Duquesne Coach Keith Dambrot to Retire After NCAA Tournament

The Duquesne Dukes men’s basketball team earned its first tournament bid in 47 years on Sunday after winning the A-10 Conference tournament title.

Duquesne men’s basketball coach Keith Dambrot announced he will retiring after the 2024 NCAA tournament.

The school called the March Madness tournament his “last dance.” Duquesne earned a tournament bid for the first time in 47 years after the team won the A-10 Championship game on Sunday.

Dambrot is in his seventh season at Duquesne. He previously coached 13 seasons at Akron, and he famously coached NBA great LeBron James in high school.

James posted a congratulatory tweet after the Dukes won the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament title on Sunday afternoon. The Los Angeles Lakers star played for Dambrot at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio, before famously skipping college basketball and heading straight to the NBA.

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James tweeted again on Monday around the time the retirement news broke, stating that Dambrot is “the best.”

THE BEST!!!!!! 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾 https://t.co/KFRubsuOfL

— LeBron James (@KingJames) March 18, 2024

The 65-year-old Dambrot also served as the head coach at Central Michigan for two seasons in the early 1990s. His career college record as a head coach is 440–268.

The Last Dance.

After 26 years as a head coach, Keith Dambrot will retire at the end of the season. pic.twitter.com/PE3AsJfDoP

— Duquesne Basketball (@DuqMBB) March 18, 2024

Dambrot’s last dance will begin Thursday at 12:40 p.m. ET in Omaha, where the No. 11-seed Dukes (24–11) take on sixth-seeded BYU (23–10) in a first-round game in the East Region.

It’s Duquesne’s first appearance in the men’s NCAA basketball tournament since 1977.