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| Ken Trickey | |
|---|---|
| Name | Ken Trickey |
| Birth date | July 31, 1933 |
| Birth place | Fresno, California, United States |
| Death date | June 19, 2012 |
| Death place | Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States |
| Occupation | College basketball coach |
| Alma mater | University of Oregon |
| Years active | 1960s–2000s |
Ken Trickey was an American college basketball coach known for revitalizing mid-major programs and popularizing high-octane offensive systems in the 1960s through 1990s. He served as head coach at several institutions and gained attention for aggressive recruiting, up-tempo play, and turning struggling teams into competitive programs. Trickey's career intersected with notable figures and events in college basketball across the National Collegiate Athletic Association era of rapid expansion and media attention.
Born in Fresno, California, Trickey grew up during the Depression and postwar era, attending local high schools before enrolling at the University of Oregon, where he played guard for the Oregon Ducks men's basketball program under coaches active in the Pacific Coast Conference successor landscape. As a player he competed against contemporaries from programs such as the UCLA Bruins, USC Trojans, Washington Huskies, and rivals in the evolving West Coast Conference footprint. His playing years overlapped with the careers of players and coaches who later influenced the National Basketball Association and the ABA, including those connected to franchises like the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, and New York Knicks.
Trickey began his coaching trajectory in the high school and junior college ranks before stepping into collegiate head coaching at institutions that included Oral Roberts University and the University of Tulsa. At Oral Roberts University he built programs noted for prolific scoring, competing against regional opponents such as the Oklahoma Sooners, Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls, and teams from the Missouri Valley Conference. He later coached the University of Tulsa, guiding squads through conference alignments involving the Missouri Valley Conference and matchups with programs like the Creighton Bluejays and Drake Bulldogs. Throughout his tenure he participated in postseason tournaments tied to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament structure and events that featured broadcasters and stakeholders from networks affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Trickey's career included stops at private and regional institutions facing administrative, recruiting, and compliance challenges similar to those confronting coaches at the University of Texas, Syracuse University, and other major programs. He hired and coached assistants who later appeared on staffs at schools such as the University of Arkansas, University of Kansas, University of Kentucky, and Indiana University Bloomington. His teams played nonconference schedules that sometimes featured nationally ranked opponents from conferences including the Big Eight Conference, Big Ten Conference, and Southeastern Conference.
Trickey advocated an up-tempo offense that emphasized quick transition play, perimeter shooting, and high scoring outputs, a style paralleling trends later associated with coaches at Syracuse and Gonzaga. He implemented full-court pressure and motion sets inspired by strategies in both the American Basketball Association era and the modern National Basketball Association, drawing tactical ideas similar to those used by coaches who influenced the sport at programs like Duke and North Carolina. His recruiting approach prioritized multi-positional athletes from regions including Oklahoma, Texas, California, and the Southeastern Conference footprint, and he frequently competed for prospects with staffs from Memphis, Louisville, and Arkansas.
Trickey's offensive innovations contributed to evolving statistical emphases in collegiate play, affecting tempo metrics and scoring averages observed across conferences like the Big East Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference. His willingness to adapt systems and emphasize entertainment value enhanced mid-major visibility in media markets covered by outlets competing with national sports broadcasters linked to the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Trickey's personal life involved family ties and community engagement in regions where he coached, including Tulsa, Oklahoma and the Oklahoma City area. He maintained relationships with former players who pursued careers in coaching, broadcasting, and business with connections to organizations such as the NBA G League, NBA, and collegiate athletic departments at institutions like Ohio State University and University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign. In later years he faced health challenges and remained a figure in alumni and coaching circles that included memberships and interactions with conferences and associations such as the Missouri Valley Conference and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
Trickey is remembered for turning around programs and for a legacy reflected in coaching trees that include assistants and former players who joined staffs at schools like the University of Texas at El Paso, University of New Mexico, University of Missouri, and University of Southern California. Honors and recognitions for his career came from alumni associations, regional halls of fame, and institutional commemorations tied to schools where he coached, often mentioned alongside notable mid-century and late-20th-century figures in college basketball history. His influence persists in discussions of offensive tempo, mid-major program building, and the broader narrative of collegiate coaching during a transformative period for intercollegiate athletics.
Category:American college basketball coaches Category:1933 births Category:2012 deaths