Former WSSU coach lands job at Tennessee State

TSU Assistant Coach Rick Duckett
(Courtesy Tennessee State University Athletics)

Rick Duckett had a record of 73-19 during his three seasons as coach at Winston-Salem State.

Nashville, TN - Rick Duckett, a Winston-Salem native and a former head coach at Winston-Salem State, has been named an assistant basketball coach at Tennessee State. Duckett, who was fired after one season at Grambling State in 2009, spent the past two seasons working for UNC Greensboro as the color analyst for men's basketball games on radio station WZTK-FM (101.1).

He went 6-23 in his one season at Grambling. One of his players died after a conditioning drill in August 2009, and Duckett was fired with three years left on his contract. Henry White, a 21-year-old junior-college transfer, became ill during a preseason workout at which Duckett was not present, and White died 12 days later.

After two seasons out of coaching, Duckett said he's thrilled to be back. Duckett said by telephone Saturday that he hopes his batteries are recharged after being out of coaching for awhile. "If they aren't recharged now, then they never will be," Duckett said. "I'm looking forward to getting back into it, so I'm very appreciative of this opportunity."

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TSU Men's Basketball adds Rick Duckett to staff

Tennessee State University men's basketball head coach John Cooper has announced the hiring of Rick Duckett as an assistant coach. Duckett joins the staff with more than 30 years of coaching experience and after spending the last two seasons as a basketball color analyst for UNC Greensboro on 101.1 WZTK-FM. He has nine years of coaching experience as a head coach with three different programs gathering a career record of 156-98.

"We are extremely excited to have him (Duckett) join our staff with his vast array of experience and success during his coaching career," said Cooper. "He was shaped and molded in one of the great basketball families (North Carolina). We can't wait to benefit from his experience on the bench. He is a first-class person and fierce competitor with an incredible ability to identify with student-athletes."

Cooper and Duckett reunite after working together under two programs. During Cooper's collegiate career as a player at Wichita State, Duckett was an assistant (1987-92) help leading the Shockers to NCAA Tournament appearances in 1988 and 1997 and a N.I.T berth in 1989.

"I'm energized about the opportunity. It gives me clarity and purpose to have a chance to work with young people," Duckett explained. "During my two years away from coaching, I missed the day-to-day interaction with coaches and players. What is also important is the relationship I have with Cooper and I believe in his vision and admire his coaching philosophy."

From 1993-98, Duckett was head coach at Fayetteville State (CIAA) with Cooper serving as an assistant from 1993-95. In his first stint as a head coach, he led the Broncos to a 76-57 record while serving FSU as an assistant athletic director and instructor.

In 1998, Duckett took over the helm at Winston-Salem State (CIAA) until 2001. He posted a remarkable record in his three seasons leading the squad to a combined 73-19 mark while capturing the CIAA championship in 1999 and 2000. Both seasons, he earned the CIAA Tournament Coaches Award and was the 1999 NCAA Division II South Atlantic Coach of the Year.

After WSSU, he served his second term with South Carolina (SEC) Basketball from 2001-08 under head coach Dave Odom. He rejoined the staff after serving in the same capacity for head coach Bill Foster (Rutgers, Utah, Duke, South Carolina, Northwestern) for the 1985-86 season.

From 2008-09, Duckett grabbed the head coaching reins once again when he spent one season at the helm at Grambling State (SWAC) posting a 6-23 record.

In addition, Duckett has spent years as an assistant, coaching for one season at Central Florida (1983-84) and Jacksonville (1983-84). A year prior to the appointments, he spent the first of two stints at R.J. Reynolds High School (Winston Salem, N.C.) returning as a teacher and coach from 1992-93.

Duckett began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, North Carolina (Chapel Hill), from 1979-1980. He received his full-time start as the head coach of the freshman squad at Harvard University from 1980-1982.

Courtesy: Tennessee State Sports Information

Grambling coach to resign after player's death

Duckett’s one season: GSU went 6-23 overall and 4-14 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

Grambling coach to resign after player's death

Grambling State men's basketball coach Rick Duckett will resign after one of his players died after reportedly suffering a heat-related illness during an off-season conditioning run on Aug. 14. The school announced the 52-year-old Duckett was placed on administrative leave through Oct. 31 — when his contract ends. Henry White, a 21-year-old junior college transfer from Milwaukee, died on Aug. 26 after spending 10 days in the hospital. Duckett had surgery the day White collapsed and, according to a source close to the situation, was not in attendance for a 30-minute run that was administered by an assistant coach to those players who showed up late.

