Fans excited to welcome new Mizzou men’s basketball coach
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The University of Missouri men's basketball team welcomed Dennis Gates as its new head coach, and some fans said Tuesday that they are excited to see what he does for the team.
Dennis Gates is the fifth coach for Mizzou in the last 16 years. The UM System Board of Curators announced the new hire Tuesday after letting go of Cuonzo Martin, who was fired earlier this month.
Mizzou had a 11-21 season last year, and the fans are looking forward to seeing what Gates can do to help turn the team around for next season.
"I'm super excited, this is the new future of Mizzou basketball, so I am excited to see where he takes us," MU student Payton Zigrang said.
Lifelong fan and MU student Mason Crane said he has been going to Mizzou sporting events since he was 5 years old. The freshman and active member of the super fans group "The Antlers" said he likes more than just Gates' jokes.
Crane said he's a "good recruiter, good coach, and when he was talking he was really funny, he seemed to really care about his players, and that matters a lot."
Keaton Clark said he's "excited, I mean from what I've seen on Twitter so far, he seem's like a really cool guy, super passionate about the sport. You know I think it's time for the basketball team to see some new coaching."
Clark is a tour guide and student at MU, and said he can't wait to watch Gates in action next year.
Gates formerly coached at Cleveland State for three seasons as the head coach. While he was at Cleveland he coached his team to two consecutive Horizon League regular-season championships.
