Bob Dukiet dead at 61

[jt92]

I was there..he was an emarassment.

[4everwarriors]

Majerus couldn't take the heat of being MU's head coach. His tenure resulted in 3 straight NIT berths. Speculation was that the powers that be at Marquette were becoming increasingly dissatisfied with him. Rick's friend and Bucks coach, Don Nelson, appointed him as the Bucks' third assistant coach in June. This was largely viewed as a promotion for Rick. However, his MU salary and shoe contract with New Balance was 3-4 times. what the Bucks were paying him. It accomplished Rick saving his face, however.
Meanwhile, Hank Raymonds aka athletic director, hired Newell and the next day after he backed out, named Dukiet as coach. I believe that was either July 4 or 5.
In short, Majerus bf'ed Marquette by quitting in June.  

[BrewCity83]

You guys who are older-timers than I am can correct this if I'm not spot on--but didn't Majerus force Hank out as coach because he was percieved as the young coaching star on the rise, and threatened to go elsewhere if he didn't get to be MU's head coach?  As I recall, Hank stepped aside earlier than he wanted to in order to keep Fat Rick.  Then Majerus bolted when he couldn't handle the job, giving MU the aforementioned bf.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Meanwhile, Hank Raymonds aka athletic director, hired Newell and the next day after he backed out, named Dukiet as coach. I believe that was either July 4 or 5.
In short, Majerus bf'ed Marquette by quitting in June.  

That's probably why New Orleans fans feel about Buzz the way they do, because of the lateness in which Buzz left them.  Just as MU fans were upset at when Rick left MU.   

That is no time to be hiring a head basketball coach....for either school.

[GGGG]

I was there..he was an emarassment.

Ridiculous.  Bob Dukiet was never an embarrassment.  He was over his head at a program that had become insular and inbred.  Embarrassment is Rick Majerus in general being a raving A-hole.  Embarrassment is Mike Deane storming around like a maniac.

[BrewCity83]

Sultan, I think you read it wrong.  Emarassment is a new word meaning:  in over one's head.

Embarrassment, on the other hand, could be applied to Mike Deane and his habit of urinating on his own necktie in front of the urinal at Turner Hall.

[jt92]

I'm talking strictly basketball...he was horrible and yes our teams were embarassing.  Whether he was in over his nead or not is irrelevant, he was an embarassment.

[reinko]

I'm talking strictly basketball...he was horrible and yes our teams were embarassing.  Whether he was in over his nead or not is irrelevant, he was an embarassment.

Must live a pretty sad life if you feel the need for calling out a guy who died too soon on a message board.  Keep it up chief. 

[77fan88warrior]

I think everyone forgets that O'Neill screwed Northwestern by leaving in the middle of summer as well.

[jt92]

Relax Reinko...I said in an earlier post it's sad to see someone 61 succumb to something like that.  It's terrible.  However, I am being quite honest when talking about his coaching tenure at MU.  Let's not make him out to something he wasn't just because he died.

[SonofPianoMan]

n/m

[mm24]

Coach Dukiet was never an embarrassement! He was a very good coach, and an even better human being. He was class personified. I think some people forget Marquette University was very much different then than it is today. They had a Mom and Pop mentality back then. They were an independent, and the emergence of the Big East and the ACC was very profound.
If Charles Luter wouldn't have blown out his knee on the 1st day of practice that 1988-89 team would have easily been 18-10 instead of 13-15. In fact they were 4 points away from being in the NIT that year. Also that team was very young, 7 players were either Freshman or Sophmores.
If one takes a look at Coach Dukiet's 1st three years at Marquette, and Mike Krzyzewski's at Duke, they are virtually identical. Look it up! Duke's faithful wanted Krzyzewski fired too! The only difference between Dukiet and Krzyzewski is that Krzyzewski was working for a better athletic director who believed in his vision for the program and stuck with him.
He always represented the university with class, and even after he departed he never once spoke ill of the university.
He wasn't just a good coach, he was a great coach, and an even better human being,who was very humble! He won 64% of the games he coached over 17 seasons.
RIP Coach Dukiet

[Skatastrophy]

he was a great coach

You can't call a guy a great coach when he went 39-46 at MU. 

Nothing against the guy, but your argument that if we had stuck with him for longer we would have had a Mike Krzyzewski on our hands is wishful thinking.  When his best season was when he was coaching another coach's players his first season as coach (86-87 we went 16-13) that doesn't bode well for his ability to lead a program in a positive direction. 

[BrewCity83]

I think that we can all agree that he proved he was a fine or good coach at smaller programs.

