Bil Duany is in his fourth season as a member of the University of New Orleans men’s basketball staff. Duany works directly with the Privateer frontcourt and serves as a liaison to the strength and conditioning and equipment staff. In addition, Duany assists with recruiting, prepares scouting reports and develops game plans for opponents.
Duany joined the New Orleans program following stints at the prep, club and collegiate levels, most recently as a graduate assistant at New Mexico State during the 2014-15 season. In addition, he was a head coach and assistant with Indiana Elite from 2008-14 and served as associate head boys coach at Southport High in Indianapolis.
Duany was a co-founder the Sports Revolution & A-HOPE Foundation, a program designed to help youth in his native South Sudan use their athletic talents to earn college scholarships in the United States.
In his first year with the Privateers, Duany played a major role in Kevin Hill putting together the best season of his career as a senior while assisting in the continuing development of rising juniors Travin Thibodeaux and Michael Zeno. His recruiting ability helped UNO land NJCAA honorable-mention All-American and fellow South Sudan native Makur Puou.
In 2016-17, the Privateers went 20-12 en route to a Southland Conference regular season and tournament title, advancing to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament for the first time in 21 seasons. Forward Erik Thomas was named the conference player of the year and Thibodeaux appeared on the all-defensive team honors. Thomas received the Pete Maravich Award, given to the Louisiana Major College Player of the Year, Associated Press All-American Honorable Mention and NABC All-District 23 First Team.
Last season, Duany worked with a veteran starting frontcourt in Thibodeaux and Puou and assisted in the arrival and development of 7-3 center Bol Riek. After transferring midway through the 2015-16 campaign, Scott Plaisance made his Privateer debut and New York native Tyren Harrison was a vital reserve.
Prior to his arrival on the Lakefront, Duany served on the staff at New Mexico State during the 2014-15 season and helped the Aggies go 24-11 overall, win both the Western Athletic Conference’s regular-season title and tournament title with a 13-1 league record and a spot in the NCAA Tournament. That season, Duany worked primarily with the post players, film evaluation, life skills and academic development.
Prior to his time in Las Cruces, Duany spent two seasons at Southport High while simultaneously wrapping a six-year span with Indiana Elite. At the prep level, Duany helped create scouting reports on opponents, develop post players and run workouts while also monitoring academic progression and mentoring students in the classroom. On the court, Duany helped the school one of the biggest turnarounds in state history as the program went 1-19 his first season while improving to 15-8 overall, win the Conference Indiana title with a 4-1 league record and advance to the state championship game in 2013-14.
At the AAU level, Duany coached four different classes and was able to help over 40 student athletes reach the NCAA Division I ranks. As a head coach, he guided his teams to tournament wins at the Adidas May Classic, Bob Gibbons TOC, Spiece Run-n-Slam, Las Vegas Super 64 and Adidas Invitational. As an assistant, Duany helped develop relationships throughout the region for player access and organized team travel.
Active away from the court as well, Duany co-founded the A-HOPE Foundation and served on its Board of Directors from 2007-11. In that capacity, he worked to evaluate international student-athletes, prepare visas and assist with the U.S. Embassy visa-appointment process and assist these student-athletes with international travel. Duany also assisted in A-HOPE’s fund-raising efforts and organize charity events.
A star student-athlete at Bloomington North High School in Indiana, Duany was a McDonald’s All-American nominee and a member of the prestigious Indiana Basketball All-Star Team in 2004 and played two seasons of basketball at Eastern Illinois (2004-06) before transferring to Indiana University in Fall 2006. While injuries derailed his athletic career, Duany completed his bachelor’s degree in public affairs from Indiana in May 2009 and earned a master’s degree in education from New Mexico State in May 2016.
