Corey Tate, who amassed more than 250 victories in 11 seasons as head coach at Mineral Area College and was the Tiger behind one of the biggest buzzer beaters in Mizzou’s Men’s Basketball history, is coming home.
Head coach Kim Anderson has announced the addition of Tate to his coaching staff, bringing home to Columbia both Tate’s wealth of basketball knowledge, as well as development skills from his time at MAC (Park Hills, Mo.) and in the Nike EYBL ranks with the St. Louis Eagles program.
“We are excited to have Corey, Nicole, and their children join our Mizzou Basketball family,” Anderson said. “When we set out to add a new assistant coach, we established four criteria. We wanted a good coach, someone who has had championship-level success. We were looking for a good recruiter in the central part of the country. We were also looking for a teacher, someone strong in player development. And of high importance, we wanted a coach who could do an excellent job of mentoring and developing relationships with our student-athletes.
“In Corey, we found someone who has been successful in all of those areas, and he is a former player who knows the type of program we want to build at Mizzou.”
A part of legendary Mizzou coach Norm Stewart’s squads from 1994-97, Tate played for Tiger teams that featured Anderson as an assistant coach. Tate was an efficient shooter throughout his career wearing the Black & Gold, hitting on 44.8 percent of his field goal attempts.
One of the most memorable plays in program history, Tate knocked down a midrange jumper with less than six seconds remaining in double overtime to help Mizzou defeat No. 1-ranked Kansas, 96-94, on Feb. 4, 1997, inside the Hearnes Center.
Along with his famous shot, Tate certainly had his best Tiger season as a senior in 1996-97, averaging 8.8 points per game and twice scoring more than 20 points in a game. He dropped 22 against both Texas (Jan. 26, 1997) and Kansas State (Feb. 1, 1997).
“It’s good to be home. Once a Tiger, always a Tiger,” Tate said. “My immediate plan and my entire focus going forward is to help Coach Anderson restore that winning culture I played in during my time at Mizzou.”
Tate began his collegiate career at Mineral Area before transferring to the University of Missouri for his final three seasons of eligibility. He left Columbia with a degree in economics before embarking on his coaching career. Tate will make the same move he made as a student-athlete, but now as a coach for the Tigers.
“Corey worked extremely hard as a player, the same type of effort he has put in to become one of the more successful junior college coaches in the country,” Anderson said. “I am looking forward to having Corey back in Columbia as we continue to build our program.”
Success was a common theme for the Cardinals under Tate’s guidance, and especially in 2014-15, with MAC posting a stout 27-4 record en route to claiming the NJCAA Region 16 Championship. The title was Mineral Area’s third regional title with Tate at the helm. The Cardinals also claimed six conference crowns with Tate leading the way.
Tate was twice named MCCAC Coach of the Year, earning the honor after the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. He also received Region 16 Coach of the Year following Mineral Area’s 2005-06 regional championship campaign, in which the Cardinals went undefeated in conference action and posted a 28-5 overall record.
Tate is one of just two Pattonville (St. Louis) High School basketball players to have their jersey retired, with the other being former Tiger point guard Brian Grawer (1997-01). Tate has continued to cultivate the basketball scene in the same area he starred in as a high school athlete. The St. Louis Eagles program has had seven St. Louis Post-Dispatch Players of the Year and three McDonald’s All-Americans since 2001.
“I plan to extensively help with Coach Anderson’s plans for player development,” Tate said. “I’ve been blessed to be coaching for 15 years now. I trust my understanding of game situations and hope to help our program make immediate improvements. Lastly, working with the many great people involved in youth basketball around the Midwest will be a pleasure of mine. Keeping great future Mizzou student-athletes close to home is a priority.”
Tate is joined in Columbia by his wife, Nicole, sons Matthew and Sebastian, and daughters Alexis and Helen.
Tate will officially begin his appointment to Mizzou’s coaching staff on June 15 after completing his prior coaching duties.
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