Duane Ticknor, a minor-league coaching veteran who led the Dakota Wizards to back-to-back playoff appearances from 2007 to ’09, will be the next head coach of the Mad Ants.FORT WAYNE – Perspective all depends on which Mad Ant one talks to about the team’s losing record and sixth-place status in the NBA Development League East Conference standings.
As far as point guard Walker Russell is concerned, the Ants aren’t done and buried and have plenty of time to make a run toward the playoffs.
But coach Steve Gansey talks about “a sense of urgency” that begins today when the Ants face Dakota at 5 p.m. at Memorial Coliseum.
“We haven’t done anything yet,” said Gansey, the former assistant who assumed the head coach’s job when Joey Meyer was fired Jan. 5. “Our record is still 7-12, and we’re not in first place, and we’re not undefeated. We have to continue to stay humble. We have to continue to work. There are teams out there that are very good and they come to play every day.”
The Mad Ants won once and lost once in the annual D-League Showcase last week in Reno, Nev. On Monday, they rallied from a 17-point deficit to defeat Bakersfield but were unable to recover from a 34-point deficit against Tulsa in a 111-92 loss.
Tulsa scored 67 points in the first half and led 96-62 going into the final period before getting off the gas.
“Obviously you take it personally,” said Russell, who led the Ants with 38 points and 23 assists in the two Showcase games. “You don’t like getting your ass kicked. At the same time, games like that happen. Not saying that we wanted to come out and get smacked like that, but they came out and they couldn’t miss shots and we couldn’t make shots and they got a lot of runs to the bucket. Those kind of games happen. At the end of the day, we’ve made a couple, few strides in that department.
“We’re not that far out of the situation or even a playoff run. We’re only three or four games out of that. As bad as stuff as looked for us, we’re still right in the thick of a lot of situations. I talked to some teams out there, and a lot of teams are scared to play the Mad Ants. We have to continue to work, and I think things will get better.”
In a couple categories, there is only one way to go. The Ants are last in the D-League in team shooting percentage (.427) and last in opponents’ field goal percentage (.483).
The slow start has put the Mad Ants 6 1/2 games behind first-place Iowa in the East Conference, but they are 2 1/2 games behind Springfield (9-9) for the eighth playoff berth.
