View source for Tates Locke

{{Short description|American basketball coach (1937–2024)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox college coach
| name               = Tates Locke
| image              = Tates_Locke.jpg
| alt                = 
| caption            = Locke at Clemson in 1975
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1937|2|26}}
| birth_place        = [[Batesville, Indiana]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|2024|5|15|1937|2|25}}
| death_place        = [[Jacksonville, Florida]], U.S.
| player_years1      = 1957–1959
| player_team1       = [[Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops men's basketball|Ohio Wesleyan]]
| player_positions   = 
| coach_years1       = 1959–1960
| coach_team1        = [[Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops men's basketball|Ohio Wesleyan]] (assistant)
| coach_years2       = 1960–1963
| coach_team2        = [[Army Black Knights men's basketball|Army]] (assistant)
| coach_years3       = 1963–1965
| coach_team3        = [[Army Black Knights men's basketball|Army]]
| coach_years4       = 1965–1966
| coach_team4        = [[Miami RedHawks men's basketball|Miami (OH)]] (freshmen)
| coach_years5       = 1966–1970
| coach_team5        = [[Miami RedHawks men's basketball|Miami (OH)]]
| coach_years6       = 1970–1975
| coach_team6        = [[Clemson Tigers men's basketball|Clemson]]
| coach_years7       = 1975–1976
| coach_team7        = [[Buffalo Braves]] (assistant)
| coach_years8       = 1976–1977
| coach_team8        = [[Buffalo Braves]]
| coach_years9       = 1978–1981
| coach_team9        = [[Jacksonville Dolphins men's basketball|Jacksonville]]
| coach_years10      = 1981–1983
| coach_team10       = [[UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball|UNLV]] (assistant)
| coach_years11      = 1987–1989
| coach_team11       = [[Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball|Indiana]] (assistant)
| coach_years12      = 1989–1994
| coach_team12       = [[Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball|Indiana State]]
| overall_record     = 255–254 (college)<br>16–30 (NBA)
| bowl_record        = 
| tournament_record  = 1–3 ([[NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA University Division / Division I]])<br>6–4 ([[National Invitation Tournament|NIT]])
| championships      = [[Mid-American Conference|MAC]] regular season (1969)<br>[[Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament|Sun Belt tournament]] ([[1979 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament|1979]])
| awards             = [[Sun Belt Conference|Sun Belt]] Coach of the Year (1980)<br>[[Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year|MVC Coach of the Year]] (1991)
| coaching_records   = 
}}

'''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."<ref name="rtsi820308">[https://vault.si.com/vault/1982/03/08/the-descent-of-a-man Telander, Rick. "The Descent of a Man," ''Sports Illustrated'', March 8, 1982.] Retrieved March 17, 2023.</ref> He died in [[Jacksonville, Florida]], on May 15, 2024, at the age of 87.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Frenette |first1=Gene |title=Former JU basketball coach Tates Locke, who took Dolphins to NCAA tourney, passes away at 87 |url=https://eu.jacksonville.com/story/sports/college/basketball/2024/05/16/tates-locke-who-took-ju-dolphins-to-1979-ncaa-tourney-passes-away-at-87/73717987007/ |access-date=17 May 2024 |publisher=Jacksonville.com |date=16 May 2024}}</ref>

==Coaching career==
Locke coached for [[United States Military Academy|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 (basketball)|Bobby Roberts]] as head coach at [[Clemson Tigers men's basketball|Clemson University]] on March 18, 1970.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1970/03/19/archives/locke-to-coach-clemson-quintet-former-army-mentor-leaves-miami-of.html "Locke to Coach Clemson Quintet," ''United Press International'' (UPI), Wednesday, March 18, 1970.] Retrieved March 15, 2023.</ref> After a season in which the Tigers had its best record in eight years at 17&ndash;11 and shared second place with [[1974&ndash;75 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team|North Carolina]] and [[NC State Wolfpack men's basketball|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]].<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1975/03/21/archives/people-in-sports-wepners-hunch-bet-on-501-horse-clicks.html Harvin, Al. "People in Sports," ''The New York Times'', Friday, March 21, 1975.] Retrieved March 15, 2023.</ref><ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WOIbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5VEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1992%2C3837572 "Clemson recruiting probe is continued," ''United Press International'' (UPI), Thursday, February 13, 1975.] Retrieved March 15, 2023.</ref> Locke was succeeded by [[Bill Foster (basketball, born 1936)|Bill Foster]] on April 9.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1975/04/10/archives/people-in-sports-clemson-five-gets-new-coach.html Harvin, Al. "People in Sports," ''The New York Times'', Thursday, April 10, 1975.] Retrieved March 15, 2023.</ref> Clemson's men's basketball program was placed on three years probation on October 7.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1975/10/08/archives/sports-news-briefs-clemson-jolted-by-ncaa-penalty-salavarria.html "Sports News Briefs," ''The New York Times'', Wednesday, October 8, 1975.] Retrieved March 15, 2023.</ref>

