Five things to know about new NU assistant Armon Gates

When Kenya Hunter left for a job at UConn last month, it created a massive void for Nebraska to fill in its recruiting efforts.

While it remains to be seen how effective Gates can be in Lincoln, there weren’t many candidates out there who could bring his level of recruiting clout to the Huskers.

Not only does Gates have a long track record of landing high-level recruits at every school he’s coached, his connections lie directly in the areas of emphasis head coach Tim Miles have been trying to mine since he took over at NU.

Illinois (specifically the Chicago area), Ohio, and the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council, one of the best prep school conferences in the nation, are some of the Chicago native's top territories.

In his five seasons at Northwestern, Gates helped the Wildcats land a top-30 class in his first full recruiting cycle in 2013-14.

Some of the notable names he was able to help bring to Evanston during his tenure include: Bryant McIntosh (3-star), Vic Law (4-star), Dererk Pardon (3-star), Aaron Falzon (4-star), Anthony Gains (3-star), Barrett Benson (4-star), and Rapolas Ivanauskas (4-star).

Prior to leaving Northwestern, Gates had aided the Wildcats in assembling the No. 24 recruiting class for 2018, serving as the lead recruiter on three-star center Ryan Young.

It seems as if everywhere Gates has gone in his coaching career (with the brief stint at Florida the obvious exception), the wins have followed in bunches.

The feather in his cap is helping Chris Collins turn Northwestern’s program around and lead the Wildcats to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and victory in 2016-17.

But his successes don’t end there.

As a standout guard at Kent State, Gates led the Golden Flashes to an 88-42 record and three postseason appearances, including four straight 20-win seasons.

His first coaching job was as a graduate assistant at Western Kentucky, where the Hilltoppers went 29-7 and reached the Sweet 16 in his lone season in 2007-08.

The next year he was hired as a full-time assistant at his alma mater, Kent State, and in 2009-10 he helped guide KSU to a Mid-Atlantic Conference regular-season title.

Gates spent one season as an assistant at TCU in 2010-11 and then joined Porter Moser’s staff at Loyola Chicago from 2011-13, helping set the groundwork for the Ramblers’ NCAA Tournament run last season.

Gates won’t just be a salesman for Nebraska on the recruiting trail, as he also brings some noted coaching acumen to the Huskers’ staff.

Nicknamed “The Energizer Bunny” because of his enthusiasm on the court and on the bench, Gates has coached all-conference performers at three different schools during his career.

A former guard as a player, Gates has primarily worked with his teams’ backcourts in practice, but he’s not opposed to helping coach the post if asked.

"I want to work with those wings,” Gates said after taking the job at Florida on April 8. “I’ll work with the bigs, too. Help them step out, create a ton of mismatches for us.”

In that same Florida press conference, UF head coach Mike White said he was drawn to Gates not only for his ability as a recruiter, but his passion as a coach.

“Armon … is a rising star in this industry,” White said. “He brings infectious energy and has won everywhere he’s been.”

One of the more fruitful recruiting sources for Nebraska in recent years has been the prep basketball powerhouse Brewster Academy in New Hampshire.

Hunter’s relationship with the Brewster program allowed the Huskers to land top prospects Isaac Copeland (via Georgetown) and Thomas Allen.

Even though Hunter is now gone, that connection to Brewster is by no means lost. After starting his high school career at Chicago’s Hillcrest, Gates transferred to Brewster for his senior season.

There, he was coached by current Brewster head coach Jason Smith, and the two immediately developed a close relationship that remains strong to this day.

“(Smith) is always going to be a part of my life,” Gates told Florida reporters. “So you guys should definitely look forward to Florida offering and getting a couple of those Brewster Academy kids.

“But the relationship there, we’re very close. He’s like a big brother to me, to be honest with you. He called and congratulated me and just told me, ‘Looking forward to seeing you in my gym a lot, you and the staff.’”

Seeing how Gates was only a member of Florida’s coaching staff for about three and a half weeks, he didn’t exactly have much time to get to work on many new Gator recruits.

However, he did push White to extending a handful of offers right off the bat to prospects he was working on while at Northwestern.

Whether Gates can lure that same level of talent to Nebraska remains to be seen, but here are a few names that appear to be at the top of his recruiting priority list: