Wayne Yates, former Memphis basketball All-America player and coach, dies at 84
Wayne Yates, a Memphis basketball All-America center who later coached the Tigers for five seasons, died Aug. 16 in Natchitoches, Louisiana. He was 84.
Yates – who succeeded Gene Bartow as coach in 1974 at then-Memphis State – led the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament in 1976, the program's first appearance there since reaching the national championship game in 1973.
Yates also guided the Tigers to National Invitation Tournament appearances in 1975 and 1977. He was 93-49 at Memphis, and his win total is seventh-most in school history.
Born in Gurdon, Arkansas, Yates was a star player at North Little Rock High School. He began his college career at New Mexico State, where he spent two seasons before transferring to Memphis.
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Following his senior season, when he led the Tigers in scoring (17.5 points per game) and rebounding (14.4 rpg), Yates was taken by the Los Angeles Lakers with the fifth overall pick in the 1961 NBA Draft. He played one season with the Lakers before signing with the Oakland Oaks of the American Basketball League.
Yates returned to Memphis as an assistant coach under Moe Iba in 1969. He was retained as an assistant when Bartow was named as Iba's successor. Yates was replaced after five seasons by Dana Kirk.
Yates, one of three former players to later become coach at Memphis (Larry Finch and Penny Hardaway are the others) was inducted into the M Club Hall of Fame in 1993.
Yates later became coach at Northwestern State, where he spent five seasons (1980-85) and led the Demons to a 141-141 record.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Harriet Ardala “Dala” Harding Yates, and is survived by his four children, Dawayna Dare Yates Sanders Christman, Wayne Edward Yates, Jr., Kathrin Ellen Yates, and Mary Elizabeth Yates.
The family is planning a private memorial. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in his name to the American Cancer Society or your local high school basketball program.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis basketball: Wayne Yates dies, was Tigers player and coach
