[2] He was especially remembered for ORU's high-scoring "run and gun" teams of the early 1970s, which helped the young, small school attain national attention[3][4] and competitive success, including a spot in the Elite Eight in the 1974 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.
He was the first MTSU coach to recruit black players, and in 1967 he had the first all-black starting team in Ohio Valley Conference history.
In 1974 the team received its first bid to the NCAA tournament; ORU was also the host for that year's Midwest Regional, at the Mabee Center in Tulsa.
[15] In December 1976 he took on the job of reviving the basketball program at Claremore Junior College (now Rogers State University).
[17] Trickey's tenure was marked by an NCAA investigation of the athletic program,[18] which resulted in sanctions against the school after he left.
[19] Trickey subsequently became head coach and athletic director at Century High School in Ullin, Illinois, near Cairo.
[22][23] In 1987, ORU's founder Oral Roberts hired Trickey to return to the school at a time when the institution was facing both financial difficulty and an investigation for possible rules violations in the sports program.