RIP, Bob Dukiet

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/goldeneagles/46560372.html

The man who took over at Marquette for Rick Majerus in 1986 and had little/no success has passed at age 61.

I covered him at one point and he was one different kind of guy. I think they hired him more for his piano playing than his coaching.

 

Extraordinarily strange man.
And the fellow who almost took the program down with him.

 

holy crap! i covered him when bob was at st. peter's -- a strange dude who was known as a mama's boy. did a great job at st. peter's, though.

i dated a woman in '83 who had gone with bob for a while. man, the tales she could/would tell. of course, she was a bit wacky herself.

rip, bob. you went from a rising star to a coaching nobody in the blink of an eye. hope you found happiness and contentment along the way.

EDIT: i see he had some 20-win seasons at a place called "gannon college" after marquette. never heard of it -- or bob after marquette -- but glad to learn he had some success away from the limelight.

 

Like Shockey, I covered "Whitey" at St. Peter's where he was very successful and very odd. He also was an outstanding player at Livingston HS in New Jersey in the 60s.
Made a huge leap from small-time D-1 to the big time and just didn't have the personality handle it.

Gannon is a D-2 program in Erie, Pa., where he was very successful.

RIP, Bob

 

Why was he odd? I moved from Milwaukee right around the time Dukiet was hired. Stories please!

 

can we wait at least 24 hours? ??? ??? ???

 

He died Thursday.

 

yeah, but the thread is 13 hours old and i'm sitting shiva. : 8)

 

He had been an assistant for Pete Carril and he cared more about W-L than entertaining the fans or keeping players happy. A defense- and passing-minded coach. In 1980 he coached St. Peter's to a 34-33 victory over Duquesne in the second round of the NIT, and IIRC, the NIT was not amused. He'd play slowdown if he thought it's what would win, and didn't care how many people would fall asleep by halftime. Nor did he care if it meant one of his starting players would get to take only three shots in the game. Players above the mid-major level usually don't like that, and my understanding is that was part of his downfall at Marquette.

 

As I recall, playing style wasn't so much the problem at Marquette as simply losing was.

 

Everyone was convinced Mike Newell would take this job when Majerus left. Maybe Newell knew what he was doing this time. Certainly not other times.

 

And completely alienating everyone from the McGuire Era.
IIRC, some former players got up a petition to have him fired.