Tamar Bates, a retrospective. Part 2
Tamar Bates spoke to Zack Schumaker on the SchuZ show podcast last week and ran through everything about his career from recruiting to his future in the NBA. Zack has given me permission to use the quotes Bates gave for a couple of stories.
We went through his recruitment, time at Indiana and the 2023-24 season at Mizzou in Part 1. You can find that here.
Now let’s move into Year 2 and his future in the NBA.
Building A New Team
Going into the 2024-25 season, the Missouri Tigers had to make some additions. And the biggest one was one of Bates’ long-time friends.
“As soon as he went in the portal, he called me,” Bates said of Tiger forward Mark Mitchell. “I saw all these reports, ‘All these schools are reaching out to Mark Mitchell,’ I’m like, ‘Y’all wasting your time.’ Go ahead, move on to the next guy.”
It was time for other teams to move on because Bates had taken part in recruiting Mitchell. And no one was going to do it better.
Once Bates knew they were going to play together, he was confident the Tigers’ would bounce back from a rough season.
“There was no doubt in my mind that we were going to be a top team in the country,” Bates said of teaming up with Mitchell. “And on top of the other pieces that we had, the guys returning. Ant Robinson, Trent Pierce, Caleb Grill, myself, Aidan Shaw, … Y’all know I got that done. No other coach in the country had a chance when Mark was in the portal. They, none of them could recruit him better than me. It wasn’t going to happen. I don’t know who else called him, but it wasn’t long.”
The two Kansas City kids knew they had to take advantage of a rare chance to play together.
Just playing together was a special opportunity in itself, but Bates knew there was an opportunity to be great.
“We had to maximize that opportunity,” Bates said. “I mean, like that year, that’s something that we’re gonna tell our kids about. All the pictures we have, all the games that we won. The atmospheres that we were able to create and play in. It was a special year. And regardless of how it ended, the fans, that team, the coaching staff, just remembers how it felt like. How special that year felt … In the memories of the wins, even the losses, the way that we responded from losing. Just a special year. And I’m just extremely grateful that me and Mark were able to team up.”
Learning About Gates
But before the special season could begin, Bates had already learned a lot about Missouri coach Dennis Gates. The first thing being his mental fortitude.
“He’s just different. Like, the way that he carries himself, the way that he runs practices, the way that he communicates with us,” Bates said. “I think that’s the one thing that makes him as special as he is. The way that he’s able to communicate and convey a message. Whether it be to the coaches or the players, the support staff, the boosters. Just the way the he, you know, runs a program and conducts himself.
“He’s just a special human being, which makes him an even better coach. So, I mean, I’ve seen it just from the players that he’s gotten to commit and who we had last year on the team and who they have this year and coming next year. I tell people all the time, like, if you get on a zoom with him, it’s really hard to tell him no, like, you’re not coming to Mizzou. After you actually sit down and have a conversation with him and the entire staff because when you meet with him and just see how he’s wired, you’ll know the entire staff is elite because of the way that his mind works and his hiring process.”
And all that has taught Bates an important lesson about his two-year coach.
“Coach Gates is going to be a national champion,” Bates said. “He’s going to be a Hall of Fame Coach. Like, there’s no doubt in my mind.”
So after two seasons spent with the man Bates is sure will be a Hall of Famer, what is Bates’ favorite memory of him? It has to be from one of the best wins of the coach’s career.
“At Florida, we won, it was his birthday. And after the game in the locker room, obviously we was dancing, throwing water around and it was just like, it was just a great moment for him and his family,” Bates said. “Becuase, I mean, going on the road beating a top team on your birthday as a birthday present … you can’t write a story better than that.”
Memories of 2024-25
Along with the win against Florida, the 2024-25 season brought some incredible memories for one of the team’s leaders.
First was how disrespect fueled the team coming into the season.
“We believed in what we had in that locker room before anybody knew what we were putting out on the floor,” Bates said. “Obviously, because of the season that we had prior, nobody respected Missouri. … That fueled the way that we worked, the way we communicated with each other, the way that we competed with each other. So, then, as soon as the world knew, it was too late.”
And early in the year, Bates recorded arguably his best college performance.
He put up 29 points to help lead the Tigers to their first Border War win since the revival of the series. And he got to celebrate on the floor with the Mizzou students who stormed it. But the family who regularly came to watch Bates play didn’t get to share in that moment. They got an extra one later.
