 Steele was also the head coach of the Carolina Cougars of the American Basketball Association (ABA) for half of one season, 1970–71, tallying a mark of 17–25.A native of Elkin, North Carolina, e played basketball at Wake Forest University from 1958 to 1961 and in two of those years he was a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference All-Academic team.After graduating from Wake Forest, Steele earned his master's degree from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.