Duane Ferrell (born February 28, 1965) is an American retired professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. He played 11 seasons in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) for the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

and

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

. He played

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for the

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The teams have also been nicknamed the ...

, twice earning All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) honors.

Early life and college career

Ferrell attended high school at Calvert Hall College in

Towson, Maryland Towson () is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 59,533 in the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Baltimore County and the second-most populous unincorpo ...

where he was part of the 1982 National Championship team, the number one rated high school team in the country during his sophomore year. He then attended Georgia Tech from 1984 to 1988. Ferrell was named the 1985 Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year and went on to average 18.6 points per game during his senior year at Georgia Tech.

Professional basketball career

Duane Ferrell was never drafted but found his way into the NBA after being signed as a free agent by the

in 1988. Ferrell would go on to play in six seasons with the Hawks in the reserve role. His best season came in 1991–92, where he produced a career high of 12.7 points per game while averaging 24.2 minutes per game with Atlanta. In the 1989–90 season, Ferrell started the year playing 40 games for the Topeka Sizzlers in the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

, averaging 24.3 points per game and earning CBA Newcomer of the Year honors. His performance earned him a return trip to the Hawks to end the season. Ferrell became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

at the end of the

1993–94 NBA season The 1993–94 NBA season was the 48th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season ended with the Houston Rockets defeating the New York Knicks 4 games to 3 in the 1994 NBA Finals, NBA Finals to win the franchise's first champ ...

and was signed by the

on September 30, 1994. After three seasons in Indiana, Ferrell and Pacers teammate

Erick Dampier Erick Travez Dampier (born July 14, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Indiana Pacers, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks. ...

were traded to the

for All-Star veteran

Chris Mullin Christopher Paul Mullin (born July 30, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player, executive and coach. He is a five time NBA All-Star and four time All-NBA Team member. He is also two-time Olympic Gold medalist and a two-time ...

on August 12, 1997. Ferrell finished his NBA career with the Warriors, amassing a total of 11 seasons in the league with five

NBA Playoffs The NBA playoffs is the annual Playoffs, postseason Tournament#Knockout tournaments, tournament of the National Basketball Association (NBA) held to determine the league champion. Since 1949, the four-round, best-of-seven tournament is held afte ...

runs (three times with the Hawks and twice with the Pacers). In 1999, he was traded back to the Hawks alongside Bimbo Coles in a deal that sent

Mookie Blaylock Daron Oshay "Mookie" Blaylock (born March 20, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. He spent 13 years in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the New Jersey Nets, Atlanta Hawks, and the Golden State Warriors. C ...

to the Warriors. Ferrell was waived by the Hawks, ending his career. He also worked as the Player Relations and Programs Manager for the Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards. Ferrell is also involved with On Court Player Development, a basketball academy and community organization that seeks to develop grassroots basketball programs. Ferrell has had the nickname "Paco" since his college playing days.

References

External links

Duane Ferrell NBA stats
@ basketball-reference.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrell, Duane 1965 births Living people American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Baltimore Calvert Hall College High School alumni Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball players Golden State Warriors players Indiana Pacers players McDonald's High School All-Americans Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Shooting guards Small forwards Topeka Sizzlers players Undrafted NBA players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen