BY BRIAN GOSSET
X – @Gosset41
GM Sports Media learned on Monday that Duncanville boys basketball coach David Peavy will be stepping down from his post with the Panthers and headed east to an academy school in Florida. Going along with Peavy is 4-star 2027 point guard Beckham Black.
Neimann Ford is expected to be the leading candidate to take over the program. Ford led the girls team to a 29-7 record this year before losing to Cedar Hill 57-47 in the regional final.
Peavy came to Duncanville in the spring of 2018 and bought back a winning culture to the Panthers during his 7-year tenure. In that span, Peavy took the program to five UIL state tournament appearances – including a 6A Division 1 championship earlier in March.
A trip to state in 2019 marked the first one for the Panthers in 12 years.
Duncanville defeated Houston Bellaire 54-52 in San Antonio on March 9. TCU bound senior guard Kayden Edwards was voted state champ MVP with 23 points and six rebounds. Senior 6-7 forward Cam Smith joined Edwards on the 6A D1 state all tournament team.
The Panthers capped the season with a 28-7 record.
In seven years at Duncanville, Peavy posted a 201-32 record. The Panthers had three consecutive 1-loss seasons from 2021 to 2023 (29-1, 35-1, 29-1). They also won a district title in all seven seasons under Peavy.
While Peavy and the Panthers had much success, he leaves with some hiccups.
Duncanville finished 35-1 in 2022 after taking down McKinney 69-49 in the 6A championship. However, the UIL stripped its title due to an ineligible player in Anthony Black – Beckham’s older brother – who now plays for the NBA’s Orlando Magic.
During that season – which was Black’s senior year – Peavy, Duncanville and the UIL had a continuous back-and-forth legal battle revolving around Black’s eligibility. Black had transferred to Duncanville before the season from Coppell.
Black was a 5-star recruit and McDonald’s All-American before going to play at Arkansas. Black scored 18 points and was MVP vs McKinney before the UIL took away the program’s title.
The UIL ruled Black went to Duncanville for athletic purposes and also came down on the Panthers and Peavy. They suspended Peavy for one-year and the program was given a three-year probation and a public reprimand. Peavy wasn’t allowed to coach the Panthers during the 2022-23 season and the team couldn’t participate in the playoffs.
Ford, who served as Peavy’s assistant, led the Panthers that year. Duncanville went on to finish 29-1 and still competed in district – going 14-0. The Panthers were awarded a national championship and finished ranked #1 by both MaxPreps and USA Today.
Peavy returned in 2023-24 as the Panthers went 19-10, but were knocked out by Wylie East 84-74 in the second round of the playoffs. Prior to Duncanville – Peavy coached at Houston Dekaney HS and has over 30 years of coaching experience at the HS and college level.
Beckham Black is a 4-star recruit by 247Sports. He is ranked as the 4th overall player in Texas for the 2027 class, 6th best point guard in the country and 31st overall player in the country. 247Sports says Black has six scholarship offers from Florida A&M, Georgetown, Mississippi State, SMU, TCU and Southern Cal.
The UIL championship in March marked the Duncanville’s sixth all-time.
Duncanville also reached in 2020, but didn’t play a game after the tournament was canceled from COVID-19. The UIL would declare a co-championship to all state tourney teams. Along with the team’s six titles (seven if you count 2020), they also reached state 10 times.
