Mizzou Basketball Presser Notes: Border War Edition

Dennis Gates and Nick Honor met with the media to preview the Border War showdown with Kansas on Saturday.

Dennis Gates | 2nd Season | Head Coach

• On the current state of this team: “We are showing growth in areas that I’ve expected us to show it, some slower than others but we’ve showed it. Our depth has been key in our success. Being able to have guys continue to fight for playing time and different starting lineups gives us an advantage.”
• On his connection with Kansas’ head coach: “Bill Self is a Hall of Fame coach, we share the same mentor in Leonard Hamilton, who gave Bill his first job and gave me an unbelievable opportunity as a GA and 10 years as an assistant and countless phone calls that he answers late at night when I have questions.”
• On how his team is approaching The Phog: “We have guys that are college basketball educated, meaning that they know and have heard what it’s like to play in Kansas.”
• On how he compares this upcoming atmosphere to others: “Mizzou Arena is a special place to play in. When you look at the fans and their excitement for games, we compete with anybody. I’ve been able to coach at Cameron Indoor, I’ve been able to coach and play at UCLA, and our fans compared to others is unbelievable. We know Kansas has a great home court advantage but that doesn’t mean that we’re not gonna compete to the best of our ability. If you look at the history, teams have conquered The Phog.”
• On what past coaches have told him about the rivalry: “Norm [Stewart] always talks about it during our conversations. I think that every coach has told me ‘Hey, this is the game that our fans and tradition have…