Here's my column. I'm going to start by highlighting a couple things from that here
*"Whether he’s (Gates) pushing the wrong buttons or the right buttons simply don’t exist is a matter of interpretation."
Does this team not have enough guys or is Gates not using them in the way to get the most out of them? I think it's mostly the first. The portal yielded a good supporting cast. It did not yield a guy. Maybe Matthew Cleveland or Caleb Love completely elevates this team by himself. Maybe Kaden Shedrick changes it. I don't know. And it really doesn't matter because Missouri didn't get them.
At the same time, Gates played 13 guys today. He threw John Tonje out there after a long absence (didn't go well). He threw Jesus Carralero-Martin out there after a long absence (actually went pretty well). Curt Lewis got a cameo (no issue with that). Mabor Majak got a cameo (I don't know, guys). Aidan Shaw started then was vanquished to the bench then came back in and actually helped. He looks like a coach still searching for a group that gives him his best chance. The problem is we're 1/3 of the way through the season and he hasn't found it.
I think the biggest issue might be two guys who he needs more from are Nick Honor and Noah Carter. I can pretty easily argue the minutes for both of them need to be reduced. But I don't see it happening. So if this team is going to get anywhere close to where you want it to get, they've got to be better.
*"Part of me thinks the best path forward is to give more minutes to the best athletes on the team as he did in those final six minutes."
Missouri looked athletic in the final stretch. Yes, it had some help from Seton Hall. But the Tigers made the Pirates uncomfortable. They played frenetic full court press hectic basketball. They're not good in the half court offensively. They're not good in the half court defensively. But they looked like they could be decent doing what they did in the last six minutes. Play the guys who can do that more. Plus, if you've got a 7-5 guy who isn't rebounding or effecting shots and you brought him here to be a shooter and he hasn't shot well at all, just to small and athletic.
*It was encouraging to see the ball go in for Trent Pierce. He had eight points in six minutes. He hit threes. He drove. He blocked shots. He forced turnovers. That's the first time I felt like I understood the hype from the summer.
*He's not consistent enough but I can't quit thinking Tamar Bates can be a 20 points a game guy. Maybe not every game. But quite a few times. He's a microwave. He's the second-best offensive player on the team behind Sean East.
*This was a game I thought Missouri had to win. Seton Hall isn't terrible. It might be able to make the tournament. But this is basically a home game. Missouri needed this one. It didn't get it. It now HAS to get the Illinois game in my opinion. I'd say that's not realistic but I've watched that series for long enough to know it is. The worse team wins that game as often as not. I won't be shocked if Missouri pulls it off. But it has to. Because if you're 8-5 going into the SEC schedule and your best win is Pitt, I just don't see 12-6, which is probably what it would take, being something we can realistically talk about.
*Dennis Gates is going to be good here. I'm very confident in that. He has five top 150 players coming in next year, a top 25 player committed for the 2025 class and he's doing things on the recruiting trail we haven't seen around here in a LONG time. His first year set us up for disappointment in some ways. If we were honest with ourselves, we probably all (yes, for one of you that said we should expect these struggles, way to go, I'll just pre-emptively tell you you appear to have potentially been right so you don't have to tell the rest of us again) were a little punch drunk before the season. This was a bridge year. And the bridge is a little rocky right now. And if I'm being honest, I think it's probably going remain that way most of this year. I think this team will have some good nights. I think it will have a winning record and play postseason basketball. I just don't feel confident at all it will do so in the only tournament any of us care about.
*If you want to let Gates' postgame comments annoy you, feel free. But I wouldn't stress about it. Most coaches don't say a lot in press conferences. Gates says less than most of them. He focuses on the positive and heaps a sometimes undue amount of praise on the opponents (I joked with a couple people after this one that Mizzou might be the first team ever to face 31 NCAA Tournament teams in the regular season if Gates is to be believed). It's not that important. What he says to us isn't what he says to the team. I'm sure he's harder on them behind closed doors than he is publicly. We ask questions and Dennis already knows what he's going to say. The answers often don't really even have much to do with the questions. Again, if you want to let it bother you, you can, but I wouldn't. I'm asking some of the questions and it doesn't really bother me.
*This half-day break for a basketball game was cool. Tomorrow morning, it's back to portal and recruiting coverage. Busy, busy week coming up. Hopefully it will feature some things to make you all feel better than I'm sure you do right now.
