CLEVELAND (AP) – When his team made history of incompetence in December, Cleveland State manager Dennis Gates looked his players in the eyes and offered them hope.
At that moment, it’s all he can do.
Ohio had just scored 40 direct points in a blowout over Cleveland State, a breathtaking record run that was as incomprehensible at the Division 1 level as a Sunday pickup game in the park.
And when Gates’ phone started filling up with worrying text messages and voicemails, he was right with his squad.
“I told the boys,” Gates recalled. ‘Look man I love you guys, I’m not embarrassed about this, we’re going to have a lesson and something bigger is going to come out of it. The big picture is the lessons – you have to go through something. ‘“
The Vikings did. Three months later, they take part in the NCAA tournament.
For the third time in school history, Cleveland State, a giant killer on his two previous trips to March Madness, received a tournament offer by winning the Horizon League title on Tuesday night.
The win over Oakland marked a remarkable turnaround for a program that lost at least 21 games for five consecutive seasons before Gates, an eight-year assistant with Leonard Hamilton, Florida, became the last Division I coach on July 26, 2019 was discontinued prior to the 2019-20 season.
True to their nickname, these Vikings are tough and tenacious. They are also deep with nine players averaging over 11 minutes. Their top scorer, Senior Guard Torrey Patton, one of several transfers on the team, averages 14.9 points per game.
“We win by rejecting it,” says Gates often.
The passionate Gates, who signed a five-year contract with the school, restored Cleveland State pride on the court and in the classroom. When he arrived, the Vikings’ program was in a mess, some players wanted to drop out, others were disaffected.
“I think it was just the opposite of anything that’s happening,” senior striker Algevon Eichelberger said with a laugh over the phone from Indianapolis as the Vikings waited for their NCAA seeding. “Overall, it was kind of dysfunctional.”
Gates, 41, had heard all the reasons why he shouldn’t take the job at Cleveland State: difficult hiring location, downtown campus, commuter school, minimal fan interest in a city with three professional sports franchises.
Where others pointed out negatives, Gates saw opportunities. Still, he had to wonder what he was getting into when he called his first team meeting and only four players showed up.
Eichelberger, who moved to Cleveland in 2017, was one of them. It was then that he heard Gates talk about accountability and transforming Viking culture through hard work and a commitment to the three “Cs” – the classroom, the court and the community.
It was also when he learned about Gates’ eight principles.
“Friendship, love, accountability, trust, discipline, selflessness, enthusiasm and tenacity,” said Gates, rattling off the principles as if they were his children.
“These are his babies,” said Eichelberger. “It’s a code that we live by here in Cleveland State. It’s something we follow every day and if we do we will be successful. “
Things didn’t go so well for the Vikings, who abandoned their first three games, including the 101-46 setback in Ohio on December 6th. Cleveland State missed 17 straight shots while the Bobcats scored 35 straight points to open the second half.
On the more than three-hour bus ride from Athens, Ohio, to Cleveland, Eichelberger sat at Gates and talked about the team’s potential and how the loss would improve the Vikings. Gates promised better days, banner rises and trophy presentations were imminent.
“He was absolutely right,” said Eichelberger.
The state of Cleveland felt right for Gates from the day he arrived.
Before taking the job, he reached out to Hamilton and George Raveling, the longtime college coach who has become a mentor. They gave Gates a history lesson about the school and told him about Hall of Famer John McLendon who became the first black coach at a predominantly white institution when he was hired by Cleveland State in 1966.
Gates heard about McLendon’s influence on the game, his influence on black culture and his varied coaching. He wanted to continue this tradition. Here he wanted to be.
“There is no way I would believe Cleveland State is an incredible place because I walk the same sidelines as John McLendon,” he said.
Next week the Vikings will go to the NCAA tournament where they strutted before.
As the # 14 seed in 1986, Cleveland State stunned Indiana and moved up to the Sweet 16. In 2009, the CSU struck Wake Forest as 13 seeds.
Gates spoke to his players about the previous conquests of the Vikings.
“We respect our past and stand on the shoulders of these guys,” he said. “We know who they are and what they are about. They set the tone and pace that we need to make them proud of. “
Eichelberger believes Cleveland State can do it again.
“Absolutely,” he said. “There’s no reason we shouldn’t do anything special with this team, with the talent, the cohesion and camaraderie, our scoring chance and the way we play defense. There is no way we should surprise people.
“Not a surprise for us, but for other people and many teams.”
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