Earl Duncan 1990-91

[drbruin]

Remember Earl Duncan from 1990 and 1991 after he transferred from Syracuse? I was his 8th grade coach at a small private school in L.A. We became good friends but I lost track of him many years ago. Heard he was in law enforcement in Florida somewhere.

I made a video years ago of his Rutgers career highlights. Not sure if it was ever linked here, but I think you might enjoy seeing clips from some of his games.



I also made one of his Syracuse career.

 

[MadRU]

IMO one of our most talented point guards

 

[PatrickRU92]

Earl was a super cool guy. He was a student at the time I was as well. I remember one day we spoke BRIEFLY at MSG when we were playing in the Holiday Tournament (we beat BYU I think that game) and he was on the bench with an injury and he told me he was getting better.

few months later (after the season) we were at the Knight Club , he walked in and saw me and came up to me to shake my hand since he recognized me from that day. Thought that was really cool he was like a BMOC and I was a nobody (relatively speaking I mean lol), he could have easily forgotten me or ignored me.

 

[S.W.A.I.N]

Hughes, Duncan, Dabbs...such good transfers in on that squad.

 

[RW90]

Hughes, Duncan, Dabbs...such good transfers in on that squad.

There was some thought that part of the success of the '88-89 A10 Championship team was due to going up against Hughes and Duncan in practice. (I don't recall if Dabbs was sitting out yet for the 89 season.)

 

[Caliknight]

Man, I forgot how good Duncan was. He was exceptional.

Memories seeing the Penn St. Footage. They had a kid I played travel hoops with, Monnie Brown. Wound up dying a while back after getting involved in drugs sadly.

 

[Mr_Twister]

Just watching Hughes and Duncan play for a few minutes, it was clear they were definitely an upgrade. Dabbs was solid, too, but it took longer to appreciate his contributions. Slightly humbling that spare parts at Syracuse (and Virginia) were exactly what the doctor ordered for Rutgers.

 

[PatrickRU92]

Just watching Hughes and Duncan play for a few minutes, it was clear they were definitely an upgrade. Dabbs was solid, too, but it took longer to appreciate his contributions. Slightly humbling that spare parts at Syracuse (and Virginia) were exactly what the doctor ordered for Rutgers.

The Syracuse teams back then were absolutely LOADED.

 

[LC-88]

I was at the URI A-10 quarterfinal game at the Palestra. Duncan won it at the buzzer. The first half was by far the worst I have ever seen us get jobbed by the refs. Had cops escort them off the court at half time. Thanks Earl!

 

[Mr. Magoo1]

I was at the URI A-10 quarterfinal game at the Palestra. Duncan won it at the buzzer. The first half was by far the worst I have ever seen us get jobbed by the refs. Had cops escort them off the court at half time. Thanks Earl!

Didn’t he also win a game at St. Bonaventure with a half-court heave?

 

[Scarlet Shack]

I was at the URI A-10 quarterfinal game at the Palestra. Duncan won it at the buzzer. The first half was by far the worst I have ever seen us get jobbed by the refs. Had cops escort them off the court at half time. Thanks Earl!

On a spin move ...in the lane.
Great move

 

[LC-88]

Didn’t he also win a game at St. Bonaventure with a half-court heave?

Dont remember that. I believe Damon Santiago did that at Duquesne. Half court to win it. My mind is a shell of its former self. Not sure it was Santiago.

 

[Plum Street]

Didn’t he also win a game at St. Bonaventure with a half-court heave?

It was Umass . In their old building “the cage”. I remember Bruce’s call.

 

[Mr. Magoo1]

Dont remember that. I believe Damon Santiago did that at Duquesne. Half court to win it. My mind is a shell of its former self. Not sure it was Santiago.

I think you might be right....and I can relate. So I had the wrong player and the wrong place...lol. At least I knew it was basketball.

 

[ElmiraExpress]

The Syracuse teams back then were absolutely LOADED.

