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The Duquesne basketball team had a magical season under Keith Dambrot in 2023-24, making the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. That appearance was the program’s first in the Big Dance since 1977.
The squad had NBA superstar LeBron James’s support throughout that postseason run as he has a few notable ties to the coaching staff.
Dambrot was LeBron’s high school coach!
When it was announced that Duquesne would be an 11-seed in the tournament field, he immediately sent congratulations.
YESSIRRR!! Punch that 🎟️ to the Big Dance @DuqMBB!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! Love you Coach Dambrot & @CoachDruJoyce 🤎🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾
— LeBron James (@KingJames) March 17, 2024
He then gifted every player on the team a new pair of shoes to wear for their March Madness opener.
The Dukes landed a first-round win over BYU, knocking off the higher-seeded Cougars. They then fell to three-seed Illinois in the Round of 32.
After winning the Atlantic 10 conference tournament to book that NCAA Tournament ticket, Keith Dambrot announced his plan to retire at season’s end. While Dambrot is now gone, it seems LeBron James’s ties to Duquesne basketball will remain.
Dru Joyce III is expected to replace Keith Dambrot.
Sources: Barring an unforeseen set of circumstances, Duquesne is expected to promote Dru Joyce III to head coach.
Joyce was an assistant under Keith Dambrot.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 26, 2024
Joyce was a high school teammate of James’s when Dambrot roamed the sidelines at St. Vincent-St. Mary, helping the school win a pair of state titles. He’s also been an assistant on Dambrot’s staff since 2022.
Now, he’ll look to follow in his former coach’s footsteps. Full circle!
Keith Dambrot went out on top, leaving after a conference tournament championship and ending a near-50-year Big Dance drought. Dru Joyce hopes to continue that high level of play when he takes over the Duquesne basketball program.