Duquesne fires head basketball coach Jim Ferry
The first post-Selection Sunday firing has arrive, with Duquesne parting ways with head coach Jim Ferry after five seasons. Ferry was 60-97 overall during his tenure, going to just one postseason tournament (the CBI last year). The Dukes finished 3-15 in the Atlantic-10 this year, last place in the conference.
Ferry came to Duquesne after ten years at LIU Brooklyn, where he won two NEC Coach of the Year awards. His final two seasons with the Blackbirds ended with NCAA Tournament berths.
Duquesne is the second A-10 job to open this month, after UMass fired Derek Kellogg last week. George Washington is also looking for a coach after the preseason firing of Mike Lonergan. The Pittsburgh school has not been to the NCAA Tournament since 1977 and has not won the A-10 since 1981.
Possible replacements include Bruiser Flint, the former UMass and Drexel head coach who is currently without a gig. Also out there is former Rutgers coach Mike Rice Jr., the son of former Duquesne coach Mike Rice and a Pittsburgh native. The younger Rice’s tenure at Rutgers came to a controversial end amidst a player abuse scandal. He had three very successful years at Robert Morris and has been coaching at St. Patrick HS in New Jersey since 2015.
