Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot put another notch on his lengthy résumé with Thursday’s win over BYU in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, guiding the Dukes to their first March Madness victory since 1969. Dambrot will retire at the end of Duquesne’s postseason run, bringing to an end an outstanding coaching career that included a stop at Akron (Ohio) St. Vincent–St. Mary, where he oversaw LeBron James’ development into a high school basketball star and NBA prospect.
Dambrot’s March Madness debut at Duquesne rolls into the weekend when he meets No. 3-seed Illinois with a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line. His No. 3-seed Dukes punched their ticket to the Big Dance earlier this month with a run through the Atlantic 10 Tournament and their first league postseason championship since 1977.
“They just don’t want me to retire, I guess,” Dambrot said on the truTV broadcast after defeating BYU. “I’m trying to get to the promised land, and they’re making me keep coaching. But, hey, our guys played exactly what they had to do in order to win the game: keep the score down. And they’re on offense, so it was a battle all game long.”
A career spanning 40 years featured countless accomplishments for Dambrot, whose most notable achievements came at Akron from 2004-2017 and at St. Vincent-St. Mary as James’ coach. After two stints at the Division II level, an assistant gig at Eastern Michigan and a two-year tenure at Central Michigan, Dambrot landed his first and only high school coaching job and aided in putting the Fighting Irish on the national high school basketball map.
James and Dambrot built a connection at local clinics before teaming up for the 1999-2000 season. During the final two years of the latter’s high school coaching career, James starred as a freshman and sophomore on a Fighting Irish team that earned national rankings and won back-to-back state championships.
Dambrot left the school for an assistant job at nearby Akron ahead of James’ junior campaign. While the rising star continued to cement himself as a phenom, Dambrot rebuilt his profile as a Division I coach and eventually, in 2004, acquired the Zips’ head coaching job. Over a decade, three MAC Coach of the Year honors and three NCAA Tournament appearances later, he signed a seven-year contract at Duquesne.
Ahead of the Dukes’ historic 2024 March Madness appearance James gifted Dambrot’s program with new sneakers during a Wednesday team meeting.
“AYYYYYYYEEEEE!!!” James said on social media after the Dukes’ 71-67 win over BYU. “First tournament win in 55 years! @CoachDambrot ?@DuqMBB ??????????. Keep it going”
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The ride continues for a Duquesne team that would not have been in the March Madness field if not for its A10 Tournament title. Dambrot’s retirement — which he announced one day after Selection Sunday — will have to wait while James and the rest of the college basketball world watch what could become a Cinderella run through the postseason.
