Tates Locke

Tates Locke (born February 25, 1937)

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:

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
  • 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
    • However, Locke and the school were charged by the NCAA with numerous recruiting violations in 1975 and the program was put on three-year 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
  • 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

Tates Locke Coaching Tree

 

^ overall record includes head coaching positions at the NCAA Division I level only