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 ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' as being "as high-strung, aggressive and gung-ho over college coaching as anyone has ever been."Telander, Rick. "The Descent of a Man," ''Sports Illustrated'', March 8, 1982.
Retrieved March 17, 2023. He died in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, on May 15, 2024, at the age of 87.

Coaching career

Locke coached for West Point, where he hired

Bob Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (October 25, 1940 – November 1, 2023) was an American men's college basketball coach (basketball), coach. Nicknamed "the General", he won 902 NCAA Division I men's basketball games, a record at the time of his retire ...

as an assistant coach. Knight replaced Locke when Locke left West Point. After West Point, Locke moved on to

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in northwestern Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion ...

, 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. After a season in which the Tigers had its best record in eight years at 17–11 and shared second place with

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

and North Carolina State in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

, he announced his resignation on March 20, 1975, amid a

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(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. Locke was succeeded by Bill Foster on April 9. Clemson's men's basketball program was placed on three years probation on October 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 The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

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." 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, 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. He succeeded Don Beasley as head coach at Jacksonville University on March 23, 1978. 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. The book inspired the 1994 film '' Blue Chips''.

Head coaching record

College

NBA

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References

*Locke, Tates and Ibach, B. (1982). ''Caught in the Net'' utobiography Leisure Press.

External links

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