Whitten Family Men’s Basketball Head Coach Dennis Gates
Opening Statement
“Well, after a 10-minute delay with the lights being out, I think Southern Indiana shot the lights out, literally, in the second half. I think our guys did a great job in the first half. If you look at that stat line, we held that team to 28 percent and seven percent from the three. Obviously we fouled too much in that first half, but in the second half it was a tale of two teams. Eight-two percent from three, 71 percent from the field (and) their free throw percentage was their worst percentage in the second half. But with all that, I'm very excited about our team. Over 10,000 fans showed up and showed out in Mizzou arena. I think that is a special, special thing that we were able to see, but also give our guys some momentum in the situations that they're going to continue to get better at. We started the game on a 9-0 run and we never trailed. I thought we got complacent when the last four-minute timeout took place. We gave up 20 points in two minutes. They score 20 points in two minutes. But 10,000-plus fans, it's beautiful. It's a learning experience for our guys and we're going to learn and get things done that we need to get done. 20 assists with 11 turnovers is the stat line that I'm most excited about with our team, and six guys and double figures.”
On Southern Indiana’s second-half run
“My hat's off to Southern Indiana. They did a wonderful job getting each other open and being able to get us, whether it was off balance with a shot fake or not, and knock down some high level three-point baskets. I will never take anything away from our opponents. They did a great job. They displayed the amount of fight that you would expect that team to display. That team and that coach has won several games. He's been there for 14 years. They're in transition but more importantly that team showed fight. And whenever you show fight like that, great things consistently will happen and that’s what they were able to do. I'm not taking anything away from our guys either. But to be able to shoot the way that they shot, 14-for-17 from three, I will be curious to look at another box score throughout this year that could resemble that for a half. I will be shocked if we ever see one. But my hat's off to them. They'll win some games in their conference. But (they’re) well coached and they did a great job.”
On first win as Mizzou’s head coach
“It’s special not only to share that first win with the team, but our entire tradition. The former coaches that came before me, the former players, our entire fanbase. 10,000 fans in one spot in Mizzou Arena, that’s special. So I didn't just share it with our team. I shared it with everyone. Everyone that was watching, everyone that logged in and checked the score. And I'm thankful for athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois, our president Mun Choi, and their belief in me to lead this program, and obviously our student athletes for executing it and doing the things the small things every day as we try to win championships on the court, in the classroom and in our community. I appreciate all that they have done.”
On what he learned about his team in victory
“I think what I've learned is we have a special group and it's an exciting bunch to watch. It is a connected group. I think they get a joy and a true excitement of seeing their teammates succeed. We have depth at every position and we can play in different ways and different styles. We have to do a better job and that's me, myself and calling whether it's not a man-to-man press but a zone press to keep us in position. And I didn't do that. So it's collective. I learned something about myself too.”
On honoring Charles E. Whitten Jr.
“As the Whitten Family Head Men’s Basketball Coach, I am proud. By the way, the Whitten family is right here behind us. This is his dad’s tie. He’s no longer with us. But this is Mr. Whitten’s tie. As the Whitten Family Head Men’s Basketball Coach, I made a promise to wear the tie in my first game.”
Senior forward Kobe Brown
On building hype around the season this fall
“I've been saying that for the past month or so like this is so different now. All the events we do on campus where we were like the last couple of weeks. We were shooting hoops outside of the Student Center. There's just so much engagement we have with the students and even the fans who are adults. There's really a buzz going on in Columbia. I love it.”
On how well the team has meshed together
“Oh, we mesh really well. You know every day in practice, we work hard, we play hard, and we try to find ways to push each other and accomplish different things. Off the court, we are always with each other. We live with each other, we are constantly talking and going out to eat. I just feel like the sky’s the limit for this team. The more we play,. The more we practice, the more we’re with each other, the better we’ll be.”
Senior point guard Sean East II
On USI’s shooting in the second half
“Like Coach said, you can give credit to them, but once we got the lead, I think we just kind of got lackadaisical. We kind of relaxed a little bit and we need to focus on the details when coming out for that last four minutes next time.”
