Busting Brackets
Fansided

SEC Basketball: Expectations for each first-year head coach in 2022-23 season

By Jonathan Lidskin

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 17: Head coach Todd Golden of the San Francisco Dons calls out instructions in the second half against the Murray State Racers during the first round of the 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on March 17, 2022 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 17: Head coach Todd Golden of the San Francisco Dons calls out instructions in the second half against the Murray State Racers during the first round of the 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on March 17, 2022 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 6
Next
Dennis Gates, left, and Charlton Young Dsc 0665 2
Dennis Gates, left, and Charlton Young Dsc 0665 2 /

Dennis Gates – Missouri

As potentially the most underrated coaching hire of the off-season, Dennis Gates should have a competitive Missouri team in year one. Gates is replacing Cuonzo Martin who struggled mightily to recruit after his 2017 class that included Michael and Jontay Porter. Despite a tournament appearance in 2021, it was inevitable that the Tigers had to make a change.

Gates came in with a team that struggled to generate offense last season. They didn’t have a lot of guys who could make plays or create a shot and as a result, Gates and his staff opted to bring in a ton of new players. Only Kobe Brown, Kaleb Brown and Ronnie DeGray lll remain from last year’s team.

One unique thing about the off-season for Mizzou is Gates used the portal in many different ways. He brought in two JUCO transfers, one high major transfer, and a plethora of mid-major transfers including three from his former school, Cleveland State.

Tre Gomillion and D’Moi Hodge are two of those players from Cleveland State. Both know Gates’ system as they both played for multiple years at Cleveland State while Gates was building up the program. In Gates’ final two seasons at Cleveland State, the team won a conference tournament championship and conference regular-season title.

The two JUCO transfers could be the key to Mizzou’s ceiling being elevated. Sean East and Mohammed Diarra were the number one and two junior college transfers and both are expected to be focal points offensively for this team. East is projected at 10.9 points per game next season according to barttorvik.com while Diarra is projected at 14.4.

As mentioned before, Gates will return Kobe Brown who was an all-SEC second-team player last season. Noah Carter from Northern Iowa and Nick Honor from Clemson also both have a chance to crack the starting lineup. I currently have Mizzou 49th overall and 9th in the SEC. The goal for Dennis Gates should be to have this team around the bubble late in the season. A tournament appearance would be a monumental step in the right direction.

Home/SEC