During Cleveland State’s rise to the top of the Horizon League last season, head coach Dennis Gates asked them to block out the distractions as word began to spread about a small school in Cleveland making noise. 

Now, a year later, and with a league championship and an NCAA berth under their belt, he is again asking them to ignore the hype after the Vikings were picked to finish first in the preseason league poll and return all five starters from last season.

Team three, as they are often called, are ready to embark on their own journey.

“Team three has a blank canvas,” Gates said. “They have no relationship with team two (last year). They have to build and conclude whatever they are going to leave for team four (next year). Team two built what this is now, not to bask in their own reward but to have someone benefit from it.”

The anchors of team two were Tre Gomillion and Torrey Patton. Gomillion averaged 10 points, five rebounds, shot 50 percent from the field and took home Defensive Player of the Year while Patton averaged 14 points, eight rebounds, shot 46 percent from the field and earned first-team Horizon League honors.

The 6-foot-5, 195-pound Dayton native honed in on his athletic ability and body type over the summer.  

“A big emphasis was just getting in better shape,” Patton said. “I slimmed down a lot from last year, just trying to be more athletic and quicker, faster than last year. You know, working on my ball handling and just tweaking a few things and sharpening my game.”

Their backcourt running mate, senior Craig Beaudion, continues to adjust his play and improve on his fast-break decision making.

“I tried to work on my pace,” Beaudion said. “I play with fast speed. I’m trying to slow it down so I can get more vision of the court, just play at a slower pace and continue to work on my jump shot.”

He averaged nine points, two rebounds and three assists last season.

Beaudion is eager to see the new “Vicious Vikes” student section, which will be making its debut this season.

“I think for me personally, I’m an energy guy, I’m ready to see how that student section is,” Beaudion said. “It gets me going, and I want to get them going, that way we bring more fans to our games and get more support.”  

The Vikings are slated for at least one ESPNU televised contest – a matchup with Wright State on Jan. 28.

Always praising his players and coaching staff, Gates took a rare opportunity to reflect on his own progress since taking over as head coach at Cleveland State.

“I was an inexperienced head coach my first season (11-21, 7-11),” Gates said. “Without a doubt, team one was led by each other. And I say that with the utmost respect. It was one of those things where you have that on the job training … Team two Dennis Gates was a little more confident in what he was able to do, but also more confident because his players were more confident. Without a doubt, there was adversity in both years, and we had to overcome it.”

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Gates’ success and his players’ success go hand in hand. His continued passion to be involved in their lives has kept the relationships more like a father figure than just a coach.

Talking about being by their side on their wedding days and hoping to see them visit when he is in his elder years, are just one of the reasons the bond is so strong with those who play under Gates, and why major D-I programs showed interest in whisking him away last season. 

“I truly believe that if you call someone coach, you have that title in their life forever,” Gates said.    

Senior Algevon Eichelberger is one of many veterans who have enjoyed their time in Gates’ presence. The 6-foot-8, 250-pound forward is entering his sixth and final year of eligibility with the Vikings. 

After weathering a season marred with injuries, his three-point heave in double overtime helped CSU survive against Purdue-Fort Wayne in the first round of the Horizon League tournament. The Vikings went on to win in triple overtime, 108-104. 

While the team may be putting last year in the rearview mirror, Eichelberger will remember that shot forever.

“I feel like everything I went through that year led to that moment,” Eichelberger said. “I went and took the shot and it was amazing. Amazing feeling, amazing night.”

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After giving the Vikings all they could handle in the regular season, No. 2 Wright State and No. 5 Detroit were bounced in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League tournament last year. A different outcome and the Vikings would have had to go through one of those major roadblocks to clinch their crown.

Gates knows the Horizon League road this year will be full of adversity and believes two teams could make it to the Big Dance. 

“Last year was last year,” Gates said. “Each team has a different identity, a different collection of mentalities. A different disposition, but most importantly you have different opponents and completely different teams … I have the utmost respect for our league, and it’s not going to be easy at all. There are five teams that I believe can win the Horizon League. Quite frankly, this year is the year I believe we can get two teams in the NCAA tournament.”

Wright State, Northern Kentucky, Milwaukee and Detroit round out the top five of the preseason Horizon League poll. Detroit’s Antoine Davis earned preseason Horizon League Player of the Year honors.

The Vikings returned 10 seniors and welcomed five new players to its 2021-2022 roster, including lone freshman forward Cole Middleton. 

“It’s definitely been kind of a crazy experience,” Middleton said. “We are definitely one of the oldest teams in the country, so that’s kind of a lot, and I’m the only freshman. But at the same time, it’s a good thing. I get to learn from a lot of the older guys and get a feel how D-I basketball is. Practice was good over the summer and I have been learning a whole lot in the preseason.” 

As the star at Pace Academy in Georgia, he won two state championships but now finds himself earning his way onto the court and getting guidance from the veterans.  

“I’m used to getting all the reps in practice and being the first to go over the plays, and so having to really lock in on the sideline, and pay attention, it’s something that’s been newer and harder for me," Middleton said. “But they have really helped me out after practice, just talking with me or calling me and making sure my head is up and I’m doing well.”

Despite the jitters of a new team, Middleton, Nathanael Jack, Anderson Mirambeaux, Deshon Parker and Broc Finstuen have blended in well with the senior-laden Vikings.

“From day one, they bought in and they have been a part of this system,” Eichelberger said. “By now, you can’t even tell they weren’t here the last three years with everyone else. They gel and mesh together great. On the court everybody and off the court, everybody is learning the offense, and everybody is getting used to everything.”

Those fresh faces were introduced to the eight core values that have become a foundation of the Gates era: Love, friendship, accountability, trust, discipline, unselfishness, enthusiasm, toughness.

As they prepare to enter year three, Gates continues to stick to those principles that have changed the culture and ignited the fanbase. Team three will take the court together as one on Nov. 9 at the Marriott Center at Brigham Young University in Utah.