Official: Mizzou’s Dennis Gates hires new assistant coach
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
There will be a new face on the sidelines with Tiger men's basketball coach Dennis Gates in 2024-25. Mizzou announced the hiring of Rob Summers as an assistant coach, on Tuesday.
The 39-year-old will be taking over the position that was previously held by Dickey Nutt, who will be moving to an advisory role while he undergoes treatment for cancer.
Summers will come to Columbia after serving as an assistant coach at Miami Ohio since 2022. However, he's not new to Gates' system or staff, in fact. He spent three years as an assistant coach under Gates at Cleveland State. Summers was a part of the 2021 Horizon League tournament championship run and the regular season conference championship in 2022.
The Ohio-native served as Gates' offensive coordinator in his time working with the Vikings. He helped Cleveland State improve from about 64 points per game to about 70, then about 75 over the course of three years.
In his first year with Miami Redhawks, the team went 12-20 and earned a berth in the MC Tournament quarterfinals as the No. 8 seed. Miami Ohio went on to win four-straight games in Feb. to qualify for the postseason. This past season, 2023-24, the Redhawks finished 15-17 overall and went 9-9 in conference action.
Summers has also made stops at James Madison University and Glenville State. He played in college, as well, starting his career at Penn State, before he transferred to West Virginia.
