By: Todd Lindenmuth
LongwoodLancers.com
 
FARMVILLE, Va. – When Longwood women's basketball all-time wins leader Shirley Duncan reflects on her career, she is quick to point out her players as the reason she enjoyed as much success as she had in her 23 seasons at Longwood.
 
"The players were the ones who kept me young at heart," Duncan said. "I don't really miss all the other stuff."
 
Along with mentoring some of the best players in Longwood women's basketball history, there was plenty of other "stuff" for Duncan in a coaching career that spanned more than two decades and surpassed 300 victories wins on the sideline. After being enshrined into the Longwood Athletics Hall of Fame nearly one year ago, the university will continue to honor her legacy this Saturday, Jan. 28, by retiring her honorary jersey in Willett Hall prior to Saturday's women's basketball game against Charleston Southern on ESPN3.
 
"Coach Duncan is a Longwood legend, and we're privileged to honor her this weekend in front of our fans and her former players," said Longwood director of athletics Troy Austin. "Her name is synonymous with our women's basketball program, and by extension, Longwood, and we look forward to hanging her jersey on the wall of Willett Hall so that future generations of Lancers will remember her great accomplishments. We're appreciative of everything she has done for Longwood as head coach and beyond."
 
"If anyone was deserving of an honor such as this, it's Coach Duncan," said current Longwood head coach Bill Reinson. "She has touched so many lives during her career. She's been a friend, colleague, mentor and role model to so many.  The event this weekend will be filled with former players, assistant coaches and athletic department members who have been blessed to know her.  I'm honored to call her a friend and am extremely excited that her name will forever grace the walls of Willett Hall."
 
Under Duncan's tutelage, the Lancers made four NCAA Division II Tournament appearances. With 16 winning seasons throughout her 23 seasons on the sideline, Duncan elevated the Longwood program and 356 wins later ranks as Longwood's all-time winningest coach.
 
"I was in awe when I was told that it was going to be an occurrence," Duncan said of her jersey retirement. "I still am. For my career, it means a heck of a lot. Along with being inducted into the Hall of Fame for Longwood, having this jersey hung up on the wall is such a special treat and special honor."
 
Guiding Longwood to four NCAA Division II Tournaments in 1995, 1996, 1997 and 2003, Duncan helped the Lancers reach new heights and guided the start of the transition toward a Division I basketball program. With her teams known for playing an up-tempo style, Duncan helped the Lancers to their only five 20-win seasons since becoming an official member of the NCAA in 1976-77.
 
A two-time WBCA/Russell Athletic Regional Coach of the Year, Duncan helped the Lancers thrive through the beginning of the four-year reclassifying process into the Division I era, helping Longwood achieve a winning record in 2003-04 and 2004-05 while playing a mix of D-I and D-II opponents.
 
Since her retirement in 2005, Duncan coming to nearly every home game where she can be heard encouraging Longwood from her seat just as she did as a coach.
 
"Once a coach, always a coach," Duncan said. "Even though I'm a spectator, in my mind and in my heart I'm still coaching."
 
Duncan has also put her coaching expertise to use, serving as a color analyst for Longwood women's basketball on the Big South Network.
 
Duncan's players dominate the program's record books, from the likes of first-team All-Americans in Carmille Barnette (1990) – who remains second on Longwood's all-time scoring list – and Caren Forbes (1987), along with seven other All-American honorees. She also had the privilege coaching Nikki Hall Atkinson, one of the top point guards in program history who served as an assistant coach under Duncan, before taking over the program following Duncan's retirement during the 2005-06 season. Atkinson returned to her alma mater in February, 2016, to introduce Duncan during her enshrinement in the Longwood Athletics Hall of Fame.
 
In his seven years coaching the Lancers, Reinson has valued Duncan's guidance throughout his tenure, as he came to Longwood as an assistant coach on the men's team, before joining Duncan's staff for the final 13 games during the 2002-03 season.
 
"Coach Duncan has always been a friend to my family and a mentor to me," Reinson said. "She was a strong advocate for me when I was hired and continues to be a willing sounding board. She still attends most of the home games and we often discuss the program. I am very fortunate to know Coach Duncan."
 
After an eight-year period where he served as an assistant coach for the Longwood men's basketball team, Reinson took over the reins of the women's squad during the season in 2010-11.
 
While their coaching styles may vary on the court, according to Reinson, where Duncan was quieter and more relaxed and Reinson is more animated, both coaches can attest that each are similar in terms of the support for their players' off the court.
 
"She and I both prioritize the well-being of the young women in the program," Reinson said. "She was always willing to support her players in any way possible, both on and off the court, and I try hard to do the same. There are so many things outside of basketball that impact these young ladies during their college years and you need to be in tune with these issues. That was one of the most important things I learned from Coach Duncan."
 
While Duncan is already a legend in the eyes of Lancer Nation, her being honored Saturday will cement her status for generations to come so that future Lancers will remember all of her great accomplishments.
 
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