Posted by The first double-digit seed upset of March Madness was extra special for Duquesne head coach Keith Dambrot — and a certain former player of his, LeBron James.
The 65-year-old Dambrot, who recently announced he will retire at the end of the season, led Duquesne to its first victory in the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament since 1969. Duquesne, a No. 11 seed, beat BYU, a No. 6 seed, 71-67 on Thursday. It’s a fitting exclamation point to Dambrot’s coaching career, which included a stint as the coach of St. Vincent-St. Mary’s High School in Akron, Ohio, from 1998-2001, where he coached James during his first two years of high school.
The NBA legend has been watching Duquesne’s recent run with interest, posting several supportive messages on social media, and was quick to celebrate after the Dukes held off a late BYU rally to punch their ticket to the second round.
James’ second post shouted out Duquesne associate head coach Dru Joyce III, a longtime friend and former high school teammate of James’ on those teams coached by Dambrot.
But James has not only been sending supportive messages. He also sent the Duquesne players a special gift earlier this week before their game — white Nike basketball shoes from James’ signature collection.
Duquense will play either No. 3 seed Illinois, the winner of this year’s Big Ten Conference Tournament, or No. 14 seed Morehead State in the second round of the tournament on Saturday.
Duquesne Dukes
LeBron James
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