Since being appointed head coach of Mizuu in late March Dennis Gates I often talk about the history of the program and try to reconnect with it. On Friday, he took action to support the story.Gates is a former Tiger Point Guard Phil pressey He joined his staff as a graduate assistant.
Pressey, now 31 years old, announced his retirement from professional basketball and a new path on social media on Friday afternoon.He talked to PowerMizzou.com Why was there a good time to make changes on Saturday?
“Maybe I was 25 or 26, so I wanted to be a coach. I didn’t know when,” he said. “I wanted to play as much as I could, but now I’m 31. I have a wife and I’m willing to go home with coaching after a good opportunity to discuss it. My wife is very happy to be back in America. “
Pressy left Mizuu after the junior season and was the career assist leader for 580 schools in 99 games. He is ranked 1st and 2nd on both the single season and single game assist lists in Mizuo. The Tigers went 76-27 in his three seasons and played in three NCAA tournaments. In the nine years since then, Mizu has entered six defeat seasons and has participated in two tournaments. Helping restore the program to the height he reached when he was here was a great motivation for Pressey to return.
“Missouri basketball hasn’t been the place we wanted for years,” he said. “I could have gone to many other places and waited a few more years for something I liked.”
But Pressey’s goal was Missouri. He and Gates knew each other as basketball enthusiasts, and Pressy said he reached out to Gates to do whatever he could to get a chance to return to Colombia. He walked the journey that the current Tigers are about to begin.
“It seems a long time ago. Twelve years ago was my first year here,” he said. “But I remember being in their position, becoming a professional, and thirsty to reach the NBA. But you need to control what you can control, which is the University of Missouri. I’m winning. “
After removing the draft from Mizu, Pressy was greeted by the Boston Celtics. He bounced between Philadelphia, Phoenix and the G League in 2015-16 after playing for two seasons in Boston. After spending a year at the Santa Cruz Warriors, he played for the next five years in Spain, Turkey and Germany. His last match was the first week of May. Now he is back where his career began. What is his role? It’s almost the same as 12 years ago, except that the person in charge is different.
“Whatever Gates asks me,” said the former Tigers point guard. “I work with many guards to give them insights when I was here in Missouri. They just give them knowledge of how to become a game and college player, and how to become a professional. Growth. The man who did. ”
Mr Pressy said he and his wife will be back and forth between Colombia and Dallas, where they currently have homes, in the coming weeks. But by the time school starts in August, he wants to return to town full-time to help the University of Missouri hoop succeed. Also.
