By Robert Wilson
Madison-Ridgeland Academy’s Richard Duease – the winningest basketball coach in Mississippi history, the second winningest active boys basketball coach in the country and a member of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame – began his 51st and last season of his brilliant coaching career Thursday night like he has for the majority of his career – with a win.
Playing without four of his top nine players due to football, Duease led his team to a 59-41 victory over Christ Covenant School, coached by one of his former players, Brandon Bolen, at MRA’s Duease Hall in Madison.
Duease announced to his team in June that this would be his last season – his 44th at MRA.
Duease – who turned 73 February 18 – has 1,852 victories (1,260 boys and 592 girls) with 723 losses, a 71.9 winning percentage (73.7 boys and 67.9 girls) with 41 state championships and 15 MAIS Overall Tournament titles (13 boys and two girls) in his career. He has won 1,212 boys and 439 girls games at MRA.
The Indianola High, Mississippi Delta Community College and Mississippi State graduate wasn’t focused on starting his final season after a half century of coaching.
“I am just trying to win a ballgame,” Duease said. “We started four sophomores and a junior. We have four players (returning starter Will Bizot, Evan Carr, Jack Dalton, and Dray Martin-Young) still playing football and not with us yet. It was neat coaching against Brandon, one of my former players. He has done a great job at Christ Covenant and has some good players. Brandon and his brother Samuel played for me. We won an Overall championship when Brandon was a senior. Brandon was a great player for us. He played inside with his brother, then we moved him to point guard. He went to Mississippi State and they invited him to walk on and he earned a scholarship. He was tough and he coaches the same way.”
I coached against Andrew Howell (now at Heritage Academy), one of my former players, and I won my 1,000th game against another one of my former players, Brian Cronin, who was then coaching at St. Andrew’s (and now in private business). I also coached against one of my former assistants, Russ Whiteside (and now head football coach at Magnolia Heights).”
Duease and MRA got off to a great start, hitting three 3-pointers – two by sophomore guard Caeden Harvey and one by junior guard and Northwest Rankin transfer Zavian Carr – to take a 9-0 lead. The Patriots led 16-7 after one quarter, 29-14 at half, and 47-17 after three quarters.
EJ Dampier – 6-foot-10 sophomore center who is rated the No. 3 in the country in the Class of 2028 by ESPN and made second-team freshmen All-American by MaxPreps – led MRA with 16 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 blocked shot and 1 steal. Harvey added 13 points and Zavain Carr 11 points.
Duease is looking to have a great season and do better than last year. MRA finished 17-13 and lost to Madison St. Joseph 35-34 in the first round of the MAIS Class 6A state tournament, a rare early exit for a Duease coached team. It was the first time in 41 years Duease hadn’t won at least 20 games in a season. He will be trying to win first Overall title since 2021.
MRA goes for its second win at Kirk Academy Tuesday in Grenada.
Duease has touched a lot of lives during his outstanding coaching career.
“Coach Duease has been the face of boys basketball in the MAIS for so long,” said MRA athletic director Ross Hailey, who also has been an assistant to Duease. “He’s been loved by MRA fans and hopefully, at least appreciated, by fans of our rivals. He taught me basically everything I ever knew about basketball, and while I felt like I was a pretty good coach, I know I missed so many of the little things he’s been able to teach our players. His knowledge of the game is incredible, but it pales in comparison to the way he has been able to help our students and players at MRA. Coach Duease has gotten the most out of teams that weren’t supposed to accomplish nearly as much as they did. The way he gets kids to put aside their selfish tendencies and play together so the team can accomplish its goals is unparalleled. When coaches on other teams have issues with getting kids to play, he has always found ways to impress upon our student-athletes the importance of putting MRA first and playing that sport. Coach Duease has been a mentor to so many coaches at MRA, and the impact he’s had on me is immeasurable. He’s been able to impress upon coaches of all sports the importance of putting MRA first, and our coaching staff has been better because of leadership in the athletic department over all these years.
“We love the idea that we’ll be able to celebrate him all year, and even though he’ll be tired of the celebrations when May rolls around, a man who has loved and served a school for 44 years and an association for 51 years deserves a great send-off.
“Coach Duease will leave behind an unmatched legacy. Former players who stop by the school have such great stories, and I look forward to hearing even more of those stories over the next year while we celebrate his career. Coach Duease is a great friend, and he’s one I’ll miss getting to see every day after the school year ends. He hired me in 1998 and guided me and several other coaches through our years of doing stupid things. He didn’t just do that for me and my peers, but he’s done that for so many groups of young coaches. We want to thank (Duease’s wife) Kim and (Duease’s daughter Anne Taylor) AT for sharing him with us for all of these years, and I know he looks forward to spending more time here with Kim and in Pensacola with AT, (Duease’s son in law) Kyle and Cobb (Duease’s grandson).”
“I have been very blessed with the coaches and mentors in my life, and Coach Duease is at the top of that list,” said MRA assistant Harper Hudnall, who played for Duease. “To play under such a legendary coach is a privilege on its own, but to then also have the opportunity to coach under him is something I will greatly cherish. Coach has a unique way to teaching high school kids about life through the game of basketball and helping them grow up to be better men. I am very thankful for the lessons I learned while playing for him. I am even more thankful for the lessons I’ve learned while coaching with him and getting to pour back into the program that he has built at MRA. When Coach Duease’s name is mentioned, the win totals usually follow quickly behind and rightfully so. However, he will not be remembered for his record of wins and losses as much as he will be remembered for the many lives he made an impact on throughout his 51 years in coaching. I am just fortunate to be one of those many.”
“I am grateful that I was coached under Coach Duease’s leadership and get to be coached by him in his last year,” said Dampier, who was a member of the USA Basketball Under-16 Team, the first player to be on an USA national team in Duease’s career. “He pushed me hard every day even when I didn’t feel like practicing and I’m grateful for that also.”
“I am just grateful to have another year with Coach Duease,” Bizot said. “With being his last year and my senior year I will be even more motivated to win an overall championship for him and for MRA. Coach Duease has meant a lot to my family and we appreciate his dedication to the game of basketball for so many years.”
“We affectionately call him ‘King Richard’ for a reason. He’s the best to ever do it,” said Delta Academy boys and girls coach Craig Dailey, who entered this season fourth in Mississippi in combined wins (1,355 in 32 seasons) behind Duease, Ingomar’s Norris Ashley and Pillow Academy’s Durwin Carpenter. “He is and has been the bar to which we all aspire. A warrior’s heart and drive, but one of the most trusted friend and colleague I have ever known. He made me a better coach trying to compete with him and he made me a better person by knowing him. God bless him and Kim in this new journey.”
