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Tates Locke

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Tates Locke
Locke at Clemson in 1975
Biographical details
Born(1937-02-26)February 26, 1937
Batesville, Indiana, U.S.
DiedMay 15, 2024(2024-05-15) (aged 87)
Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
Playing career
1957–1959Ohio Wesleyan
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1959–1960Ohio Wesleyan (assistant)
1960–1963Army (assistant)
1963–1965Army
1965–1966Miami (OH) (freshmen)
1966–1970Miami (OH)
1970–1975Clemson
1975–1976Buffalo Braves (assistant)
1976–1977Buffalo Braves
1978–1981Jacksonville
1981–1983UNLV (assistant)
1987–1989Indiana (assistant)
1989–1994Indiana State
Head coaching record
Overall255–254 (college)
16–30 (NBA)
Tournaments1–3 (NCAA University Division / Division I)
6–4 (NIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
MAC regular season (1969)
Sun Belt tournament (1979)
Awards
Sun Belt Coach of the Year (1980)
MVC Coach of the Year (1991)

Taylor "Tates" Locke (February 25, 1937 – May 15, 2024) was an American basketball coach. He was described by Rick Telander in the March 8, 1982, issue of Sports Illustrated as being "as high-strung, aggressive and gung-ho over college coaching as anyone has ever been."[1] He died in Jacksonville, Florida, on May 15, 2024, at the age of 87.[2]

Coaching career

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Locke coached for West Point, where he hired Bob Knight as an assistant coach. Knight replaced Locke when Locke left West Point. After West Point, Locke moved on to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, winning a MAC title in 1968–69.

Locke resigned from his Miami post to replace Bobby Roberts as head coach at Clemson University on March 18, 1970.[3] After a season in which the Tigers had its best record in eight years at 17–11 and shared second place with North Carolina and North Carolina State in the Atlantic Coast Conference, he announced his resignation on March 20, 1975 amid a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) investigation into alleged violations involving offering money to recruit Moses Malone and furnishing cars to five Tigers players including Tree Rollins, Skip Wise and Stan Rome.[4][5] Locke was succeeded by Bill Foster on April 9.[6] Clemson's men's basketball program was placed on three years probation on October 7.[7]

Locke's only experience at the professional level was made possible by Jack Ramsay who brought him to the Buffalo Braves as an assistant coach and chief scout beginning in 1975–76. When Ramsay's contract wasn't renewed the day after the Braves were eliminated by the Boston Celtics from the playoffs, Locke was promoted and signed a two-year contract to succeed him as the franchise's fourth head coach three days later on May 6, 1976. He vowed to build "one hell of an aggressive basketball team."[8]

Once the 1976–77 season started, the Braves traded Bob McAdoo and Tom McMillen to the New York Knicks and Moses Malone to the Houston Rockets. Locke was also at odds with Ernie DiGregorio and John Shumate. With the Braves at 16–30, 13+1⁄2 games behind the Atlantic Division-leading Philadelphia 76ers and in the midst of a five-match losing streak, he was fired and replaced on an interim basis by general manager Bob MacKinnon on January 25, 1977.[9]

He succeeded Don Beasley as head coach at Jacksonville University on March 23, 1978.[10] He took the Dolphins to an NCAA berth and NIT berth.

After assistant stints at UNLV and Indiana, Locke would accept the head coach vacancy at Indiana State University. In his first season, he doubled the win total of his predecessor; in his second season, the Sycamores finished the season at 14-14 (.500) and Locke would be named MVC Coach of the Year. Though achieving modest success, he resigned under pressure after five seasons. He later worked as a scout and assistant general manager for the Portland Trail Blazers.

Locke co-authored with Bob Ibach Caught in the Net, a 1982 book about his transgressions as a college basketball head coach, primarily during his time at Clemson.[1] The book inspired the 1994 film Blue Chips.[11]

Head coaching record

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College

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Army Cadets (NCAA University Division independent) (1963–1965)
1963–64 Army 19–7 NIT Third Place
1964–65 Army 21–8 NIT Third Place
Army: 40–15
Miami Redskins (Mid-American Conference) (1966–1970)
1966–67 Miami (OH) 14–10 7–5 3rd
1967–68 Miami (OH) 11–12 4–8 5th
1968–69 Miami (OH) 15–12 10–2 1st NCAA University Division Regional Fourth Place
1969–70 Miami (OH) 16–8 7–3 T–2nd
Miami (OH): 56–42 28–18
Clemson Tigers (Atlantic Coast Conference) (1970–1975)
1970–71 Clemson 9–17 3–11 8th
1971–72 Clemson 10–16 2–10 7th
1972–73 Clemson 12–14 4–8 T–4th
1973–74 Clemson 14–12 3–9 T–5th
1974–75 Clemson 17–11 8–4 T–2nd NIT first round
Clemson: 62–70 20–42
Jacksonville Dolphins (Sun Belt Conference) (1978–1981)
1978–79 Jacksonville 19–11 5–5 4th NCAA Division I first round
1979–80 Jacksonville 20–9 10–4 T–2nd NIT first round
1980–81 Jacksonville 8–19 4–8 5th
Jacksonville: 47–39 19-17
Indiana State Sycamores (Missouri Valley Conference) (1989–1994)
1989–90 Indiana State 8–20 2–12 8th
1990–91 Indiana State 14–14 9–7 T–4th
1991–92 Indiana State 13–15 12–6 T–4th
1992–93 Indiana State 11–17 7–11 T–7th
1993–94 Indiana State 4–22 3–15 T–9th
Indiana State: 50–88 33–51
Total: 255–254

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

NBA

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Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Buffalo 1976–77 46 16 30 .348 (fired) — — — — —

Source[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b Telander, Rick. "The Descent of a Man," Sports Illustrated, March 8, 1982. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  2. ^ Frenette, Gene (16 May 2024). "Former JU basketball coach Tates Locke, who took Dolphins to NCAA tourney, passes away at 87". Jacksonville.com. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Locke to Coach Clemson Quintet," United Press International (UPI), Wednesday, March 18, 1970. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  4. ^ Harvin, Al. "People in Sports," The New York Times, Friday, March 21, 1975. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  5. ^ "Clemson recruiting probe is continued," United Press International (UPI), Thursday, February 13, 1975. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  6. ^ Harvin, Al. "People in Sports," The New York Times, Thursday, April 10, 1975. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  7. ^ "Sports News Briefs," The New York Times, Wednesday, October 8, 1975. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  8. ^ "Tates Locke New Coach of Braves," United Press International (UPI), Thursday, May 6, 1976. Retrieved November 30, 2020
  9. ^ "Locke Is Dismissed as Braves' Coach," The Associated Press (AP), Tuesday, January 25, 1977. Retrieved November 30, 2020
  10. ^ "Locke Goes To Jacksonville," The Associated Press (AP), Friday, March 24, 1978. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  11. ^ Fernandes, Doug. "Ibach's career had perfect start," Herald-Tribune (Sarasota, FL), Thursday, May 6, 2010. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  12. ^ "Tates Locke: Coaching Record, Awards". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  • Locke, Tates and Ibach, B. (1982). Caught in the Net [autobiography]. Leisure Press. ISBN 0-88011-044-9
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