Skip to main content
Join
Team Avatar
Missouri

Dennis Gates breaks down circus shot to end the half, says Kobe Brown is "okay"

Alex Weberby:Alex Weber•03/11/23
dennis-gates-discusses-halftime-message-after-big-deficit-vs-auburn
COLUMBIA, MO - NOVEMBER 07: Head coach Dennis Gates of the Missouri Tigers reacts during the first half against the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles at Mizzou Arena on November 7, 2022 in Columbia, Missouri. (Photo by Jay Biggerstaff/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Dennis Gates

The forecast called for bricks, a lot of them, in the early going of the Alabama vs. Missouri SEC Tournament semifinal game. The two clubs combined to miss their first 15 three-point attempts before Tiger guard Nick Honor finally knocked one through from a few feet beyond the arc. From there, the two sides traded jabs en route to a 31-29 halftime score with the Tide leading.

However, Missouri went out with a bang to end the first period. With just two seconds left on the shot clock and 4.7 on the game clock, the Tigers tossed a pass high and deep into the opposite corner of the court of an out-of-bounds play which D’Moi Hodge caught like a wide receiver, then turned around all in one motion to swish a three as the shot clock went off. Quite a circus shot to end the half.

Take a look:

At the break, ESPN’s Marty Smith caught up with Missouri coach Dennis Gates to have him break down that miracle play.

“Well, we just wanted to get great execution,” said Gates. “We knew that, on the strong side on the middle third, they defend them well on the face guard. Without fouling, we wanted just to setup a play action. Obviously, fake to Kobe and throw it long to the post route as if we’re in football. And we knew D’Moi Hodge was going to be able to get a shot off.”

Smith followed up by asking what his message to the team will be as Missouri trails by just two points against the SEC’s regular season champ.

“Well we hadn’t played our very best. I’m proud of our guys and I just want them to go out and have fun and play like their usual selves and go out and just compete every single possession every second of the game.”

Lastly, Smith asked if senior forward Kobe Brown would be alright after he was knocked in the head during a play in the first half. We Dennis Gates’ response:

“Absolutely. Kobe Brown is OK.”

With that, the calm, cool, collected and classily dressed Gates sauntered towards the locker room with one hand in his pocket and seemingly not a care in the world.