gates has been married to Jocelyn Gates since 2017. Jocelyn has a special degree called a Doctor of Education. She used to be a Senior Associate Director of Athletics at Ohio State. Dennis and Jocelyn have three children together.
Head Coaching Record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland State Vikings (Horizon League) (2019–2022) | |||||||||
| 2019–20 | Cleveland State | 11–21 | 7–11 | T–7th | |||||
| 2020–21 | Cleveland State | 19–8 | 16–4 | T–1st | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 2021–22 | Cleveland State | 20–11 | 15–6 | T–1st | NIT First Round | ||||
| Cleveland State: | 50–40 (.556) | 38–21 (.644) | |||||||
| Missouri Tigers (Southeastern Conference) (2022–present) | |||||||||
| 2022–23 | Missouri | 25–10 | 11–7 | T–4th | NCAA Division I Round of 32 | ||||
| 2023–24 | Missouri | 8–24 | 0–18 | 14th | |||||
| 2024–25 | Missouri | 22–12 | 10–8 | T–6th | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| Missouri: | 55–46 (.545) | 20–32 (.385) | |||||||
| Total: | 105–86 (.550) | ||||||||
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National champion Conference regular season champion Conference tournament champion |
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