I was living in Syracuse then, Earl Duncan and Stevie Thompson came the same year from California, and Sherman Douglass came the previous year from Maryland, but Duncan couldn’t play his first year because of the prop. 48 rule (ridiculous). Of the three, Duncan was the biggest recruit, but during the year he sat out Douglass became a big star and Thompson showed great promise. If I recall, Duncan did start his sophomore season as a starter, but just for a few games. He was later replaced my Matt Roe who was a deadly shooter, but he also later transferred to Maryland.

Hughes, on the other hand, showed nothing at all at Syracuse. Many fans were surprised he did so well at Rutgers.

 

[80RU]

Just watching Hughes and Duncan play for a few minutes, it was clear they were definitely an upgrade. Dabbs was solid, too, but it took longer to appreciate his contributions. Slightly humbling that spare parts at Syracuse (and Virginia) were exactly what the doctor ordered for Rutgers.

I would not completely agree with this analysis. Dabbs was the starting center at Virginia, and easily their best big man. They were VERY upset to lose him. My parents lived in Virginia and my father became a bit of a Virginia fan because that was what was on TV. I still remember when he complained that Dabbs had transferred and then the big smile when I told him it was to RU.

Duncan was the sixth man most of his only eligible season at Syracuse. He actually started the first few games and was the leading scorer among the reserves. if he had stayed he would have become the starting point guard when Douglas graduated and Stevie Thompson would’ve stayed at the three spot.

The only one that was really seen as no great loss was Hughes. I remember that he angered a lot of Syracuse fans when he openly complained that he should have won the job at the three spot over Stevie Thompson.

 

[80RU]

One thing I remember from the Hughes sit out year was watching him, Eddie Jordan and Emory Ward stay after practice. Jordan and Hughes played a very spirited one on one game while Ward watched. Jordan absolutely destroyed Hughes. Ward was very amused.

 

[ElmiraExpress]

The Syracuse teams back then were absolutely LOADED.

Just because I was curious, I looked at the Syracuse record during Duncan’s one year at Syracuse. For the first 4 games, the starting line-up was:

Rony Seikaly (10 NBA seasons)
Derrick Coleman (15 NBA seasons)
Stevie Thompson
Sherm Douglas (15 NBA seasons)
Earl Duncan

but the team was just 2-2 in the first 4 games, and Duncan was replaced in the line-up for the remainder of the season by Matt Roe who was a 43% 3-point shooter in his 3 years at Syracuse (before he transferred to Maryland). The team finished 26-9 and Big East tournament champions, but lost second round NCAA. Surprisingly (at least to me), Derrick Coleman was only the team’s 4th highest scorer.

The Syracuse teams back then were absolutely LOADED.

 

[Scarlet Shack]

I was living in Syracuse then, Earl Duncan and Stevie Thompson came the same year from California, and Sherman Douglass came the previous year from Maryland, but Duncan couldn’t play his first year because of the prop. 48 rule (ridiculous). Of the three, Duncan was the biggest recruit, but during the year he sat out Douglass became a big star and Thompson showed great promise. If I recall, Duncan did start his sophomore season as a starter, but just for a few games. He was later replaced my Matt Roe who was a deadly shooter, but he also later transferred to Maryland.

Hughes, on the other hand, showed nothing at all at Syracuse. Many fans were surprised he did so well at Rutgers.

Hughes got lost behind Derrick Coleman quickly

Duncan came in as the big time recruit and the heir apparent to pearl Washington ...but the prop 48 year allowed Douglass to develop quickly ...and capture the one spot.

Duncan’s soph year he got like 6-7 ppg in the off guard spot

 

[PatrickRU92]

was bored and watched pretty much the whole vid.

Been a while since I relived it but OMG the end game choices in that ASU game were beyond horrendous. I love Craig Carter but with 10 secs left and Hughes and Duncan on the court he takes it 1 on 1 . And then a horrible inbound to boot. Barf.

 

[shields]

It is amazing how much we have ended up playing ASU.