Everything Dennis Gates Said After Win Over Howard University

A full transcript from the press conference for the Missouri Tigers head coach.

Nov. 8, 2024; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri head coach Dennis Gates observes the game against Howard university from the sidelines. / Amber Winkler/Missouri Tigers on SI

After losing the first game of their season on the road, the Missouri Tigers turned it around and won their home-opener against Howard university 77-62.

Here is everything the Tigers head coach Dennis Gates had to say following the victory.

Opening Statement:

"Well, first I want to say great atmosphere for a home opener. I thought our studio section did a tremendous job of supporting us and coming out. In addition to our fans, I don't know which fans are here for the first time coming in town, because we got a big, big football game tomorrow, but they were here, and I thought that made a difference as well. Tough NCAA tournament team we played not surprised by anything that happened in a game. We knew that they were going to come out fighting, and that's what they've shown over the last three or four years, especially under their head coach, Coach (Blakeney). We share a mentor and Dr Joe Carr, who works with both teams, and it was probably gut-wrenching for Dr Carter even watch two of his mentees play, who's been been in our lives for a long time. But again, I thought our team showed some character defensively. Our kids showed character, and I'm excited about the growth from our last game to this game, specifically defensively, in addition to free throw line percentage."

On home atmosphere and previous game:

"I think when you look at the two different games, we wanted to schedule really, really tough situations coming out of the gate, and Memphis, at Memphis allowed us to do that. It was a tale of two halves, I believe, and we got in foul trouble early in the second. I thought we got in foul trouble in this game as well, but we didn't, we forced them to the free throw line. If you notice that stat, our guys showed some resolve around the basket. They played intense, and I thought last game before tonight, our intensity suffered because of those early foul calls, and we didn't allow that to get to us. In addition to stopping runs, our guys made free throws tonight, and they concentrated, and you can see the confidence at which they shot them. Being able to shoot 83% on 31 free throws is a great stat line. We won the game defensively, the first five to 10 minutes: defense, the last four, five minutes: defense, and I'm excited about the character our guys showed. "

On starting freshman Annor Boateng:

"Annor is one of the most talented freshmen I've coached, whether I've been an assistant or head coach. He's very, very talented, and you guys were able to see that. Now, every freshman in the country is going to run their own race. Every young person is going to run their own race. I just thought at the end of the day, the way he responded in practice, over the course of the summer, in addition to now, he's earned everything that he's gotten. I'm not shocked about that, but again, being able to go out, his team won. He was able to ignite a like a 10-0 run over five minutes. Sometimes you look at certain situations you put guys in, but it's not just one person, it's his teammates, how his teammates responded to him as well, and when you have the respect of your teammates and the happiness for your teammates, those are the things that give kids confidence. Look at Marcus Allen. Marcus Allen closed the game for us in tough situations. We put two freshmen in situations they've never been in and at the college level, and they were able to respond. The one thing I would say, you know, I'm proud of winning the rebounding margin. I'm proud of being able to get 11 steals. Ant Robinson, I mean, you guys see how he ignites the game, and he's very talented at doing such. For me, it's just being able to give guys these opportunities that they've earned."

On what was said in the huddle near the end:

"We knew they were going to make a run. I think when you look at Aiden Shaw's ability to be able to play versatile basketball, whether it's 5-4-3-2-1 defense, he can defend any position. In addition to the communication that our upper classmen was allowing themselves to play with, they connected differently and challenged each other in a huddle, I didn't have to do much talking. These guys started talking to each other, and I saw leadership. I saw leadership from Aiden. I saw leadership from Tamar Bates. And those are the things, those are the moments that helps you grow weekly, game by game, it helps you grow. I'm looking forward to seeing how much we grow, but also, again, I'm looking forward to how many seats continue to get filled, because the momentum of our season is also helped by our fans. I'm just thankful they came out on the Friday evening and supported how they supported. Those are the things that I look at now. I'm happy about the connectivity."

On the emphasis of scoring in the paint:

"The three pointer was so tempting for most of them, they couldn't resist. They could not resist it. Bates made his baseline out, and it's almost like that that stirred it up again. 'We're open, we're open, we're open. Let's shoot it.' We have to be able to do certain things other than just catch and shoot. We were winning the free throw game. It's interesting, because the new whistle this year, everything's going to be a block at that basket, and the college rule is changing how you freely move in the paint and finish, and we have to take advantage of that. I don't think we did, Ant Robinson didn't take advantage of it, but you know, it gives us tape to learn from. And yes, you saw the same thing I saw. You're not always going to win games behind the arc, but we did other things, like Tamar said, and we defended."

On if he was happy with shot selection:

"Absolutely, I want to shoot more threes. I want to shoot more threes. I want guys from every position to shoot threes. But it wasn't that night for that, and I'm okay with that. I thought our guys listened to the game plan, the scouting report, and we took what the defense gave us, and you know, those were some open shots. They'll fall. We're not a 13% three point shooting team, you know. So for me, I want our guys to play with confidence. They know that I told them, 'hey, I want you to shoot. shoot it. But it's time now to get into the paint and be able to finish at the paint.'"