[JNethen50]

Hi from Joe Nethen,
I don't think anyone can realistically comment on Bob Dukiet unless you really knew him.
He was an extremely affable, smart and talented guy. He was cum laude in his class at Boston College in Finance, and an assistant coach at Princeton.
He actually was a very good coach who treated his players well. Frankly, he had the impossibly daunting task of coaching a bunch of immature, out-of-control kids who behaved like animals, and who were admittedly not the most talented. Consider that truth when you denounce his record, and alleged "bad relationships with certain players". He was too much of a class-act and a gentleman to ever talk badly about anyone. He cared about all his players and staff, and was always there to talk to. That may be an unacknowledged and less celebrated quality for a college coach. It meant a lot to us students under the pressures of playing in the NCAA, and constantly living in a glass house, always under scrutiny, and held to standards that other students are not.
He was a really funny, well-spoken, old-school, guy who was actually probably too classy for Marquette, and the yelling slobs and often ill-mannered idiots of the NCAA. Yeah, he was quirky, and that made him hilarious. I have talked to several other of his players, and we all felt these positive ways about  Coach. He certainly helped springboard several to the pros. Winning isn't everything, and screaming at and berating your players constantly isn't always successful coaching. Sometimes it's more important to have known a man you would want to strive to become like, than if he had the winningest record. We're not "trying to make him into someone he wasn't because he's dead" (snort). Some of you just sound immature, disrespectful, silly and like you're trying to sound cool about someone and a team you have no real experience with. It is certainly not cool to "dis" an excellent man who's just died, that many of us dearly loved, and not have the balls to even identify yourself.

[mm24]

You can't call a guy a great coach when he went 39-46 at MU. 

Nothing against the guy, but your argument that if we had stuck with him for longer we would have had a Mike Krzyzewski on our hands is wishful thinking.  When his best season was when he was coaching another coach's players his first season as coach (86-87 we went 16-13) that doesn't bode well for his ability to lead a program in a positive direction. 

We'll never know if Marquette would have had a Mike Krzyzewski on it's hands, because Coach Dukiet didn't have an AD who believed in him like Coack K did. As I said earlier if Charles Luter hadn't been injured, that season would have been much different. He really was a good coach. How many other Marquette coaches have a career winning record of 64%.
We live in a society were we want everything instantly, college basketball just isn't that way. Sometimes you can catch lighting in a bottle and win quickly, but more often than not it takes time to build a program. Look at Tom Breanan at Vermont, they lost for many years, but they stuck with him and he turned that program into a winner and a Sweet 16 birth.
He did a good job and was very close to turning it around.

[mm24]

Hi from Joe Nethen,
I don't think anyone can realistically comment on Bob Dukiet unless you really knew him.
He was an extremely affable, smart and talented guy. He was cum laude in his class at BU in Finance, and an assistant coach at Princeton.
He actually was a very good coach who treated his players well. Frankly, he had the impossibly daunting task of coaching a bunch of immature, out-of-control kids who behaved like animals, and who were admittedly not the most talented. Consider that truth when you denounce his record, and  alleged "bad relationships with certain players". He was too much of a class-act and a gentleman to ever talk badly about anyone. He cared about all his players and staff, and was always there to talk too. That may be the unknown and less celebrated great quality for a college coach, when you are a student and player in the NCAA, and constantly living in a glass house, always under scrutiny, and held to standards that other students are not.
He was a really funny, well-spoken, old-school, guy who was actually probably too classy for Marquette, and the yelling slobs and often ill-mannered idiots of the NCAA. Yeah, he was quirky, and that made him hilarious. I have talked to several other of his players, and we all felt these positive ways about  Coach. He certainly helped springboard several to the pros. Winning isn'tr everything, and screaming at and berating your players constantly isn't always successful coaching. We're not "trying to make him into soemone he wasn't because he's dead" (snort), and some of you just sound immature, disrespectful, stupid, mis-informed, silly and like you're trying to sound smart and cool about someone and a team you have no real experience with. Relax.

Thank You Joe Nethen, well said! It's a shame that you weren't able to finish your career are Marquette, you were really starting to come on as a player. I think at the time during your last season you were leading the MCC in FG or FT %. I hope life is treating you well. I have fond memories of your time at MU.

[ChuckyChip]

How many other Marquette coaches have a career winning record of 64%.

Off the top of my head - Al McGuire, Hank Raymonds, Rick Majerus, Mike Deane, and Tom Crean before 2008-09.

[Skatastrophy]

Is this just one guy registering accounts to post self-affirming spam, or are we being overrun by the silent majority of lurkers that are all huge Dukiet fans? 

[thanooj]

Wasn't one of the resons he was hired was because his name rhymed with Marquette? 

Street and Smiths basketball actually said in their college basketball preview mag back then that the best thing about Marquette basketball that year was that Dukiet rhymed with Marquette.  I was 12ish and have never forgotten it.