When Mizzou basketball travels to Chicago to play Marquette on Sunday, coach Dennis Gates will coach a game in his hometown for the first time since arriving to the program more than four years ago. 

The hardwood at the United Center, waiting for Gates, his suit and his tie to take its sideline, evoked childhood memories from the Chicago product. In fact, the first NBA game he attended was a Bulls-Lakers showdown featuring two of the game’s all-time greats: Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. 

“I just remember sitting at the very top — and those were the tickets we could afford at that time — and we were sitting right behind a beam, so I had to move to my left to even see a play go from one end of the court to the next,” Gates told reporters Thursday. “But it's one of those memories that you can definitely jot down, that's a part of your basketball mind.” 

Gates’ ties to both the United Center and to Marquette Basketball are woven throughout his life in basketball. He eventually played for Whitney Young High School, just a couple blocks away from the Bulls’ home. 

His play at Whitney Young and on AAU circuits grabbed the attention of college coaches, including then-Marquette coach Mike Deane, who had already snatched Brian Wardle from the same AAU program Gates played for. Gates, alongside AAU teammates Quentin Richardson and Cordell Henry, planned to commit to Marquette, but Deane and Marquette ended up “taking another kid,” leading the now-Missouri coach to commit to California instead. 

After spending four seasons as a rotational guard for California and one season as a skill development coach with the Los Angeles Clippers, Gates circled back to his old teammate — and the program that he once planned on attending — for his first collegiate coaching gig: a graduate assistant for Marquette in the 2003-04 season, working alongside then-director of basketball operations Wardle. 

“There's a lot of memories, a lot of good memories that I have (at Marquette),” Gates said. “Some of the same people are still there. We've lost some people along the way, but it's definitely one that I look at as a great basketball program, a great storied tradition, but also some great people there.” 

While Sunday will mark Missouri’s first official game against Marquette, the two teams have held a secret scrimmage every preseason since Gates’ arrival ahead of the 2022-23 season. Now, he's finally got Marquette on the regular-season schedule. The game being in Chicago is the cherry on top, as he's been trying to schedule a game there for the past three years.

“It's going to be a tough game because of what I know about our scrimmages behind closed doors,” Gates said. “I have so much respect for Coach (Shaka) Smart and what he's been able to do.” 

Gates’ excitement to play at the United Center is shared by one of his premiere players, Bryson Tiller. Tiller, who’s scored 15.7 points per game and exploded for a career-high 26 points against Saint Louis on Friday, is just as excited to play in the NBA arena on Sunday as he is hopeful to take that court again a year from now — the latter of which he hopes is with an NBA team. 

“That's the goal next year,” Tiller said of playing in an NBA arena. “Go out there, get used to the arena, the feeling of it, and just prepare for the game and get that win.” 

Mizzou (2-1) needs to clean up a few areas of its game should it aim to take down Marquette on Sunday. At the top of that list are defensive rotations, which were exposed against a SLU team that drilled 14 of its 25 3-point attempts, many of which were fairly open. 

Gates thinks his team is close but acknowledges close isn’t enough to produce desired results. 

“Well, I think when you look at rotation, looking back, we wasn't out of rotation as much,” Gates said. "I thought our guys did do some things, we just didn't come away with the basketball. I think Jason (Crowe Jr.) had an opportunity to get a deflection, and he was probably a fingernail away from disrupting the play. Jamier Jones being able to be right there, that's a play that we've seen him get to. 

“So it's a difference between not being there at all. Right? We're there. We just have to execute and get the ball. Ultimately, I don't see the instances where we're not there.” 

Gates also shortened his rotation against Saint Louis — the only non-buy game Missouri has played so far — playing nine men overall and only six 15 or more minutes. Starting forward Toni Bryant played just 13 minutes, backup guard Cord Stansberry clocked 10 and backup center Trent Burns logged 4. 

Burns becomes especially important against Marquette, as senior big Jaylen Carey remains indefinitely suspended and away from the sidelines, and fifth-year forward Mark Mitchell’s status is unknown after getting stitches above the crown of his nose following a hit taken early in the Tigers’ game against SIUE on Monday. Mitchell did not practice Thursday and will be evaluated Friday.

Burns, the 7-foot-5 junior, has shown flashes over the past two seasons but has yet to string together consistent performances on either side of the ball. 

"I think initiating contact is something he has to continue to do,” Gates said, “but I often say, like, 'Which one will you be, the hammer or the nail?' And he has to try to take the hammer approach to be able to make an impact."

In case star freshman Jason Crowe Jr. struggles against Marquette like he did against SLU — scoring just eight points on 3-for-18 shooting — the Tigers will need elevated play from their backup guards, too. BYU transfer Kennard Davis has performed admirably in his first season as a Tiger, but Gates has turned to both fifth-year guard Cord Stansberry and sophomore guard Aaron Rowe as options in the Tigers last two games. 

Stansberry scored two points in 10 minutes against the Billikens, and Rowe didn’t see the court. Against SIUE on Monday, though, Gates turned to Rowe instead of Stansberry in the second half, and the sophomore’s only stat was one assist in six minutes; Stansberry hit a triple in garbage time. 

“They're just two different players,” Gates said of what he’s looking for in the pair of guards. “I think when you look at Aaron, just getting them reps, I got to make sure he's using his speed. Sometimes when you use your speed, you're trying to be too perfect and execute everything. But ultimately, we got to continue to find reps for him to be able to get in. …

“Cord is traditionally a combo guard, so he's been a kid that's been able to score. But we've asked him to do some different things based off his leadership, but also based off what I've been able to see over the last couple months.” 

The game between the teams' will tip off at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the United Center in Chicago, with Missouri aiming to get its first Power Five win of the season.