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Chris Collins’ staff is headed for another shakeup. Assistant coach Armon Gates will be departing to become an associate head coach at the University of Florida, as reported by Joe Henrickson.
Highly-coveted assistant coach Armon Gates is leaving Northwestern to join coach Mike White’s staff at Florida and will be named associate head coach, per sources. #Gators
— Joe Henricksen (@joehoopsreport) April 8, 2018
Coach Gates has been with Northwestern since 2013 and has been an integral part of the coaching staff. Gates was one of Chris Collins’ first hires at Northwestern, along with Pat Baldwin (now the head coach at Milwaukee) and Brian James. Prior to coming to Northwestern, Gates spent time as an assistant coach with Loyola Chicago and TCU. Gates also coached at his alma mater, Kent State, for two seasons.
Gates helped lead Northwestern to its best-ever season and its first NCAA Tournament berth. He was also a key member in Northwestern’s recruiting, helping Northwestern land top-30 classes in 2014-15 and 2018-19. This will be a tough loss for Collins and his staff, who already underwent turnover last year with Baldwin’s departure and the hiring of Billy Donlon. Best of luck to Coach Gates as he continues to quickly move up the coaching ladder.