Before the 2024-25 season even started, Missouri men’s basketball senior guard and captain Tamar Bates could sense that this season’s team was operating on a new level. A culture shift had arrived and Bates knew it.

“This team just feels different from a mentality standpoint, from a disposition standpoint, just because we have guys who came from winning programs, whether that’s transfers or freshmen,” Bates said during Missouri’s preseason media day. 

Among those incoming players is junior forward Mark Mitchell, who frequently competed against Bates in high school. The Kansas City native transferred from Duke to play under head coach Dennis Gates at Missouri. 

“Consistent, hard-working, just winning,” Mitchell said. “Coach Gates definitely has that and definitely runs this program with a lot of winning values and respect.” 

Those winning values have led to drastic improvement across the board, as the Tigers finished the 2023-24 season with a dreadful 0-18 record. This season, the team currently holds a 10-7 SEC record, a historic season-to-season improvement. This stellar play has led the Tigers to a projected top-five seed in March Madness. 

Bates has played a key role in leading the team to this success, averaging 12.9 points per game on 50.9, 39.7 and 93.8 shooting splits. His spark-plug ability to take over a game gets the team going, whether it be with a monster dunk or a contested three. However, Bates felt his most valuable contribution to the team wasn’t something seen through statistics. 

“I just come in every game with the right mentality, the right mindset of playing hard and, and leading and talking and leading by example and leading with my voice, and holding guys accountable, all things that I can control,” Bates said. “Just I mean, really just my attitude and effort, I feel like those two things are the most important things that I can bring to the team.”.