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 Buffalo Braves season|1975&ndash;76]]. When Ramsay's contract wasn't renewed the day after the Braves were eliminated by the [[Boston Celtics]] from the [[1976 NBA playoffs|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."<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1976/05/07/archives/tates-locke-new-coach-of-braves.html "Tates Locke New Coach of Braves," ''United Press International'' (UPI), Thursday, May 6, 1976.] Retrieved November 30, 2020</ref>

Once the [[1976-77 Buffalo Braves season|1976&ndash;77 season]] started, the Braves traded [[Bob McAdoo]] and [[Tom McMillen]] to the [[1976-77 New York Knicks season|New York Knicks]] and Moses Malone to the [[1976-77 Houston Rockets season|Houston Rockets]]. Locke was also at odds with [[Ernie DiGregorio]] and [[John Shumate]]. With the Braves at 16&ndash;30, {{frac|13|1|2}} games behind the Atlantic Division-leading [[1976-77 Philadelphia 76ers season|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.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1977/01/26/archives/locke-is-dismissed-as-braves-coach-locke-let-go-as-head-coach-by.html "Locke Is Dismissed as Braves' Coach," ''The Associated Press'' (AP), Tuesday, January 25, 1977.] Retrieved November 30, 2020</ref>

He succeeded [[Don Beasley]] as head coach at [[Jacksonville Dolphins men's basketball|Jacksonville University]] on March 23, 1978.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=B5gzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GOkFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2269%2C2613759 "Locke Goes To Jacksonville," ''The Associated Press'' (AP), Friday, March 24, 1978.] Retrieved March 14, 2023.</ref> He took the Dolphins to an NCAA berth and [[National Invitation Tournament|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 [[Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year|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.<ref name="rtsi820308"/> The book inspired the 1994 film ''[[Blue Chips]]''.<ref>[https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/2010/05/06/ibachs-career-had-perfect-start/28941120007/ Fernandes, Doug. "Ibach's career had perfect start," ''Herald-Tribune'' (Sarasota, FL), Thursday, May 6, 2010.] Retrieved March 17, 2023.</ref>

