Dennis Gates

Dennis Gates (born January 14, 1980) is an American college basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Missouri Tigers men's basketball team.

Playing career Gates played guard at Whitney Young Magnet High School in Chicago, Illinois. As a senior, he captained the Dolphins to an Illinois High School Association Class AA title alongside friend and future NBA player Quentin Richardson. In the state final against Galesburg High School, Gates led all Dolphins scorers with 20 points.

Gates played college basketball at California, where he was a two-time first-team All-Academic selection in the Pac-10, having graduated in three years, playing his senior season as a master's degree candidate. Gates was also a member of Cal's 2002 NCAA tournament team.

Coaching career After graduation, Gates served as a coaching intern for the Los Angeles Clippers before heading to the college ranks for two graduate assistant coaching positions at Marquette and Florida State for a season each. He would return to his alma mater as a full assistant coach in 2005 under Ben Braun. During a January 10, 2017, contest between Florida State and Duke, Gates was shoved by Blue Devils guard Grayson Allen as the guard went for a loose ball near the Florida State bench. The clip garnered national attention, but Gates defended Allen in the aftermath stating he was not the victim of a dirty play.

Cleveland State 2019–20 On July 26, 2019, Gates was named 17th head coach in Cleveland State basketball history, replacing Dennis Felton.

Missouri

2022–23 On March 22, 2022, the University of Missouri announced Gates would be the men's basketball coach and was introduced in a press conference shortly after the announcement. Gates is the program's 20th head coach. Despite his team only having two returning players from the 2021-22 Tigers, Gates orchestrated one of the biggest turnarounds in NCAA men's basketball, going 23–8 in regular season play with ranked wins against Illinois, Kentucky, Iowa State and Tennessee. Following an SEC Tournament win over Tennessee on Friday, March 10, 2023, the University of Missouri extended Gates’ contract through the 2028–2029 season, increasing his pay to $4 million per year, with $100,000 annual increases. The Tigers earned a 7 seed in the 2023 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, beating Utah State for the program's first NCAA Tournament win since 2010 before being upset by 15-seed Princeton.

2023–24 The Tigers finished the season with an overall record of 8–24 and without a win (0–18) in SEC play, the first time the team had not won a conference game since their 1907–08 season.

2024-25 For the 2024–25 season, Missouri compiled a 22–11 record, going 10–8 in the SEC. Led by Gates, Missouri had signature wins against #1 Kansas, #5 Florida, and #4 Alabama. The Tigers earned a #6 seed in the 2025 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, losing in the First Round to #11 seed Drake.

2025-26 The 2025-26 season saw the Tigers post a 20-13 record, again going 10-8 in the SEC. Ranked wins came over Florida, Vanderbilt, and Tennessee, plus the program won its first game ever at Rupp Arena when they defeated Kentucky. The Tigers earned a #10 seed in the West Region for the 2026 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, and despite a favorable draw at Enterprise Center in St. Louis (roughly 90 minutes from the Mizzou campus) they fell 80-66 to Miami (FL). On the recruiting trail, Mizzou posted its best class in school history headlined by five-star prospect Jason Crowe Jr., California high school basketball's all-time leading scorer, plus fellow McDonald's All-American Game participant Toni Bryant.

Personal life Gates has been married since 2017 to Jocelyn Gates. Jocelyn has a Doctor of Education and was previously the Senior Associate Director of Athletics at Ohio State and now works at the search and consulting firm TurnkeyZRG. They have three children. His younger brother Armon played basketball collegiately at Kent State and also went into coaching; he is currently an assistant at Minnesota.

Head coaching record