The Duquesne Men’s basketball team made history last week. They won the Atlantic 10 tournament and qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1977. Unfortunately, Duquesne’s historic moment came with a sour taste as their head coach, Keith Dambrot, announced that he plans on retiring after this month’s NCAA tournament. So, Dambrot’s old student LeBron James sent a special gift for the entire Dukes’ squad ahead of their first game.
The Lakers superstar hooked the entire Duquesne team up with new LeBron basketball sneakers for the NCAA tournament. LeBron has family ties with Duquesne as Keith Dambrot was his High School head coach for two years. After King James gifted his ex-coach’s team new sneakers, the Dukes shared their reaction on X. LeBron reshared the video and wrote, “Yessir!! Best of luck guys!!”
Appreciate it King @DuqMBB x @KingJames pic.twitter.com/yTiQFMBno0
— Duquesne Basketball (@DuqMBB) March 20, 2024
LeBron’s gesture was extremely heart warming and will motivate Keith Dambrot’s team to perform well in their first NCAA tournament game. The Duquesne Dukes will face the BYU Cougars tomorrow in the first round of the tournament. With their tournament possibly being the final coaching job for Dambrot, the Dukes hope to give him a great farewell by winning the NCAA Championship before he retires.
Keith Dambrot has been a basketball coach for four decades, more than two of which have been as a Division I head coach. During his historic career, Dambrot coached LeBron James for two years during his High School days at St. Vincent-St. Mary. LeBron won back-to-back state titles with Dambrot as his head coach. The duo has maintained a loving relationship for over two decades, and it is great to see LeBron sending love to his former coach before retirement.
Will Bryce James consider Duquesne due to LeBron’s ties?
Keith Dambrot might not remain a part of Duquesne after the end of the NCAA tournament. But that does not mean LeBron will not have any ties left in the university. His High School teammate and long-time friend Dru Joyce III is an Associate head coach at Duquesne and currently works under Dambrot. Joyce might take over the reins of the Duquesne Dukes after Dambrot retires from coaching. LeBron’s ties could encourage his son Bryce James to consider Duquesne as a college option.
Duquesne has already extended an offer to Bryce as he is a 4-star recruit in the class of 2025. The 16-year-old has a big decision to make with offers from multiple elite colleges. It is still uncertain where Bryce will choose to start his college career, but Duquesne could be one of the dark horses among all options.
