Dennis Gates is now at the helm of the Missouri men’s basketball team after the firing of Cuonzo Martin. The former Cleveland State head coach led the Vikings to the NCAA Tournament in 2021 and an NIT bid in 2022, finishing with win totals of 19 and 20 games over the previous 2 seasons after 11 wins in 2019-2020.

And Gates appears set to make a key hire to his staff that he has plenty of familiarity with. According to St. Louis Post-Dispatch Mizzou beat writer Dave Matter, longtime Florida State assistant coach Charlton Young will join the Tigers as the program’s associate head coach.

Young and Gates served on the Seminoles’ staff together under Leonard Hamilton, with Gates joining the program in 2011 before his departure for Cleveland State in 2019 and Young coming to Tallahassee in 2013 after 4 seasons as the head coach at Georgia Southern. It’s a return to the SEC for Young, who served 2 stints as an assistant at Auburn during the 1996-1997 season and again between 2000-2004.

Mizzou finished the 2021-2022 season with a 12-21 overall mark, including a 5-13 record in the SEC. It was their 4th straight season finishing .500 or worse in conference play despite an 8-8 league mark and a spot in the NCAA Tournament in 2020-2021.