Adelphi University Director of Athletics and Recreation, Danny McCabe announced today that David Duke is the new head coach of the men’s basketball program. Duke, who helped rebuild programs at Hofstra University and Fordham University, will lead the Panthers in the highly competitive Northeast-10 Conference.
"We are thrilled to welcome David Duke as the new Head Coach of Adelphi University men’s basketball. David is a person of high integrity and character and he fits into the values and culture here at Adelphi," explained McCabe. "His extensive experience in being part of building two college programs in the metropolitan area separated him from the rest of the candidate pool. David is known as a tireless worker and recruiter as well as a teacher of the game. He and his staff will assist our student-athletes in reaching their potential both on and off the court."
Duke, who just completed his fourth year on the bench at Fordham, his second as Associate Head Coach, helped the Rams to an appearance in the Atlantic-10 Championship. He was also instrumental in recruiting the current Atlantic-10 and All-Met Rookie of the Year, Jon Severe.
"I am honored to be the new head men’s basketball coach at Adelphi University. Growing up only twenty minutes from campus, I have always known Adelphi to be an outstanding academic and athletic institution," stated Duke. "Adelphi basketball has a great tradition and I look forward to revitalizing the program and bringing back the level of success it has achieved historically. I would like to thank President Dr. Robert A. Scott, Vice President Dr. Lauren Mounty and Director of Athletics Danny McCabe for giving me this opportunity."
Duke started his basketball coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at Hofstra University under the tutelage of now Villanova head Coach Jay Wright. He was then elevated to assistant coach after two seasons. Duke worked under Wright for one season before joining Tom Pecora’s staff at Hofstra when he was named head coach in 2001.
An integral member of the staff at Hofstra, Duke helped the Pride become one of the top programs in the country. He was a part of two NCAA tournaments (2000 and 2001) and four Postseason National Invitation Tournaments including three in a row (2005-07) at Hofstra. During the 2005-06 seasons, the Pride tied a school record with 26 wins and advanced to the NIT quarterfinals.
Duke helped bring in a number of top level recruiting classes at Hofstra including the programs all-time leading scorer and three time Haggerty Award winner and Golden State Warrior draft pick, Charles Jenkins, and Antoine Agudio, Hofstra’s all-time leading scorer until surpassed by Jenkins who was 13th in the NCAA in scoring in 2007-08. In addition, Duke coached guards, Craig "Speedy" Claxton, who was chosen in the first round of the National Basketball Association’s 2000 NBA draft and Norman Richardson, who appeared in the NBA with the Washington Wizards, Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers.
In 2003 and 2004, Duke was the head coach of the Long Island’s men’s open team at the Empire State Games that won consecutive championships-the first time that Long Island has ever won back-to-back titles in the history of the Empire State Games. In 2003 Duke became one of the youngest coaches ever to win the gold medal in the open men’s basketball competition. In 2004, Long Island won the championship by an average margin of victory of 33 points per game. The team also averaged 100 points per game and beat New York City on the way to the championship.
Duke spent four years at Fordham, including two as the Associate Head Coach. In those four years Duke’s recruiting efforts helped elevate the talent pool considerably, leading to a resurgence of the program.
Duke earned his undergraduate degree in 1997 from SUNY Albany where he majored in communications and minored in education. In the 1997-98 season, he played on the basketball team at New York Institute of Technology.
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