Duane Ferrell (born February 28, 1965) is an American retired professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He played 11 seasons in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA) for the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

and

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

, where he was twice named All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

Early life and college career

Ferrell attended high school at

Calvert Hall College Calvert Hall College High School (also known as "Calvert Hall" or "CHC") is a Catholic college preparatory high school for boys, located in Towson, Maryland, United States. The school's mission is to make its students "men of intellect, men of f ...

Towson, Maryland Towson () is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Baltimore County and the second-most populous unincorpo ...

where he was part of the 1982 National Championship team, the number one rated high school team in the country during his junior year. He then attended Georgia Tech from 1984 to 1988. Ferrell was named the 1985 Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year and went on to average 18.6 points per game during his senior year at Georgia Tech.

Professional basketball career

Duane Ferrell was never drafted but found his way into the NBA after being signed as a free agent by the

in 1988. Ferrell would go on to play in six seasons with the Hawks in the reserve role. His best season came in 1991–92, where he produced a career high of 12.7 points per game while averaging 24.2 minutes per game with Atlanta. In the 1989–90 season, Ferrell started the year playing 40 games for the

Topeka Sizzlers The Topeka Sizzlers, originally the Kansas City Sizzlers, were a professional basketball team based in Kansas City, Missouri from 1985 to 1986 until they relocated to Topeka, Kansas where they played from 1986 to 1990. The Sizzlers were members o ...

in the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

, averaging 24.3 points per game and earning CBA Newcomer of the Year honors. His performance earned him a return trip to the Hawks to end the season. Ferrell became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

at the end of the 1993–94 NBA season and was signed by the

on September 30, 1994. After three seasons in Indiana, Ferrell and Pacers teammate

Erick Dampier Erick Travez Dampier (born July 14, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Indiana Pacers, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks. ...

were traded to the

for All-Star veteran

Chris Mullin Christopher Paul Mullin (born July 30, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player, executive and coach. He is a two-time Olympic Gold medalist and a two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee (in 2010 as a memb ...

on August 12, 1997. Ferrell finished his NBA career with the Warriors, amassing a total of 11 seasons in the league with five NBA Playoffs runs (three times with the Hawks and twice with the Pacers). In 1999, he was traded back to the Hawks alongside

Bimbo Coles Vernell Eufaye "Bimbo" Coles (born April 22, 1968) is an American retired professional basketball player. He received his nickname from a cousin in reference to a country music song of the same name. Coles was a standout at Greenbrier East High ...

in a deal that sent

Mookie Blaylock Daron Oshay "Mookie" Blaylock (born March 20, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. He spent 13 years in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the New Jersey Nets, Atlanta Hawks, and the Golden State Warriors. Col ...

to the Warriors. Ferrell was waived by the Hawks, ending his career. He also worked as the Player Relations and Programs Manager for the Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards. Ferrell also gives back to the sport through his involvement with On Court Player Development, a basketball academy and community organization that seeks to develop grassroots basketball programs. Ferrell has had the nickname "Paco" since his college playing days.

References

External links

Duane Ferrell NBA stats
@ basketball-reference.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrell, Duane 1965 births Living people African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Baltimore Calvert Hall College High School alumni Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball players Golden State Warriors players Indiana Pacers players McDonald's High School All-Americans Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Shooting guards Small forwards Topeka Sizzlers players Undrafted National Basketball Association players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople