Keith Dambrot, Dru Joyce III return to St. Vincent-St. Mary to coach Duquesne and reminisce about the past

'I'm in Pittsburgh, but I'm from Akron'

AKRON, Ohio – Keith Dambrot is a creature of habit.

That’s why it was no surprise 30 minutes before a 69-67 win over Bradley on Monday night, the Duquesne head coach was sitting on the bench intensely watching Bradley warm up, while not even glancing to the side of the floor where Duquesne was doing the same thing.

“Same routine,” the 65-year-old Dambrot said with a laugh.

And while it might not have been a game played at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, or even at a visiting college arena, the game was played at a familiar place for Dambrot – The LeBron James Arena at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School.

Dambrot coached high school basketball at STVM for three seasons from 1998-2001, where he won a pair of Ohio High School Athletic Association state championships before taking the job as the head coach at the University of Akron, where he coached his alma mater for 13 years before accepting the job at Duquesne prior to the 2017-18 season, where he is in his seventh season coaching his father’s alma mater.

He had been out of coaching for nearly six years when Dambrot was hired at STVM and in his second season at the helm, he was coaching a group of players who would soon become well-known, led by LeBron James, Dru Joyce III, Sian Cotton and Willie McGee. After that group’s freshman year, Romeo Travis joined the crew for Dambrot’s final season.

It only takes a few moments after walking into STVM to find the history Dambrot and that team helped to create, as the state championship trophies sit in the case outside the gym and the banners hang prominently above midcourt.

It makes sense that walking back into the gym now brings back the memories for Dambrot.

“I wouldn't be coaching if it wasn’t for this place,” Dambrot said. “(Former STVM President) Fred Ost and (former athletic director) Jimmy Meyer, they gave me the opportunity when nobody else would. They resurrected my career. And Dru, Bron, Rome, Sian, Willie McGee, they resurrected my career. When I come here (I think of those days).”

Dambrot didn’t have to look far on Monday night to see some of the people he credits with his career reclamation, as Travis was sitting in the stands right across the court from his former coach and Joyce III was on the bench right next to Dambrot, as he has been an assistant on the staff for the past two seasons after spending three seasons at Cleveland State.

It is a moment with Joyce III before the days at STVM that Dambrot pinpoints as the catalyst to what his coaching career has become.

“It's good to have Dru back (with me),” Dambrot said. “He's really who started the whole resurrection for me by coming to the Jewish Center and working out. I've known him since he was 12 years old, so it's fun for me to see him all grown up.”

When told of what Dambrot had said, Joyce III was humble in response.

“Paths cross for reasons,” Joyce III said. “I'm not here to stand on a stage and say that I've made this all happen. This was divine, it was God's plan. We made a decision that altered and changed our lives for the better. And not just mine, but many people. That's how life goes. Sometimes you can be nothing but thankful for the blessings.”

It was an answer that if one would close their eyes, they would think it came from Dru’s father, Dru Joyce II, who was on Dambrot’s staff at STVM and took over when Dambrot departed. He is still the head coach of the Fighting Irish and has won seven state championships at STVM and in 2022, had the court named after him.

Even though Joyce III didn’t play a lot of games at the high school gym – the home games for STVM in their sophomore, junior and senior seasons were all played at the University of Akron’s James A. Rhodes Arena with the exception of two games their senior year that they fought to play at the high school – it is still a special place for the Duquesne assistant.

“It’s fun (walking back in this gym), it brings back a lot of memories,” Joyce III said. “Having this game here, we get a lot of support from friends and family. It’s just a special place. Not only did I play here but my dad still coaches here and I’m coaching on the floor that’s named after him, so you got nostalgia, you got excitement, there's a lot wrapped into that.”

The support on Monday night included Joyce II and Cameron Joyce, the younger brother of Dru Joyce III and the current head coach at St. Ignatius, who brought his entire team down for the game.

“The support was unreal for him to come down with his whole team to watch us play,” Joyce III said. “That's what Akron has always been to me. Just a village and a community that's pushed me forward, that supported me, and that's been rooting for me.”

Duquesne head coach Keith Dambrot walks up and down the sideline prior to the Dukes' game against Bradley at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron on December 18, 2023. Photo credit: Ryan Isley, SBLive Sports   / Ryan Isley, SBLive Sports

Speaking of Akron villages and communities, one look at the Duquesne coaching staff will give the feel of a staff that once coached at the University of Akron. Dambrot has brough along long-time assistant coach Terry Weigand and Rick McFadden, who both not only played for Dambrot in college, Weigand at Tiffin and McFadden at Akron, where he was a teammate of Joyce III and Travis with the Zips.

“It’s a family atmosphere, that’s what Coach D wanted to build with his staff,” Joyce III said. “I'm fortunate to be a part of it and I just joined last season, but I am overwhelmed and excited to be working alongside him and also Rick, my former teammate and coach Weigand was our assistant coach.”

One coach who didn’t play for Dambrot, however, is Steve Wright. And the rest of the staff likes to remind the first-year assistant of that fact.

“We got a new guy and we tease him because coach Dambrot actually recruited him back in high school and he chose Bowling Green,” Joyce III said. “So he lost enough that he had to come join us.”

All joking aside, the staff has gelled together well and if Dambrot seems a little, let’s say calmer, than in recent years, it is because of the trust and faith he has in his coaches.

“I've got Dru wearing the heavy hand a lot of times in the locker room, it just makes it a little easier for me,” Dambrot said. “He's probably a little harder headed than I am, which is hard to believe. But it's a good mix and with Rick and Terry, I wouldn't be half of what I was if it wasn't for those guys. Ricky's called almost every (offensive) play we run and Dru’s doing on the defensive stuff, so it's been good for us.”

Just like with the hires on his coaching staff, Dambrot is never too far away from his hometown, where he attended Firestone High School and the University of Akron.

“I'm in Pittsburgh, but I'm from Akron,” Dambrot said with a smile before leaving STVM on Monday.

-- Ryan Isley | ryan@scorebooklive.com | @sbliveoh