Ricky Lane Duckett (August 3, 1957 – January 7, 2024) was an American

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

coach. He served as the head coach of the

Fayetteville State Broncos The Fayetteville State Broncos and Lady Broncos are the athletic teams that represent Fayetteville State University, located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in intercollegiate sports at the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic ...

Winston-Salem State Rams The Winston-Salem State Rams are the athletic teams that represent Winston-Salem State University, located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Rams compete as members of the Central Intercollegiate Ath ...

and

Grambling State Tigers The Grambling State Tigers and Lady Tigers represent Grambling State University in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA intercollegiate athletics. Grambling's sports teams participate in Division I (I-FCS for College football, football ...

and compiled a 156–98 overall record.

Coaching career

Duckett was born on August 3, 1957, in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...

, to parents Herbert Duckett and Doris Burrell. He attended

Richard J. Reynolds High School Richard J. Reynolds High School now the Richard J. Reynolds Magnet School for the Visual and Performing Arts (often simply R. J. Reynolds High School or Reynolds) is a high school in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools located in Winston-S ...

in Winston-Salem. Duckett graduated from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

in 1979 and began his coaching career as the first African-American graduate assistant for the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...

during the 1979–80 season. He was the head coach of the freshman squad of the

Harvard Crimson The Harvard Crimson is the nickname of the college sports teams of Harvard College. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2013, there were 42 Division I intercollegiate Varsity team, varsity sports teams for women and men at Harva ...

from 1980 to 1982. Duckett returned to his alma mater Reynolds to become an assistant coach for the basketball team for the 1982–1983 season. Duckett served one season stints as an assistant coach for the

Jacksonville Dolphins The Jacksonville Dolphins are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent Jacksonville University, located in Jacksonville, Florida. The Dolphins participate in NCAA Division I athletics, and are primarily members of the ASUN Conference. S ...

UCF Knights The UCF Knights are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Central Florida in unincorporated Orange County, Florida near Orlando, Florida, Orlando. The Knights participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NC ...

and

South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fight ...

from 1983 to 1986. He was an assistant coach for the

Wichita State Shockers The Wichita State Shockers are the athletic teams that represent Wichita State University, located in Wichita, Kansas, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, primarily competing in the American Athletic Conference (T ...

from 1986 to 1992 and then returned to Reynolds High School as an assistant coach from 1992 to 1993. Duckett received his first head coaching role for the Fayetteville Broncos in 1993 and remained there until 1998. He was the head coach of the

from 1998 to 2001 and accumulated a 73–19 record. He was named the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

South Athletic Coach of the Year in 1999. Duckett won the CIAA Tournament Coaches Award in 1999 and 2000 as he led his teams to a championship both years. His two championship teams were inducted into Winston-Salem State's Big House Gaines Hall of Fame in 2012. Duckett left the Rams in 2001 to return as an assistant coach for the South Carolina Gamecocks, where he served for seven seasons and was known as the team's defensive coordinator. Duckett was named head coach of the

in 2008 and signed a four-year contract. He coached the Tigers to a 6–23 overall record and 4–14

Southwestern Athletic Conference The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southern United St ...

(SWAC) record. Duckett and two of his assistant coaches, Steve Portland and Phillip Stitt, were fired by Grambling State on September 25, 2009, in the wake of the death of Tigers player Henry White, who died on August 26, 2009, as a result of a preseason training exercise; Duckett was not present at the training as he was undergoing surgery. Duckett was not given a reason for his dismissal. He did not serve as a coach for two seasons and instead worked as a basketball color analyst for the

UNC Greensboro Spartans The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) Spartans are the athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Greensboro, North Carolina. All 17 UNCG sports compete in the Southern Conference (SoCon). History The intercollegiate ath ...

on 101.1 WZTK-FM. Duckett returned to coaching when he was hired as an assistant coach for the

Tennessee State Tigers The Tennessee State Tigers and Lady Tigers are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Tennessee State University (TSU), located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The Tigers athletic program is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) an ...

in 2011. He joined the

Miami RedHawks The Miami RedHawks are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Miami is a member of the Mid-American Conference ...

as an associate head coach in 2012. Duckett was hired as the assistant head coach of the

Charleston Southern Buccaneers The Charleston Southern Buccaneers are the athletic teams that represent Charleston Southern University, located in North Charleston, South Carolina, in intercollegiate sports at the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Associati ...

on August 29, 2017. He had been a candidate to return as head coach of Winston-Salem State in 2018 but they hired another coach and he stayed with the Buccaneers. Duckett served four seasons with the Buccaneers until he retired in 2021. He then worked as a consultant for the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

until he medically retired.

Personal life

Duckett's younger brother,

Kenny Kenny is a surname, a given name, and a diminutive of several different given names. In Ireland, the surname is an Anglicisation of the Irish ''Ó Cionnaith'', also spelt ''Ó Cionnaoith'' and ''Ó Cionaodha'', meaning "descendant of Cionnaith". ...

, was a wide receiver for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

and

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

. Duckett married his wife, Letita, in 1987 and they had two children. He led Bible studies at his local church. Duckett died on January 7, 2024, at the age of 66 after a battle with cancer.

References