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 – Ever since Steve Gansey was elevated from assistant coach to interim head coach when Joey Meyer was released in late December, the Mad Ants have been looking to find an assistant for Gansey.
They found one in Christian Laettner, a 13-year NBA veteran who led Duke to back-to-back NCAA national championships in 1991 and 1992.
Laettner, 42, will be named the team’s assistant pending league approval, which is expected today. He is en route to Sioux Falls, S.D., where the Ants will play games tonight and Saturday.
Laettner, chosen by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 1992 draft, had NBA stops in Atlanta, Detroit, Dallas, Washington and Miami before retiring in the 2005 season. He finished with a 13.3 scoring average, 6.9 rebounds per game and 2.7 assists.
He has been playing with the Jacksonville (Fla.) Giants of the ABA.
In leading Duke to its second consecutive NCAA title in ’92, Laettner pulled down just about every major individual player of the year award.
He was best known for his turnaround jump shot at the buzzer after a full-court pass that beat Kentucky 104-103 in the 1992 East regional finals.
