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.Bottom line is he missed it all; simple as that.
It is the game itself, and not fame’s bright lights that blessed him more than 20 years ago when he was the most talented and recognizable player in college basketball, that lured Christian Laettner away from the business world and back into the sport.
From being a two-time NCAA champion at Duke in the early 1990s to a dream roster spot on the 1992 U.S. Olympic team to a 13-year NBA career, Laettner has squeezed more out of the game of basketball than most mortals. And when the 2004-05 NBA season ended and he walked away from the game, he thought it was for good, if “good” is the right way to say goodbye to a love.
Even as he continued to play, he dabbled in the real estate business, which became full time after his farewell summer of ’05.
“I didn’t miss the game for about two years, but after two years of not playing and not being on the court, you start missing something, and you’re like, something’s wrong,” Laettner said. “What’s wrong that you’re not doing your passion anymore? My passion is basketball and being on the court, either playing or coaching.
“In about 2008, I started thinking about what can I do, and about 2009, I started my own basketball academy where I’m on the court coaching kids, teaching kids, doing clinics and camps. That was a lot of fun. Then I said to myself, ‘Why don’t we just take it to the next level and start coaching some really, really good players?’ ”
And here he is … well, not here, but in Sioux Falls, S.D., where, hours before his second game as assistant coach of the Mad Ants, Christian Laettner is back in the game.
His enthusiasm is genuine, even over the phone line.
“It’s awesome,” says Laettner, 42, married and a father of two teenage girls and a 5-year-old boy. “I’m just jazzed up and geeked up about the opportunity, and very happy to be in the D-League, working with players who are trying to develop their game and get a chance at the ultimate prize, which is playing in the NBA.”
He has a buddy in the front office of the D-League – Chris Lauten – “a Dookie” Laettner says. And every so often, he would call Lauten, wondering if there were any jobs. And every so often, Lauten would tell him no.
“About two weeks ago I called him again and said, ‘Anything come across your desk?’ ” Laettner says. “And he said, ‘Yeah. The Fort Wayne team just fired their coach and moved their assistant up to the head coaching position and they really need an assistant coach.’ I said I would love to have that chance if given the opportunity, so they put me in touch with (president) Jeff Potter. Jeff called me, we had a good talk, everything went fine and they hired me. I’m very, very pleased.”
And so here he is … not here, but on his way to Hidalgo, Texas, where there’s a one-night stand against Rio Grande Valley on Wednesday. And then it’s on to Tulsa, Okla., for a pair of games Jan. 27-28. And then it’s back to Laettner’s new home base of Fort Wayne on Feb. 2.
But it’s OK; anything to get back in the game.
“I’m very much a person who believes in hierarchy and earning your way,” Laettner said. “When you play, you’ve got to earn your minutes, and when you’re coaching, you’ve got to earn your experience. That’s what I’m doing.
