Missouri men's basketball: Why Dennis Gates wants to build a top-rated walk-on program

Ben Sternberg took time in May 2022 to reminisce about March 2021. Who can blame him?

The soon-to-be senior's basketball journey was a winding path to getting a chance to see the floor at Cleveland State, let alone getting a chance to play in the 2021 NCAA Tournament.

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"I was just talking to my sister about it," Sternberg said. "It really hasn't hit me yet that I was able to score in March Madness because not a lot of people can really say that they've done that."

Getting there was a culmination of a journey that Sternberg began as a student manager and ended with one of the most successful two-year stretches in Cleveland State history.

That story is what Dennis Gates wants to emulate at Missouri. It's why Gates has big plans for a walk-on program that he wants to be one of the most successful in the nation.

"It was an engine that pushed our program to another level," Gates said on May 10. "It is going to be one of the top walk-on programs."

Not only does Gates want to use his walk-on spots to uplift his program and instill success at every corner of his roster, but he also sees those spots as a way to connect with coaches statewide.

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Gates called Missouri a grassroots basketball state. He wants to identify players who might not necessarily earn a Division I scholarship coming out of high school, have them walk on and develop them into contributors.

Connecting with high school programs will prove beneficial down the line. Now, Gates will have a walk-on class of Sternberg, Jackson Francois and Mabor Majak who will help other players understand the expectations Gates has of them in his program.

However, it's still not clear if Majak, who committed to Missouri on Thursday, will be a scholarship or walk-on player. The expectation is Majak will classify as a walk-on.

Still, there may not be any player better than Sternberg to convey the expectations that Gates carries for his players.

As a Viking, Sternberg got his March Madness chance against Houston. He sank two free throws near the end of the game in his lone minute of action.

To get there, Sternberg had to earn his jersey. The Cleveland native came to Cleveland State from Lakeland Community College, starting on Gates' staff as a student manager.

Coming from high school and junior college, where he played consistently and was voted team captain, Sternberg had to take a step back at Cleveland State. That transition was difficult for him to adjust to at first.

That's when Sternberg began to understand that his being tasking as a team manager was the opportunity he needed. Gates had Sternberg focus on schoolwork first, which was consistently secondary to basketball in Sternberg's mind.

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Not only did Sternberg learn more about basketball, but he also learned about the coaching staff and the specifics Gates' staff expects. That's what earned him a jersey, and a chance to play in an NCAA Tournament game.

"I understand what goals coach Gates wants," Sternberg said. "I would do anything for him and I'm coming in to help build and create a new culture."

Walk-ons will immediately contribute to the new culture Gates is implementing. Simply because Missouri didn't have any walk-on players to help last season.

Then-head coach Cuozno Martin said the walk-on players who tried out and earned their spots couldn't practice with the team as their class schedules conflicted with MU's practice schedule.

As injuries mounted for the Tigers, the lack of walk-ons meant MU was consistently practicing without 10 players. With eight healthy players, Missouri could only prepare so much.

Immediately, Gates' focal point on adding walk-ons provides MU with more depth.

It also adds extra voices in the locker room. Some of those voices may not end up being the primary voices on the team, but the different walks of life add to a diverse locker room that can help the team grow closer.

"At first, it's not easy to step out of your comfort zone to be a leader, especially with a group of new guys," Sternberg said. "Once you see the guys get close together, that's when you see results of winning and competing for a championship, which we're coming in to do."

The desire to build a top-tier walk-on program comes from Gates' walks of life.

As a player at Cal, Gates said it wasn't uncommon for walk-ons to earn playing time. He took that to heart at Florida State, where Gates helped implement walk-ons on a consistent basis.

"My respect for walk-ons comes from me being a college student-athlete," Gates said. "They earned playing time, and I saw it done at a certain pace. We built the same thing at Florida state."

That respect with a player like Sternberg already exists, because he's proven to Gates that he deserves his jersey.

Through winning conference and tournament titles at Cleveland State, Sternberg understands the expectation. He said Gates has been a father figure to him as he's grown, learned and thrived under Gates at Cleveland State.

Now, Sternberg is confident the same can happen at Missouri. Especially when Gates is able to connect with the grassroots programs and find players who will play at Missouri even without a scholarship.

A reason Sternberg is confident is that he knows what goals have already been set.

"We have a goal man, and it's to win," Sternberg said. "We're coming in to do that quick."

Chris Kwiecinski is the sports editor for the Columbia Daily Tribune, overseeing University of Missouri and Boone County sports coverage. Follow him on Twitter @OchoK_ and contact him at CKwiecinsk@gannett.com or 573-815-1857.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Why Dennis Gates wants to build a top-rated walk-on program