NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - CLEVELAND STATE VS HOUSTON

March 19, 2021

Dennis Gates

Cleveland State Vikings

Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall

Postgame Media Conference

Houston 87, Cleveland State 56

DENNIS GATES: Well, my hat is off to Coach Sampson and the University of Houston. They did an unbelievable job. That's a 1 seed. I truly believe that team is a 1 seed. They can score the basketball in every which way possible. They score in three areas: on the free-throw line, behind the three-point line and in the paint. They do a great job defensively of not fouling.

The game came down to second-chance points, which they scored 21 points off of. Then that run, we just couldn't stop their surge. So my hat is off to them.

Our guys, we didn't play our very best, but that was because of the University of Houston. They put us in positions where we were playing on our heels. But I'm proud of my guys. I'm proud of our guys. A special group we have at Cleveland State.

These guys did some things that probably would never be done again. After a pandemic, being able to win two championships, regular season conference championship and a conference tournament championship. So I'm extremely proud of my staff, as well as our institution for getting us to this point, and obviously the Horizon League.

THE MODERATOR: We'll take questions.

Q. Just how tough was it for the offense to get going against that Houston defense? You knew what they were coming in. How tough was it to really string together that momentum tonight?

DENNIS GATES: It was difficult. I think the score shows that. I think they were able to get offensive rebounds, and that kept us from getting to our transition. Whenever you have a team that crashes three, four guys, you can't come up with the basketball, at that point you can't run in transition and soften up their defense in halfcourt.

But we played against five versus five. They did a great job of putting us in a halfcourt offense. But we couldn't kind of crack the paint.

I thought their length and athleticism bothered us, as well. This was a great team. They protected the rim. As you can see with our points in the paint at 20, they did a great job. So defensively, one of the top defensive teams in the country.

Q. I was curious if you could talk a little bit about what you think the biggest keys to continued success are for you guys going into next season and beyond.

DENNIS GATES: Well, that's a good question. We got to get better individually. I think when you look at the tenure here since August of '19, we hadn't had a summer workout, post-season workout because of pandemic and obviously me getting the job and taking over the program in August. So that's an integral part in development or developing a program.

The other thing is we just got to continue to get better as a staff. I'll continue to do my job and pushing us forward. But I truly believe in professional development and student-athlete development. We'll make sure we continue to address those things.

I'm very excited about our program. I'm excited about what we were able to do. We're not happy about the results of tonight, and probably won't allow ourselves to enjoy the season until probably the summer because it hurts. It hurts.

When you're true competitors and you don't have a result the way that you want, it's going to be difficult to see really the big picture of what we were able to accomplish.

We accomplished some great things. When you peel back the layer of not satisfying what we wanted to happen, like I said, our goal was to reach the national championship and be the No. 1 team in the country. Along the way we bumped into regular season Horizon League tournament and a Horizon League tournament championship, and we just didn't accomplish the goal tonight.

Our season is over. We only had 40 minutes in this NCAA tournament. We were looking forward to 240 minutes. So that part of it, we just got to continue to push forward, evaluate and see where we are when we get down to getting better.

Q. Sometimes when you get to a tournament like this, you have to lose in order to learn how to win. What did you learn by this experience here in the NCAA tournament that you can now take with you as you start to build this program for bigger and better things?

DENNIS GATES: Well, we know how to get here. We know what it takes. Our guys sacrificed a lot. I don't know if there will be another pandemic. I thought our guys, with the obstacles and the circumstances, they did what we needed to do because the number one opponent this season has been COVID, COVID-19. The second opponent has been Cleveland State University. The third opponent have been those that cross the lines and us being in the game.

COVID-19, being able to navigate that effectively, a pandemic effectively, it allows our guys to really know the sacrifice it takes, the obstacles you have to overcome, but also the trust you have to have in one another.

I thought we grew as a program since last March. Even though we were remote and on Zoom, we grew. That opportunity to grow has to be preserved when you get to the level of normalcy because at that point you're going to be fighting peer pressure, there's going to be other things to do than locking in. The distractions is what we have to continue to focus on, and we'll do our job as a staff to make sure we remain committed.

