Tony Yates
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Tony Yates (September 15, 1937 – May 16, 2020) was an American
college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...
player and head coach for the
Cincinnati Bearcats The Cincinnati Bearcats are the college sports, athletic teams that represent the University of Cincinnati. The teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and the Football Bowl Subdivision as members of the Big 12 Conference. The Bearcats were pr ...
. As a player, he won consecutive
national championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...
with Cincinnati in 1961 and 1962. Yates was named a third-team
All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
in 1963, when the Bearcats advanced to the national championship game for the third straight season. In the 1980s he was the head coach at Cincinnati for six seasons.


Early life

Yates was born in
Lawrenceburg, Indiana Lawrenceburg is a city and the county seat of Dearborn County, Indiana, United States. The population was 5,129 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the largest city in Dearborn County. Lawrenceburg is in southeast Indiana, on th ...
, the son of Robert and Alice Ware Yates. He attended Lockland Wayne High School in nearby
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
, leading the team to the Ohio high school basketball championship title in 1952, a team on which his brother, Fletcher, also starred. He graduated in 1954 at the age of 16. Because he was offered only partial scholarships to the
University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...
and
Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier had an enrollment of approximately 5,600 undergraduate an ...
, he worked for a year while playing on a barnstorming basketball team before joining the
U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...
. He was stationed at
Ellsworth Air Force Base Ellsworth Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located about northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota, just north of the town of Box Elder. The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing (28 BW). Assigned to the Glob ...
, got married in 1958, and also continued to play basketball in the military, in which he served until 1959.


College career

Yates decided to pursue college basketball again, even though he was now 22. This time he accepted a partial scholarship offer from Cincinnati, and he played on the freshman team in 1959–60. In his sophomore season of 1960–61, the now 23-year-old "Gramps", as he was nicknamed by players, was a starting guard for the Bearcats. As a
point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...
, Yates was known for his outstanding floor leadership and defensive ability. In 1960–61, Yates averaged 7.4 points and 2.7 assists per game as the Bearcats went 27–3, won the
Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...
(MVC), and advanced to the NCAA championship game. Cincinnati defeated
Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...
70–65 to claim the national crown. As a junior in 1961–62, Yates averaged 8.2 points per game and led the Bearcats in assists with 4.3 per game. The Bearcats posted a 29–2 record, again won the MVC and again advanced to the 1962 national championship game. Cincinnati again faced Ohio State, and again the Bearcats bested the Buckeyes, 71–59, to capture their second consecutive national title. Yates earned second-team
All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
honors from the
Helms Foundation The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his owner ...
and was named honorable mention All-American by
United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...
(UPI). As a senior in 1962–63, Yates averaged 7.6 points and 4.1 assists per game. The Bearcats won the MVC title once again and posted a 26–2 record, advancing to the national title game for the third consecutive year. However, they fell in the finals 60–58 in overtime to
Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic Church, ...
. Yates was again named All-MVC as well as first team All-American by the Helms Foundation, third-team All-American by the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
(AP) and
National Association of Basketball Coaches The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, is an American organization of men's college basketball coaches. It was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, the men's basketball head coach for the Univ ...
along with honorable mention by UPI and
The Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...
. In tribute to Yates' defensive prowess, he was a three-year winner of the Bearcats' Best Defensive Player award for his efforts in helping UC finish fourth and first, respectively in the 1962 and 1963 NCAA national defensive rankings. Yates was drafted in the fifth round (41st overall) of the
1963 NBA draft The 1963 NBA draft was the 17th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 30 and May 7, 1963, before the 1963–64 season. In this draft, nine NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college baske ...
by the
St. Louis Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at S ...
.


Coaching career

He returned to the University of Cincinnati as an assistant coach under
Tay Baker Taylor "Tay" Baker is a retired American basketball coach. He played basketball at Hamilton High School in Hamilton, Ohio, graduating in 1945. He played college basketball at the University of Cincinnati beginning as a freshman in 1947; howeve ...
and Gale Catlett from 1972 to 1974. In 1974–75, Yates became an assistant coach at the
University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...
on the staff of coach
Gene Bartow Bobby Gene Bartow (August 18, 1930 January 3, 2012) was an American men's college basketball coach. The Browning, Missouri, native coached 36 years at six universities after coaching two high schools in Missouri for six years. In 1972 Bartow coa ...
, and the following season under new coach Lou Henson. The team posted mediocre records in Henson's first three seasons, but the Illini won 19 or more games the next five seasons with Yates serving as top assistant, and the team made two NCAA tournament appearances and two NIT appearances. Known as a top recruiter, Yates served as an Illinois assistant for nine seasons, through the 1982–83 season. For the 1983–84 season, Yates was named head coach at his alma mater, the University of Cincinnati, for a squad which had gone 11–17 the previous season under coach
Ed Badger Ed Badger (born November 5, 1932) is a former college and professional basketball coach. Early life Badger played junior varsity college basketball at the University of Iowa, and later for the U.S. Air Force and division teams. He got his firs ...
. Inheriting a depleted team with few scholarship players, the Bearcats posted a 3–25 record in Yates' first season of 1983–84. However, in 1984–85, with an infusion of talent including guard Roger McClendon and forward Myron Hughes, Yates' team rapidly turned around their fortunes and posted a 17–14 record, earning an NIT berth. In 1985–86, the team struggled again, going 12–16, followed by seasons of 12–16, 12–16, and 11–17. In 1988–89, Yates' sixth as head coach, the team returned to its winning ways, posting a 15–12 record. However, it wasn't enough as Yates was fired and later replaced by
Bob Huggins Robert Edward Huggins (born September 21, 1953), nicknamed "Huggy Bear", is an American college basketball coach. He was the head coach at Walsh, Akron, Cincinnati, Kansas State, and West Virginia. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial ...
. Yates' UC career ended with a record of 70–100.


Personal life

Yates and his wife, Maxine, were the parents of Anthony and Brianna. After coaching at Cincinnati, Yates, who had been a passive investor in a Cincinnati area automobile dealership owned by longtime UC booster Jeff Wyler, took an active management role with the firm. Yates and golf pro Zachary Fink founded the Caring for Kids Foundation, a Cincinnati non-profit to "uplift, assist, and train youth and their families." Yates is a member of
Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the ...
fraternity. In 1985, Yates was inducted into the University of Cincinnati Athletics Hall of Fame. Yates was inducted in the 2020 class of the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame. Yates died on May 16, 2020.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yates, Tony 1937 births 2020 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Indiana Basketball players from Indiana Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball coaches Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball players College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball coaches People from Lawrenceburg, Indiana Sportspeople from Dearborn County, Indiana Military personnel from Indiana St. Louis Hawks draft picks 20th-century American sportsmen