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Akron's Dru Joyce III takes torch from Keith Dambrot as new Duquesne basketball coach
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- Akron's Dru Joyce III takes torch from Keith Dambrot as new Duquesne basketball coach
Keith Dambrot's wish about his successor has been granted.
Akron native Dru Joyce III will replace Dambrot as the men's basketball coach at Duquesne University, a source familiar with the decision told the Beacon Journal on Thursday.
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Duquesne later announced Joyce's promotion, which was first reported by CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein and eventually tweeted about by NBA superstar LeBron James , a close friend of the coach. Joyce's introductory news conference is scheduled for Monday.
A former standout point guard at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School and the University of Akron who played professional hoops overseas, Joyce will be a first-time head coach, though the profession is in his bloodlines .
His father, Dru Joyce II , has won seven state championships at the helm of STVM, and his younger brother, Cam , guided St. Ignatius High School to a Division I state title on Sunday.
Dru Joyce III poses for a photo in his office when he was a Cleveland State assistant coach, Friday, Feb. 21, 2020.
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Joyce , 39, is a former high school teammate of James .
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The 2003 STVM graduates played for Dambrot and the elder Joyce, capturing three state crowns and a USA TODAY poll national title with the Fighting Irish. Joyce also played for Dambrot at UA and finished his Zips career with 1,046 points and a school-record 503 assists in 123 games.
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St. Vincent-St. Mary seniors Sian Cotton, LeBron James, Dru Joyce III, Romeo Travis and Willie McGee pose on photo day in November 2002.
Keith Dambrot hoped longtime pupil Dru Joyce III would become Duquesne's new men's basketball coach
Dambrot announced March 18 he would retire at the end of Duquesne's 2023-24 season. It's also when Dambrot, 65, told reporters he wanted to pass the torch Joyce.
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"We've been kind of grooming Coach Dru to take over for me," Dambrot said, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . "Hopefully he gets the job."
Joyce joined Duquesne as Dambrot's associate head coach in May 2022. Duquesne is coming off a historic season in which it went 25-12 and won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 1969. The 11th-seeded Dukes upset No. 6 Brigham Young 71-67 on March 21 before falling 89-63 to No. 3 Illinois on Saturday.
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Akron's Dru Joyce III handles the basketball at Rhodes Arena, Dec. 30, 2003.
Prior to reuniting with Dambrot, Joyce spent three seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Cleveland State. With Dennis Gates serving as the head coach, Cleveland State earned its third NCAA Tournament berth in school history during the 2020-21 season, Joyce's second on the job.
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As a college head coach, Dambrot went 529-305 in 26 seasons, including 116-96 the past seven at Duquesne.
Now it's Joyce's turn.
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Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Dru Joyce III succeeds Keith Dambrot as Duquesne basketball coach
