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Taylor "Tates" Locke (born February 25, 1937) is an American former basketball coach.

Tates Locke

Locke at Clemson in 1975
Biographical details
Born	(1937-02-25) February 25, 1937 (age 85) Batesville, Indiana
Playing career
1957–1959	Ohio Wesleyan
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1959–1960	Ohio Wesleyan (assistant)
1960–1963	Army (assistant)
1963–1965	Army
1965–1966	Army (freshmen)
1966–1970	Miami (OH)
1970–1975	Clemson
1975–1976	Buffalo Braves (assistant)
1976–1977	Buffalo Braves
1978–1981	Jacksonville
1981–1983	UNLV (assistant)
1987–1989	Indiana (assistant)
1989–1994	Indiana State
Head coaching record
Overall	255–254 (college) 16–30 (NBA)
Tournaments	1–3 (NCAA University Division / Division I) 6–4 (NIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
MAC regular season (1969) Sun Belt tournament (1979)
Awards
MVC Coach of the Year (1991)

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 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."[1]

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, 13+1⁄2 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.[2]

Prior to his Buffalo experience, Locke coached for West Point, where he hired a young assistant coach named Bobby Knight. Knight would later replace 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 would subsequently coach at Clemson University, but would be forced to resign as the result of an NCAA investigation into recruiting violations. The violation resulted in the Tigers being put on NCAA probation. He later coached at Jacksonville University and took them 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.

The movie Blue Chips, starring Nick Nolte, is said to be based on Locke's career. However, several midwestern college coaches claim to be the inspiration for the character.

Head coaching record

College

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Army Cadets (NCAA University Division independent) (1963–1965)
1963–64	Army	19–7			NIT Third Place
1964–65	Army	21–8			NIT Third Place
Army:		40–15
Miami Redskins (Mid-American Conference) (1966–1970)
1966–67	Miami (OH)	14–10	7–5	3rd
1967–68	Miami (OH)	11–12	4–8	5th
1968–69	Miami (OH)	15–12	10–2	1st	NCAA University Division Regional Fourth Place
1969–70	Miami (OH)	16–8	7–3	T–2nd
Miami (OH):		56–42	28–18
Clemson Tigers (Atlantic Coast Conference) (1970–1975)
1970–71	Clemson	9–17	3–11	8th
1971–72	Clemson	10–16	2–10	7th
1972–73	Clemson	12–14	4–8	T–4th
1973–74	Clemson	14–12	3–9	T–5th
1974–75	Clemson	17–11	8–4	T–2nd	NIT first round
Clemson:		62–70	20–42
Jacksonville Dolphins (Sun Belt Conference) (1978–1981)
1978–79	Jacksonville	19–11	5–5	4th	NCAA Division I first round
1979–80	Jacksonville	20–9	10–4	T–2nd	NIT first round
1980–81	Jacksonville	8–19	4–8	5th
Jacksonville:		47–39	19-17
Indiana State Sycamores (Missouri Valley Conference) (1989–1994)
1989–90	Indiana State	8–20	2–12	8th
1990–91	Indiana State	14–14	9–7	T–4th
1991–92	Indiana State	13–15	12–6	T–4th
1992–93	Indiana State	11–17	7–11	T–7th
1993–94	Indiana State	4–22	3–15	T–9th
Indiana State:		50–88	33–51
Total:		255–254
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

References

• Locke, Tates and Ibach, B. (1982). Caught in the Net [autobiography]. Leisure Press. ISBN 0-88011-044-9

External links

• Tates Locke at IMDb

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