"Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice..."

Posted on: February 15, 2025 at 21:00:29 CT

Some of you never learn.

Earlier someone posted "I'm ready to give Gates the big contract..." (here's the thread: http://www.tigerboard.com/boards/view.php?message=19413415 )

First of all, we already gave Gates "the big contract" in 2023 (6 years $25 million guaranteed, which is still one of the biggest contracts in college basketball). And that was following an historically average Haith-like season (Kenpom #57) that ended in a blowout loss to 15-seed Princeton. That was with 2 future NBA players including a first-rounder inherited from Cuonzo.

And we all remember what happened in 2024 with a more typical MU roster:
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/team/schedule/_/id/142/season/2024

It was the worst season in the history of Mizzou Basketball, and boosters took it seriously. They realized that our only chance of competing is to out-talent the competition through a massive increase in "NIL" spending (by diverting some of FB's NIL budget to BB). And the result of that is the deepest roster Mizzou Basketball has ever had – a fact that 'alwaysright' was able to verify statistically: http://www.tigerboard.com/boards/view.php?message=19412758

It's debatable as to whether Gates is maximizing the roster's potential.
What's not debatable, however, is that Gates still has an extremely rich contract that runs through 2029. There's no reason to enhance it, again, one year removed from an 0-19 season. Now, if he has a couple more years in the top 25 to prove that 2024 was *definitely* a fluke, and that he can win consistently, then — and only then — should we consider upgrading the terms again.




Edited by zounami at 22:04:24 on 02/15/25