Dennis Gates, Missouri celebrate Norm Stewart’s 90th birthday amid win vs. No. 16 Ole Miss
A palpable buzz flowed throughout a sold-out Mizzou Arena as No. 22 Missouri men’s basketball ran onto Norm Stewart Court for warmups five minutes before tipoff of the Tigers’ 83-75 victory against No. 16 Ole Miss.
Mizzou’s players were not in their typical MU-themed warmup shirts or hoodies on Saturday evening. Instead the Tigers sported gold “Stormin’ Norman” tops that featured a gray tornado with a basketball at the top, along with the Nike swoosh on the right side of the chest.
Some Missouri graduate assistants and managers wore a white short-sleeve version of the shirt.
The tops were worn to celebrate the birthday of former MU coach and player Norm Stewart. Stewart — who played for MU from 1953-1956 and served as the Tigers’ coach from 1967-1999 — turned 90 years old Monday.
The 2007 National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductee’s birthday was honored by Mizzou with the first 2,000 fans to arrive at Mizzou Arena receiving a white “Stormin’ Norman” t-shirt without the Nike swoosh.
The Tigers (16-4, 5-2 Southeastern Conference) honored the celebration with a triumph to extend their home winning streak to 15 games.
“Norm is never satisfied (with our wins) when I talk to him,” MU coach Dennis Gates said. “He’ll say congratulations, but he’ll pick me apart, now. I like the constructive criticism and a relationship that we have where he’s not afraid to hurt our feelings or tell me the truth. You need that.”
Stewart earned the nickname “Stormin’ Norman” as a compliment of his intensity on the sidelines throughout his 32 seasons with Missouri.
“Coach (Stewart) was an incredible coach; Coach was an incredible man,” former Mizzou guard Billy Roundtree (1982-1986) said Wednesday on “Tiger Talk” live from Harpo’s in Columbia. “Coach made us, if you chose to listen to him, better men.”
Gates coaches with an intensity akin to Stewart’s.
When many coaches across the college basketball landscape are seated for a good portion of the game, Gates can be seen standing on the sideline, pacing back and forth.
“The competitive nature that they both have might be shown in a little bit different ways. But (you can see it in) how much they want to win and how much they want to do good for not just Mizzou (men’s) basketball, but for the whole University of Missouri,” graduate guard Caleb Grill said. “I think those two have a lot in common with their competitiveness and their love for the University of Missouri.”
Gates also wears a suit and tie like Stewart did, an outfit choice that many modern coaches have abandoned for athleisure.
Gates also holds his players accountable for their actions on the court, often pulling them aside and talking to them before they head to the bench.
“Just speaking back to when coach Gates talked about when he actually talks to coach Stewart — and how (Stewart) tells him the truth — coach Gates is the exact same way,” senior guard Tamar Bates said. “He’s not going to sugarcoat anything; he’s going to let you know what it is, and I feel like that is a reason why he gets the results out of his players.
“... He’s real. (And he will) keep it real all the time.”
When asked what aspects of the win over the Rebels Gates thought Stewart enjoyed most, the third-year Missouri coach pointed toward the hustle plays.
“The tough plays that we were able to make, forget the scouting report or forget the stat sheet,” Gates said. “These guys laid it on the line, and that’s what Norm would be proud of the most.”
Stewart is the all-time winningest coach at Mizzou with a 634-333 MU coaching record and 16 NCAA Tournament appearances. He also served as a men’s basketball and baseball assistant with the Columbia squad from 1957-1961.
Within those tournament berths, Stewart coached Mizzou to two Elite Eight appearances in 1976 and 1994 and was named The Associated Press’ College Coach of the Year in 1994.
In 1993, Stewart founded Coaches vs. Cancer — a collaboration between the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the American Cancer Society that raises cancer awareness — after undergoing a battle with colon cancer that he was diagnosed with in 1989.
According to an Oct. 29 news release from the American Cancer Society, the program has raised more than $167 million since 1993. The money procured for the initiative goes toward advanced cancer research, patient support and advocacy for people affected by cancer.
“When you look at the footprint of Coaches vs. Cancer, Norm Stewart’s imprint is all over that,” Gates said Wednesday. “He is a cancer survivor, and he gave college basketball a unique space in raising money for a great cause that has touched so many people. ... He has done so much for college basketball, it’s only right that he goes into the (Naismith Basketball) Hall of Fame.”
The partnership has also led to an annual Coaches vs. Cancer Holiday Tournament at the Simon Athletic Center in St. Louis, featuring high school boys basketball teams from the greater St. Louis area.
Stewart serves on the Coaches vs. Cancer Council that features 60 other former and current college and high school basketball coaches as well as respective officials.
The Norm Stewart Foundation, which supports cancer research and other causes, created an annual high school basketball event called the Norm Stewart Classic that features teams from Missouri and nationwide. The first Norm Stewart Classic was held at Columbia College in 2007 but moved to Mizzou Arena in 2019.
According to “Voice of the Tigers” Mike Kelly, Gates is one of the only MU coaches that went out of his way to develop a relationship with Stewart since being named the program’s 20th coach on March 22, 2022.
“Norm has been (an) unbelievable resource to me, man,” Gates said Wednesday. “I just appreciate the openness, the honesty and the support he has given, not only myself, but the institution and the city.”
Gates, who was recruited by Stewart to play for Mizzou before deciding to attend California from 1998-2002, understands the former coach’s importance to the university and Missouri fans alike.
“We get to play on Norm Stewart’s court,” Gates said. “We get to play at Mizzou Arena where Norm Stewart has a statue standing right outside. When our fans think about Mizzou basketball, they think of the coaches that have come after Norm, but they think of Norm at the end of the day, and I am proud to have that friendship with him and his family.”
Copyright 2025 Columbia Missourian
This story was originally published January 25, 2025 at 10:13 PM with the headline "Dennis Gates, Missouri celebrate Norm Stewart’s 90th birthday amid win vs. No. 16 Ole Miss."