Grambling men's basketball coach Rick Duckett to step down

Men's basketball coach Rick Duckett, on the job just over a year, will step down in the wake of the death of a transfer Grambling State University player. Henry White, a 21-year-old former Hill Junior College standout, became ill Aug. 14 at a preseason practice. He died at a Shreveport hospital a week later. Duckett has now been placed on administrative leave through Oct. 31 -- when his employment officially ends, university officials confirm.

GSU men's basketball coach released

The short-lived Ricky Duckett era for Grambling State’s men’s basketball program has ended.A release from the university sent out this morning said Duckett has been placed on administrative leave, effectively immediately, until Oct. 31 when his employment officially ends. GSU’s release added that no other information is available at this time. The move comes a month after the death of men’s basketball player Henry White, who died Aug. 26 in a Shreveport hospital, 11 days after reportedly suffering a heat-related illness during off-season conditioning drills under an assistant coach’s supervision.GSU said in a prepared statement at that time that a full investigation into the circumstances that may have contributed to White’s death is ongoing.

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Grambling to hire Rick Duckett as Men's Basketball Coach

Photo: Grambling State University head men's basketball coach Rick Duckett (Photo by USC SID).

GRAMBLING, LA — Grambling State athletics director Troy Mathieu has announced the selection of Rick Duckett, formerly of the University of South Carolina and a previous NCAA Division II South Atlantic Coach of the Year, as the new head men's basketball coach at Grambling State University. His selection is subject to administrative approval from the Board of Supervisors of the University of Louisiana System.

Coach Duckett served the last six years as an assistant coach at the University of South Carolina under Dave Odom, who recently retired. Duckett served as a head basketball coach at both Winston Salem State University and Fayetteville State University, respectively.

At WSSU, Duckett compiled a record of 73-19, winning two CIAA Titles in three years, prior to moving on to South Carolina and the SEC.

Despite Duckett's success, his one year FSU annual contract was not renewed by athletic director Horace Small in a move that bewildered and angered many members of the Bronco's athletic department. The firing was recorded as one of the all-time dumbest action in FSU history. Duckett left FSU with a 76-57 record in five seasons with one Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association division championship. His 57.1 winning percentage is the highest of any Fayetteville State men’s basketball coach since the school joined the CIAA in 1954 and his final season ended with a 17-10 record.

Here is what South Carolina had to say about Coach Duckett...

An exciting coach to watch on the court because of his love the game, Rick Duckett must have been born with a basketball in his hands.

Rick Duckett is in his sixth season with the Gamecocks. Duckett was head coach at Winston-Salem State for three seasons prior to coming to Carolina and is in his second stint on the USC staff after serving in the same capacity for Bill Foster for the 1985-86 season.

Duckett is responsible for recruiting, scouting, working with the perimeter players in practice, overseeing the academic area for the student-athletes and is the Director of the Offensive Skills Camp in the summer.

Duckett, who also was the head coach at Fayetteville State for five seasons, combines with the rest of the Gamecock staff to give USC three coaches with head coaching experience. Along with Odom (18 years at Wake Forest, East Carolina and South Carolina) and Duckett (eight years at W-S State and Fayetteville State), assistant coach Ricky Stokes was head coach at Virginia Tech for four seasons, giving the USC staff a combined 30 seasons of head coaching experience.

Duckett had a remarkable record at Winston-Salem State in his three seasons there. He led the squad to a combined 73-19 mark Lower right: while capturing the CIAA championship in 1999 and 2000. Duckett had a five-year mark of 76-57 at Fayetteville State (1994-98, leaving his eight-year head coaching tally at an impressive 149-76 (.662). In both 1999 and 2000, Duckett earned the CIAA Tournament Coaches Award, and he also was the NCAA Division II South Atlantic Coach of the Year in 1999.

Duckett earned a Bachelor's degree in Education from the University of North Carolina in 1979 and a Master's degree in Education in 1980 from UNC. In his time at UNC, he served as an undergraduate assistant for the Tar Heels and went on to become the junior varsity coach and a graduate assistant coach during the 1979-80 season.

He continued his coaching career the following season, spending two years as an assistant at Harvard (1981-82) before returning to his high school alma mater, R.J. Reynolds, as assistant coach for one season (1983). He spent one season at Jacksonville University (1984) and at the University of Central Florida (1985) before serving one season on the staff of Bill Foster at South Carolina (1986). Duckett then spent six seasons as an assistant at Wichita State (1987-92), helping lead the Shockers to two NCAA Tournament appearances and an NIT showing. Prior to his head coaching assignment at Fayetteville State (1994-98), he returned to R.J. Reynolds High as an assistant coach for one season (1993).

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