Mizzou hoops hosts youth clinic with Big Brothers Big Sisters
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMIZ)
As the Mizzou men's basketball team looks to build chemistry ahead of the 2026-27 season, head coach Dennis Gates and company are in the midst of 'team building week.' What better way to build a team than to give back to the next generation of hoopers?
On Wednesday, Tiger hoops headed to St. Louis to host a youth clinic with Big Brothers Big Sisters. The event featured about 50 participants, who got to work with Mizzou men's basketball players and get some tips on their game.
It's the second time that MU has done this event, as Big Brothers Big Sisters holds a special place in Coach Gates' heart.
"I think it's important to always give back. That's the biggest form of repayment when you have mentors and you have people that impact your life the way that my life was impacted growing up in inner city Chicago. So, not only park districts, but also programs like Big Brothers Big Sisters has been impactful on my life on both sides, as a mentee and a mentor," he said. "Whenever I have the opportunity to give back to something that has given to me so greatly, I have no problem doing that. I'm thankful to bridge that gap."
You can watch the full press conference with Coach Gates in the video player below.
"You see the kids brighten up when they see us because they look up to us, right. Just being able to be here to teach them things and just be a part of it and have fun with the kids, like that's always a good time," returning forward Trent Pierce said. "I love seeing the kids have a good time."
While in St. Louis, Coach Gates also discussed his newly-scheduled three-game series against the Saint Louis Billikens, a game which has been high on his priority list for quite some time.
Gates was actually the one to reach out to Billikens head coach Josh Schertz and push for this match up to return for the first time in 25 seasons.
"I've always wanted to make sure, as the head coach, that I would put our program, under my watch, in a position, where some coaches may not have done that," Gates said. "It's too competitive in Division I basketball for you to just always leave the state. This is a game that should always be one our schedule. There should never be a year without this game."
Over the course of the offseason, Mizzou has also added neutral-site showdowns against Nebraska at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City and Marquette at the United Center in Chicago, in addition to its yearly meetings with both Kansas and Illinois. This comes as Coach Gates and his squad are looking make it to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments.
They'll look to make that Tournament push with lots of new faces on the roster, including a Top-10 recruiting class and a Top-15 transfer portal class. All that newness will mean that veteran returners, such as Pierce, will prove all the more essential.
"I'm excited I feel like we have a whole lot of talent coming in, honestly, from all over the place," Pierce said. "Coach Gates and the staff did a good job putting the pieces together...I mean, we plan on the national championship, that's our goal. That's our plan...Ultimately, I want to lead this team. That's my goal, to lead us to a national championship. So, just kind of being that vocal leader, but also someone that goes out there and provides for the team."
