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LeBron James announces high school teammate Dru Joyce as Duquesne’s next head coach

Dru Joyce and LeBron James played for Keith Dambrot in high school in Ohio

Ryan Young
Staff writer
·2 min read
93

LeBron James stepped into a new role on social media on Thursday afternoon.

The Los Angeles Lakers star announced that Dru Joyce, his former high school teammate, was promoted to take over as the next head coach at Duquesne.

The university then confirmed the news soon after.

"I've wanted to be an NCAA Division I head coach since I was 14 years old, so I'm overwhelmed with joy to be named the next head coach at Duquesne University," Joyce said in a statement. "I'd like to thank Duquesne University President Ken Gormley, Director of Athletics Dave Harper and the Board of Trustees for this unbelievable opportunity. I'm looking forward to expanding on the legacy that Keith Dambrot has built the last seven years, and I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity to continue to make an impact with the student-athletes, coaches and staff to make our program one that Duquesne and the surrounding region can be proud of."

Dru Joyce will take over for Keith Dambrot, who retired after leading the Dukes to their first NCAA tournament win in more than 50 years this spring.
Dru Joyce will take over for Keith Dambrot, who retired after leading the Dukes to their first NCAA tournament win in more than 50 years this spring. (Dylan Widger/USA Today)

Joyce is taking over for Keith Dambrot, who announced ahead of the NCAA tournament that he was planning to retire after the season. Dambrot coached Joyce and James at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. He led Duquesne to its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1977 this season. Though the No. 11 seed Dukes upset No. 3 seed BYU in the Round of 64, which gave them their first NCAA tournament win in more than 50 years, Illinois rolled over them in the Round of 32 second round to end their season.

Joyce spent the last two seasons as an associate head coach with the Dukes under Dambrot.

With Joyce on staff, the Dukes mounted back-to-back 20-win seasons — which doubled their previous mark over the last 40 years. They won eight straight games to close out the season and won the Atlantic 10 tournament championship for the first time under Dambrot. Joyce also played for Dambrot in college at Akron, and he spent time as an assistant coach at Cleveland State before joining him again in Pittsburgh.