Dennis Gates facts for kids
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head Coach |
| Team | Missouri |
| Conference | SEC |
| Record | 48–38 (.558) |
| 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 | 98–78 (.557) |
| Tournaments | 1–2 (NCAA Division I) 0–1 (NIT) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Horizon League tournament (2021) 2 Horizon League regular season (2021, 2022) |
|
| Awards | |
| 2× Horizon League Coach of the Year (2020, 2021) | |
Dennis Gates (born January 14, 1980) is an American college basketball coach and former player. He is currently the head coach for the Missouri Tigers men's basketball team.
Contents
Playing Career
Dennis Gates played college basketball at the University of California. He was a very good student, earning "All-Academic" honors twice. He even finished his degree in just three years! In his final year, he played while studying for his master's degree. He was also part of Cal's team that played in the big NCAA tournament in 2002.
Coaching Journey
After college, Dennis Gates started his coaching career. He worked as an intern for the Los Angeles Clippers, a professional basketball team. Then, he became a graduate assistant coach at Marquette and Florida State.
In 2005, he returned to his old college, California, as a full assistant coach. He also worked as an assistant coach at Northern Illinois and Nevada.
Success at Florida State
In 2011, Gates went back to Florida State as an assistant coach. He helped the team win the ACC Tournament championship in the 2011–12 season. During his time there, Florida State made it to the NCAA Tournament seven times. They even reached 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. This was his first time as a head coach. He won his very first game on November 9, 2019, against Edinboro.
In his first year, Cleveland State won seven games in their league, the Horizon League. This was the most wins for the school in five years. Because of his great work, Gates 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 win this award.
Second Season (2020–21)
In his second season, Cleveland State started strong in their conference games. They won their first two Horizon League games for the first time since 2014–15. A player named D’Moi Hodge set a school record by making 10 three-pointers in one game!
After a win in January, Cleveland State had their best start ever in the Horizon League, with a 9–0 record. Gates quickly matched the total number of wins his predecessor had at Cleveland State, but in much fewer games.
Third Season (2021–22)
In May 2021, Dennis Gates signed a new six-year contract with Cleveland State. This new deal was worth about $3.2 million, making him the highest-paid coach in the Horizon League.
Coaching the Missouri Tigers
First Season (2022–23)
On March 22, 2022, the University of Missouri announced that Dennis Gates would be their new men's basketball coach. He is the 20th head coach for the Missouri Tigers. On March 10, 2023, the University of Missouri extended Gates’ contract. His new deal goes through the 2028-2029 season, and his pay increased to $4 million per year.
Second Season (2023–24)
The Tigers finished the 2023–24 season with an 8–24 overall record. They did not win any games in their conference, the SEC. This was the first time the team had not won a conference game since the 1907–08 season.
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 | 15–4 | 4–2 | ||||||
| Missouri: | 48–38 (.558) | 15–27 (.357) | |||||||
| Total: | 98–78 (.557) | ||||||||
|
National champion Conference regular season champion Conference tournament champion |
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