Rick Duckett, a long-time HBCU coach, has passed away at the age of 66 according to a report by the Winston-Salem Journal.
Duckett is best known for his three-year stint as head coach at Winston-Salem State University where he led the program to back-to-back CIAA basketball titles in 1999 and 2000.
Duckett compiled an impressive 156-98 overall record across nine seasons at Fayetteville State (1993-98), Winston-Salem State (1998-01) and Grambling State (2008-09). He posted a 73-19 mark at Winston-Salem State, earning NCAA Division II South Athletic Coach of the Year honors in 1999 and the CIAA Tournament Coaches Award in 1999 and 2000.
After his third season he left WSSU to join Dave Odom’s staff at South Carolina in 2001 and remained with the Gamecocks through 2008. South Carolina advanced to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) three times in that span, highlighted by back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006.
Rick Duckett went to serve as an assistant at Miami (OH) and Charleston Southern over the final decade of his career. He was among the candidates for the WSSU job in 2018 that ultimately went to Cleo Hill Jr.