Rick Duckett, former Fayetteville State basketball coach, dies at 66

The Fayetteville State men's basketball program has suffered a tremendous loss with the death of former head coach Rick Duckett, who succumbed to cancer on Jan. 6 in Charleston, South Carolina.

In five seasons as Broncos coach, beginning in 1993 after Jeff Capel II left for N.C. A&T, Duckett posted a 75-62 record (.547 winning percentage). His tenure included FSU's third-ever CIAA championship appearance in 1997. It was Duckett's first stint as a head coach after he'd served as a graduate assistant to Dean Smith at his alma mater, UNC.

"His impact at Fayetteville State and in the basketball community will be forever remembered," a university release stated of Duckett.

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After leaving FSU, Duckett coached at Winston-Salem State and led the Rams to back-to-back CIAA championships in 1999 and 2000 in his first two seasons as coach, earning the NCAA Division II South Athletic Coach of the Year award in 1999 and the CIAA Tournament Coaches award in 1999 and 2000.

From there, Duckett joined Dave Odom's staff at South Carolina and stayed from 2001-'08. Duckett most recently served as an assistant at Miami-Ohio and Charleston Southern.

A Winston-Salem native, Duckett was 66 years old. He is survived by a wife and two children.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Rick Duckett, former Fayetteville State basketball coach, dies at 66