*"Whether he’s (Gates) pushing the wrong buttons or the right buttons simply don’t exist is a matter of interpretation."
Does this team not have enough guys or is Gates not using them in the way to get the most out of them? I think it's mostly the first. The portal yielded a good supporting cast. It did not yield a guy. Maybe Matthew Cleveland or Caleb Love completely elevates this team by himself. Maybe Kaden Shedrick changes it. I don't know. And it really doesn't matter because Missouri didn't get them.
At the same time, Gates played 13 guys today. He threw John Tonje out there after a long absence (didn't go well). He threw Jesus Carralero-Martin out there after a long absence (actually went pretty well). Curt Lewis got a cameo (no issue with that). Mabor Majak got a cameo (I don't know, guys). Aidan Shaw started then was vanquished to the bench then came back in and actually helped. He looks like a coach still searching for a group that gives him his best chance. The problem is we're 1/3 of the way through the season and he hasn't found it.
I think the biggest issue might be two guys who he needs more from are Nick Honor and Noah Carter. I can pretty easily argue the minutes for both of them need to be reduced. But I don't see it happening. So if this team is going to get anywhere close to where you want it to get, they've got to be better.
*"Part of me thinks the best path forward is to give more minutes to the best athletes on the team as he did in those final six minutes."
Missouri looked athletic in the final stretch. Yes, it had some help from Seton Hall. But the Tigers made the Pirates uncomfortable. They played frenetic full court press hectic basketball. They're not good in the half court offensively. They're not good in the half court defensively. But they looked like they could be decent doing what they did in the last six minutes. Play the guys who can do that more. Plus, if you've got a 7-5 guy who isn't rebounding or effecting shots and you brought him here to be a shooter and he hasn't shot well at all, just to small and athletic.
*It was encouraging to see the ball go in for Trent Pierce. He had eight points in six minutes. He hit threes. He drove. He blocked shots. He forced turnovers. That's the first time I felt like I understood the hype from the summer.
*He's not consistent enough but I can't quit thinking Tamar Bates can be a 20 points a game guy. Maybe not every game. But quite a few times. He's a microwave. He's the second-best offensive player on the team behind Sean East.
*This was a game I thought Missouri had to win. Seton Hall isn't terrible. It might be able to make the tournament. But this is basically a home game. Missouri needed this one. It didn't get it. It now HAS to get the Illinois game in my opinion. I'd say that's not realistic but I've watched that series for long enough to know it is. The worse team wins that game as often as not. I won't be shocked if Missouri pulls it off. But it has to. Because if you're 8-5 going into the SEC schedule and your best win is Pitt, I just don't see 12-6, which is probably what it would take, being something we can realistically talk about.
*Dennis Gates is going to be good here. I'm very confident in that. He has five top 150 players coming in next year, a top 25 player committed for the 2025 class and he's doing things on the recruiting trail we haven't seen around here in a LONG time. His first year set us up for disappointment in some ways. If we were honest with ourselves, we probably all (yes, for one of you that said we should expect these struggles, way to go, I'll just pre-emptively tell you you appear to have potentially been right so you don't have to tell the rest of us again) were a little punch drunk before the season. This was a bridge year. And the bridge is a little rocky right now. And if I'm being honest, I think it's probably going remain that way most of this year. I think this team will have some good nights. I think it will have a winning record and play postseason basketball. I just don't feel confident at all it will do so in the only tournament any of us care about.
*If you want to let Gates' postgame comments annoy you, feel free. But I wouldn't stress about it. Most coaches don't say a lot in press conferences. Gates says less than most of them. He focuses on the positive and heaps a sometimes undue amount of praise on the opponents (I joked with a couple people after this one that Mizzou might be the first team ever to face 31 NCAA Tournament teams in the regular season if Gates is to be believed). It's not that important. What he says to us isn't what he says to the team. I'm sure he's harder on them behind closed doors than he is publicly. We ask questions and Dennis already knows what he's going to say. The answers often don't really even have much to do with the questions. Again, if you want to let it bother you, you can, but I wouldn't. I'm asking some of the questions and it doesn't really bother me.
*This half-day break for a basketball game was cool. Tomorrow morning, it's back to portal and recruiting coverage. Busy, busy week coming up. Hopefully it will feature some things to make you all feel better than I'm sure you do right now.
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