Tates Locke
Tates Locke (1937-2024)
Teams coached: Army Black Knights, Miami RedHawks, Clemson Tigers, Buffalo Braves, Jacksonville Dolphins, Indiana State Sycamores
Army record: 40-15 (.727)
Miami (OH) record: 56-42 (.571)
Clemson record: 62-70 (.470)
Jacksonville record: 47-39 (.547)
Indiana State record: 50-88 (.362)
Overall record^: 255-254 (.501)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 2 (1969, 1979)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 1 (1969)
- NCAA Tournament Final Four: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 4 (1964, 1965, 1975, 1980)
- MAC Regular Season Champion: 1 (1969)
- Sun Belt Tournament Champion: 1 (1979)
Awards:
- Missouri Valley Coach of the Year: 1 (1991)
- Sun Belt Coach of the Year: 1 (1980)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 1989-1994 | Indiana State |
| 1987-1989 | Indiana (asst) |
| 1981-1983 | UNLV (asst) |
| 1978-1981 | Jacksonville |
| 1976-1977 | Buffalo Braves |
| 1975-1976 | Buffalo Braves (asst) |
| 1970-1975 | Clemson |
| 1966-1970 | Miami (OH) |
| 1965-1966 | Army (freshman) |
| 1963-1965 | Army |
| 1960-1963 | Army (asst) |
| 1959-1960 | Ohio Wesleyan (asst) |
Tates Locke Facts
- Taylor O. Locke
- Born February 25, 1937
- Died May 15, 2024
- Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio
- Alma Mater: Ohio Wesleyan University (BA, 1959)
- Played for the (now D-III) Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops under head coaches Bob Strimer and Frank Shannon
- Started coaching at his alma mater under Shannon, then moved on to Army where he coached under George Hunter
- Became the head coach at Army in 1963 and went 40-15 in two seasons at the helm
- Turned the reigns over to one of his assistants, future Hall of Famer Bobby Knight, in 1965
- Returned to his home state and spent four seasons as the head coach at Miami (OH)
- Went 56-42 during that tenure, including a MAC title and trip to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in 1969
- Left for Clemson in 1970, leading the Tigers for the next five seasons
- Built what had been an ACC basement program up to a NIT appearance in 1975
- Locke and the school were charged by the NCAA with numerous recruiting violations in 1975 and the program was put on 3-yr probation
- Locke resigned, later co-authoring a book that detailed the violations and how they impacted his life and career
- Briefly moved up to the pro game, assisting Jack Ramsay for one season with the Buffalo Braves (now the LA Clippers) before becoming the Braves’ head coach in 1976
- Went 16-30 in that role and was fired before the 1976-77 season ended
- Hired in 1978 to be the head coach at Jacksonville, going 47-39 in three seasons with the program
- Reached the NCAA Tournament in 1979 and NIT in 1980 before going just 8-19 in his third year
- Left JU and moved out to Vegas, becoming a part-time assistant on Jerry Tarkanian‘s staff at UNLV
- Reunited with Knight in 1987, spending two seasons working under his former assistant at Indiana
- Arriving in the aftermath of its fifth NCAA title (the third under Knight), Locke was part of two NCAA Tournaments and a Big Ten title (1989)
- Stayed in state for his final head coaching job, leading the Indiana State Sycamores for five seasons
- Was unable to reach any level of success in Terre Haute, going just 50-88 during his tenure
- Later in his career he worked with the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers as a scout and assistant GM
- Locke passed away in May 2024 at the age of 87
Tates Locke Coaching Tree
- Darrell Hedric (Miami OH)
- Bob Knight (Texas Tech, Indiana, Army)
- Thad Matta (Butler, Ohio State, Xavier)
- Tree Rollins (Washington Mystics, Greenville Groove)
- John Shumate (Phoenix Mercury, SMU, Grand Canyon)
^ overall record includes head coaching positions at the NCAA Division I level only