Q. What is the biggest thing you'll take away from this 2020/2021 season?

DENNIS GATES: The biggest thing is just learning how to get to a tournament. That's what it's about, man. Playing for a national championship. There's not a lot of teams that has been able to say that.

The other thing is, when you look at where we are in the bubble, et cetera, there's not one team in our conference that wouldn't want to trade places with us. The one thing you got to take away is, we're thankful. We're thankful that we had a post-season. We're thankful to be a part of March Madness. Again, just last year, 365 plus days ago, it was taken away from everyone. We're thankful of our leadership at the NCAA. We're thankful for our resocialization committee to get this thing going.

Obviously all those behind the scenes who were able to roll their sleeves up and get us into this space in Indianapolis, the city of Indianapolis, and get a tournament going, it's a beautiful thing. Obviously a lot of people are happy.

But we're excited about being a participant in this March Madness.

Q. Obviously not the result you were looking for. Houston was definitely really aggressive on defense. When you looked at that defense, are there any things you saw from that particular defense you can potentially carry forward into your own team in the future?

DENNIS GATES: Well, I'll tell you this. I will be curious to watch the next five games that Houston will have. I truly believe this team can win the national championship that we just played. At that point in reflection, we'll begin to see, okay, that team is really good. I don't think they get the credit they deserve. I think they're a No. 1 seed. Without a doubt I said that all along.

The things that they were able to do, you cannot mimic. We don't have that length and that athleticism that they have. We don't have that guard play that they have. They had three great guards out there on the court at the same time, and even one of them got hurt.

You have to look at they're a well-balanced team, well-coached. They're tough as nails. Offensive rebounds, they had 16. They had 26 points in the paint, 21 second-chance points, and 22 points off turnovers. You can't give a team 20, 20 and 20 in those categories, in addition to 21 points from behind the arc. That is a well-balanced team. That's a dangerous team coming down the stretch.

I truly believe they have a chance to be national champions.

Q. Over the entire season you've talked about your team's core values. That showed in this game alone. Even when you were down near the end of the second half, there was not a lack of enthusiasm, highlighted by the fact that the bench was really cheering on Ben when he came in. How encouraged are you that this team has still, even in the face of adversity, really kind of stayed together as a cohesive unit?

DENNIS GATES: I'm proud of these guys. The level of friendship, accountability, love, trust, discipline, unselfishness, enthusiasm and toughness that they have is crucial. It's been crucial to our success. It's not just been crucial because those core values are on the wall, it's crucial because it's in their hearts. These guys really wear that on their chest proudly.

Sometimes as young people, you don't have direction, you don't have full transparency to emotionally allow yourself to pour into a team or individuals without knowing you're going to get something back in return. These guys had a lot of faith, and they poured into each other without knowing what they were going to get in return.

I'm proud of them for that because those are the things that will carry them beyond this fleeting moment of college. It's going to carry them as they become husbands, fathers, and obviously successful businessmen.

Q. Can you sum up what these past two years have been for you. How have you grown as a coach with the culture that you changed?

DENNIS GATES: Well, for me, I wasn't satisfied with last year. I thought last year we should have been in the NCAA tournament, regardless of when I started my tenure.

This season, we got here, but those dreams stretch far beyond just getting a bid. We want to win games in this tournament and get to a national championship. I think collectively our players have done a great job. Our staff has done a great job.

As it relates to me, I'm a lifelong learner. I've always been that way. I was very critical of myself last year. I'm sure I'll be very critical again this year when I have time to watch every single game. I'll probably watch the entire season in order probably three or four times this entire off-season.

I'm saying that because I have to look in the mirror and see how I can always improve. But also if I'm improving and the guys see that, our entire program improves. I'm always about evaluation, self-evaluation, self-awareness.

Being a lifelong learner, I can't answer how I've grown this year. Ultimately I'll be able to evaluate and see what those things are.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you for your time, coach. Congratulations on your season.

DENNIS GATES: Thank you.