==Head coaching record==

===College===
{{CBB Yearly Record Start | type = | conference = | postseason = | poll = }}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name       = [[Army Black Knights men's basketball|Army Cadets]]
 | conference = NCAA University Division independent
 | startyear  = 1963
 | endyear    = 1965
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1963–64 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1963–64]]
 | name         = Army
 | overall      = 19–7
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = [[1964 National Invitation Tournament|NIT Third Place]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1964–65 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1964–65]]
 | name         = Army
 | overall      = 21–8
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = [[1965 National Invitation Tournament|NIT Third Place]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Army
 | overall    = 40–15
 | confrecord = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name       = [[Miami RedHawks men's basketball|Miami Redskins]]
 | conference = [[Mid-American Conference]]
 | startyear  = 1966
 | endyear    = 1970
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1966–67 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1966–67]]
 | name         = Miami (OH)
 | overall      = 14–10
 | conference   = 7–5
 | confstanding = 3rd
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1967–68 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1967–68]]
 | name         = Miami (OH)
 | overall      = 11–12
 | conference   = 4–8
 | confstanding = 5th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference
 | season       = [[1968–69 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1968–69]]
 | name         = Miami (OH)
 | overall      = 15–12
 | conference   = 10–2
 | confstanding = 1st
 | postseason   = [[1969 NCAA University Division basketball tournament|NCAA University Division Regional Fourth Place]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1969–70 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1969–70]]
 | name         = Miami (OH)
 | overall      = 16–8
 | conference   = 7–3
 | confstanding = T–2nd
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Miami (OH)
 | overall    = 56–42
 | confrecord = 28–18
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name       = [[Clemson Tigers men's basketball|Clemson Tigers]]
 | conference = [[Atlantic Coast Conference]]
 | startyear  = 1970
 | endyear    = 1975
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1970–71 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1970–71]]
 | name         = [[1970–71 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team|Clemson]]
 | overall      = 9–17
 | conference   = 3–11
 | confstanding = 8th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1971–72 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1971–72]]
 | name         = [[1971–72 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team|Clemson]]
 | overall      = 10–16
 | conference   = 2–10
 | confstanding = 7th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1972–73 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1972–73]]
 | name         = [[1972–73 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team|Clemson]]
 | overall      = 12–14
 | conference   = 4–8
 | confstanding = T–4th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1973–74 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1973–74]]
 | name         = [[1973–74 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team|Clemson]]
 | overall      = 14–12
 | conference   = 3–9
 | confstanding = T–5th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1974–75 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1974–75]]
 | name         = [[1974–75 Clemson Tigers men's basketball team|Clemson]]
 | overall      = 17–11
 | conference   = 8–4
 | confstanding = T–2nd
 | postseason   = [[1975 National Invitation Tournament|NIT first round]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Clemson
 | overall    = 62–70
 | confrecord = 20–42
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name       = [[Jacksonville Dolphins men's basketball|Jacksonville Dolphins]]
 | conference = [[Sun Belt Conference]]
 | startyear  = 1978
 | endyear    = 1981
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference tournament
 | season       = [[1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1978–79]]
 | name         = [[1978–79 Jacksonville Dolphins men's basketball team|Jacksonville]]
 | overall      = 19–11
 | conference   = 5–5
 | confstanding = 4th
 | postseason   = [[1979 NCAA Division I basketball tournament|NCAA Division I first round]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1979–80]]
 | name         = Jacksonville
 | overall      = 20–9
 | conference   = 10–4
 | confstanding = T–2nd
 | postseason   = [[1980 National Invitation Tournament|NIT first round]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1980–81]]
 | name         = Jacksonville
 | overall      = 8–19
 | conference   = 4–8
 | confstanding = 5th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Jacksonville
 | overall    = 47–39
 | confrecord = 19-17
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name       = [[Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball|Indiana State Sycamores]]
 | conference = [[Missouri Valley Conference]]
 | startyear  = 1989
 | endyear    = 1994
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1989–90 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1989–90]]
 | name         = Indiana State
 | overall      = 8–20
 | conference   = 2–12
 | confstanding = 8th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1990–91 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1990–91]]
 | name         = Indiana State
 | overall      = 14–14
 | conference   = 9–7
 | confstanding = T–4th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1991–92 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1991–92]]
 | name         = Indiana State
 | overall      = 13–15
 | conference   = 12–6
 | confstanding = T–4th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1992–93 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1992–93]]
 | name         = Indiana State
 | overall      = 11–17
 | conference   = 7–11
 | confstanding = T–7th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1993–94 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1993–94]]
 | name         = Indiana State
 | overall      = 4–22
 | conference   = 3–15
 | confstanding = T–9th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Indiana State
 | overall    = 50–88
 | confrecord = 33–51
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record End
 | overall = 255–254
}}

===NBA===
{{NBA coach statistics legend}}
{{NBA coach statistics start}}
|- 
| style="text-align:left;"|[[1976–77 Buffalo Braves season|Buffalo]]
| style="text-align:left;"|{{nbay|1976}}
| 46||16||30||{{Winning percentage|16|30}}|| style="text-align:center;"|(fired)||—||—||—||—
| style="text-align:center;"|—
{{s-end}}
Source<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/coaches/locketa99c.html|title=Tates Locke: Coaching Record, Awards|website=[[Basketball Reference]]|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|accessdate=5 June 2024}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*Locke, Tates and Ibach, B. (1982). ''Caught in the Net'' [autobiography]. Leisure Press. {{ISBN|0-88011-044-9}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|1763133}}
*{{sports links}}

{{navboxes|list=
{{Army Black Knights men's basketball coach navbox}}
{{Miami RedHawks men's basketball coach navbox}}
{{Clemson Tigers men's basketball coach navbox}}
{{Los Angeles Clippers coach navbox}}
{{Jacksonville Dolphins men's basketball coach navbox}}
{{Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball coach navbox}}
{{Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year navbox}}
{{Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year navbox}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Locke, Tates}}
[[Category:1937 births]]
[[Category:2024 deaths]]
[[Category:American men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Army Black Knights men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Basketball controversies]]
[[Category:Buffalo Braves head coaches]]
[[Category:Clemson Tigers men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:College men's basketball head coaches in the United States]]
[[Category:Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Jacksonville Dolphins men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Miami RedHawks men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Portland Trail Blazers executives]]
[[Category:Portland Trail Blazers scouts]]
[[Category:UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball coaches]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]