Ricky Lane Duckett was born August 3, 1957 in Winston-Salem, NC and he passed on January 7, 2024 in Charleston, SC after a long battle with cancer. He was surrounded by his wife and children. Rick was the son of Doris Burrell and Herbert Duckett, and one brother, Kenneth Duckett, who all preceded him in death. Rick married Letita Duckett in May of 1987 and to that union two beautiful children, Philip and Keigan were born. Rick also had three acclaimed children, John Anthony (Melissa) Cooper, Cary (Brad) Bender, Jennifer (Lutrell) Alford. Rick attended RJ Reynolds High school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and obtained both a bachelor's and master's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also studied education at Harvard while coaching men's basketball.

Rick entered the arena of coaching in 1975 when Coach Dean Smith invited him to become team manager at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. He later became a graduate assistant for the Tarheels. Coach Smith continued to direct his coaching career for many years. 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 Winston-Salem State University 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. He ended his coaching career at Charleston Southern University as an Associate Head Coach. He then consulted for the NFL team the Houston Texans until he medically retired.

Rick was a devout God-fearing man of faith. He was not only a coach and teacher on the court, but off the court he led bible studies at his local church and imparted biblical principles to everyone. Rick's legacy of fostering the values of safety, integrity, dignity, loyalty, respect, fortitude, a sense of belonging, and togetherness extend far beyond the basketball court. He called forth honor in those he loved and mentored.

He is survived by his loving wife, Letita; his son, Philip; daughter, Keigan; one granddaughter, Selah Noel; his Godmother, Ramona Banner; special aunt, Barbara Carson; his mother-in-law, Shirley Mills; brother-in-law, Antonio (Angela) Miller; sister-in-law, Sonja (Daniel) Moore; one special niece, Mia Moore; nephew, Corbin Moore; a host of godchildren, other relatives, friends, mentees and many basketball sons who all were greatly loved.

Funeral services will be held at 1:00pm Sunday, January 14, 2024 at St. Peter's Church and World Outreach Center. Interment will be held on Monday, January 15, 2024 in Pinelawn Memorial Park, Kinston, NC.