Former Coppin State, UMES basketball coach John Bates, 'a legend in the MEAC and beyond,' mourned

COURTESY COPPIN STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

BALTIMORE, Maryland -- When John Bates Jr. played basketball and football at Oakland Mills High School in Columbia, his mother, Althea, was in the stands for every game, but his father's attendance was more sporadic. At the time, his father was the head men's basketball coach at Coppin State.

It wasn't until the younger Bates went to South Carolina State to play for the football team there that he understood why his father was frequently absent.

"When I was young, I didn't understand until I went away to college and I realized that coaches are the parents of the kids they have," he said Friday afternoon. "You make a promise to the parents you're going to take care of their kids. That's the life of a coach."

John Bates, who also coached the University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball program, died Wednesday night of an apparent heart attack near his home in Ellicott City. He had turned 77 last Sunday.

Mr. Bates, who began coaching the Eagles in 1974, guided the program to the 1976 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics championship with a 96-91 victory over Henderson State in the title game. That squad set a school record for wins in a single season with 39.

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