“It was so special just because I was able to share with my entire family,” Bates said. “They didn’t come down when the court got stormed because the students got down there too fast. But just to share that moment with them, we were, we just went back to the house and rewatched the whole game and just sat and enjoyed … That entire day was amazing. Especially because the game was so early and you were able to really enjoy the rest of the day. Definitely a fun game.”
The Draft Process
All the success in his senior season put Bates on the radar for multiple NBA teams. It even got him an invite to the NBA G League Elite Camp and the draft combine.
“Just taking everything a day at a time. You know, not getting too far ahead of myself and just maximizing every opportunity I had and not thinking I was too big or too good to be playing somewhere or in a certain event,” Bates said. “… Just took advantage of every opportunity. I was able to play good enough to continue to get invited to every pre-draft event. And I’m proud of the body of work that I put together.”
But all that work came at a price. It was a draining couple of months for Bates flying around the country and working hard to try to hear his name called on draft night.
“It was mentally draining. But I was fueled by what I knew was on the other side of the work that was being put in,” Bates said. “… I had 13 workouts total. So flying from city to city, being drained from the travel, I didn’t care because I knew what I wanted, where I wanted to be and how long I want to be here. So it was going to be a long, grueling process throughout my career and just continuing to work my way up. That was just the first step.”
Draft Night
But even after all that work, Bates didn’t hear his name called on draft night.
He went through the entirety of both rounds at his watch party in Kansas City, surrounded by teammates and coaches, just to have to wait for a call after the completion of the draft.
But the call came and Bates got to announce to the group that he had signed with the Denver Nuggets.
“At the time when they called me, I was in like kill mode, because I’m like, are these teams passing up on me? OK, we’ll see y’all in Vegas,” Bates said. “… After when I was with all my friends and the next day and just looking at it from a bigger picture standpoint, it don’t matter who gets their name called, because then we’ll take years, a few months, weeks, nobody’s gonna remember who got drafted where. It’s about what you do and it’s time to go play ball. So I was just grateful I was able to say that I’m part of the National Basketball Association.”
Moving Forward
Bates went through the Summer League and is on a two-way contract with the Nuggets. Meaning he can play both for the Nuggets and their G-League team the Grand Rapids Gold.
And with his NBA career on the horizon, Bates knows what he wants to bring to his new team.
“Just a tremendous amount of energy, a great attitude and somebody that can be reliable to be in person every time you see him, whether that’s in practice, in the game,” Bates said. “Obviously, I can make shots, I can defend. I want to continue to grow, be able to be a secondary ball handler, be somebody that can be point guard. … Just want to be somebody who can change the energy of the game with the energy that I play with when I check in. So just continue to pride myself on being an everyday guy.
“Continue to move an adjust keeping the game simple, because in the NBA, especially in the position that I’m in, I don’t have to do eight, nine different things really well. But playing with Nikola Jokic, I really only got to do two things well, make shots and guard my butt off. I do those two things and obviously be able to play without the ball, know when to cut, what spots to be in, but that’s a whole different thing. Just simplified, if I make shots and defend, then I think I’ll be just fine.”
The Ups and Downs
People will remember the way Bates played. They will remember his performance in the Border War. They will remember him being the lone bright spot in the 2023-24 season.
But what Bates really hopes people remember from all the ups and downs of his college career, is less about what he did on the court.
“I would say I just want people to remember me as being a great human being,” Bates said. “Somebody who always treated people the right way. Just carried himself like a professional wherever he was at. Because people are going to remember what I do on the basketball court, but I want people to kind of remember me for the type of person that I am.”
All those memories and that time in Columbia has helped Bates grow into a better man. The ups and downs of his college career changed him for the better, especially as a father to his daughter, he said.
“It’s made me a lot more adaptable, a lot more intentional, intentional with my time, intentional with the way that I work, intentional with the way that I speak, the people that I spend time with, the examples that I set for my daughter,” Bates said. “… Especially now with her being three, but that 2-3-4 age, they’re watching everything. I mean, they watch everything, like their entire life. And I can speak to it in terms of the way that I looked up to my parents, but it just made me have a tremendous amount of attention to detail in every area of my life. So, it’s definitely helped me grow as a man, as a basketball player, 100 percent as a father.”
You can watch the full podcast here:
