FAYETTEVILLE — He was fired last Friday and re-hired a few days later. Fayetteville State University's head basketball coach, Rick Duckett, says it's been the most unusual week of his life, but one that has made him a better person.

It was one week ago today that Rick Duckett was told he was being relieved of his duties as basketball coach. He wasn't particularly angry, but felt disappointed nonetheless.

Duckett's team went 17 and 10 this year, and his overall five year record is 76 wins and 57 losses. He's also extremely popular with fans and alumni. School administrators said they wanted to go in a "different direction."

"Often times when coaches are not successful in the win column, they're fired," Duckett explains, "and we know and understand that this was not the case; So obviously that was surprising as well as disappointing."

Then came the bizarre turn of events. Without an explanation, Coach Duckett was offered his job back. Without hesitation, he accepted. Despite the circumstances, he's not bitter. Where do you go from here? Do you become the victim in all of this and then you want to place blame or you wanna harbor ill feelings towards someone, or do you use this as a growth experience and an opportunity to become a better person?

Coach Duckett says he hopes his perseverance will provide a valuable lesson in life to the players he deeply cares for.

Incidentally, Coach Duckett has the highest winning percentage of any basketball coach in FSU history.