Early Life and Career
Duckworth was born in Harvey, Illinois and grew up in Chicago, where he played basketball at Thornridge High School. At Thornridge, he participated in the 1980 and 1981 Illinois State Holiday Classic tournaments, which eventually became known as the State Farm Holiday Classic.
He attended Eastern Illinois University (EIU), where he set a university record of 867 rebounds, a record that still held at the time of his death. He also led EIU to the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament Championship in 1985 and was the Conference Player of the Year in 1986.
Duckworth was the ninth pick in the 2nd round of the 1986 NBA Draft, chosen by the San Antonio Spurs. Later that season, he was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers for rookie Walter Berry.
His rookie season was unspectacular, as Duckworth came off the bench to back up center Steve Johnson (who in turn got the starting center position when Sam Bowie suffered a broken leg). However, the next season Johnson went down with an injury (in addition; Bowie broke his leg again at the beginning of the season), and Duckworth was pushed into the starting role, from where he averaged 15.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Also, after having previously never averaged over 70.0 percent from the free throw line, he shot 77% that year, rebounded well, and played good defense - earning him the 1988 NBA Most Improved Player Award.
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