Duquesne hires Dambrot to take over men's basketball team
Keith Dambrot — who coached LeBron James, won two state high school championships in Ohio and 413 games in college — said Monday night he will be the new basketball coach at Duquesne.
“I'm just excited to come to my second school,” Dambrot said.
Dambrot's father, Sid, played at Duquesne in the mid-1950s with the legendary Dick Ricketts and Sihugo Green. In those days, Duquesne was a national power, winning an NIT championship in 1955.
“I know the history of Duquesne,” Dambrot said.
Dambrot, 58, has been the coach at Akron since the 2004-05 season, winning between 21 and 27 games for each of the past 12 years and going to three NCAA tournaments, most recently in 2013.
Asked to explain his success in the Mid-American Conference, he said, “Hard work, good evaluation of players, good development of players, good coaching staff. It's not complicated.”
Dambrot, who was seriously courted by Duquesne five years ago when the university hired Jim Ferry, said the school administration told him it's planning to increase its commitment toward basketball.
“I wouldn't have taken the job if they didn't,” he said.
The Dukes haven't advanced to the NCAA Tournament since 1977. Duquesne was 10-22 this season and lost in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament at PPG Paints Arena. Ferry was fired five days later with a five-year record of 60-97.
Dambrot led Akron to the Mid-American Conference regular-season championship this year with a 27-9 record, the most victories he compiled in a season with the Zips.
After he turned down Duquesne in 2012, Dambrot signed a 10-year contract with Akron that was scheduled to pay him $400,000 per year, the Akron Beacon-Journal reported.
Dambrot, an Akron graduate, began his coaching career in 1984 at Tiffin, where he won 40 games in two seasons before moving to Ashland and compiling a 48-13 mark in 1989-91. Two years later, he was fired after two years at Central Michigan for using a racial slur in the presence of his team.
He was James' first coach at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron. He was there for three seasons from 1998-2001, winning 69 games and losing 10.
