Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot will retire following the conclusion of the team's run through the NCAA Tournament, he announced on Monday. Dambrot just guided the Dukes (24-11) to their first Atlantic 10 title since 1977 thanks to four wins in four days, culminating in a 57-51 victory over VCU in the conference title game on Sunday to secure an automatic bid to the Big Dance.
The No. 11 seed in the East Regional will face No. 6 seed BYU on Thursday.
"I appreciate all the people of Pittsburgh," Dambrot said in a statement. "I'm glad I made the decision to come here. It was challenging. Hopefully, we still have a good amount of games left. I told the guys 'We're good enough to win. We're going to try to win. We're going to finish it off strong.'"
Dambrot is known for coaching NBA superstar LeBron James when he was at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School from 1998-2001. Dambrot coached James until he left to become an assistant at nearby Akron in 2001. Dambrot later spent 13 seasons coaching at his alma mater before taking the Duquesne job in 2017.
"Keith was born to be a leader of the Duquesne Dukes," Duquesne President Ken Gormley said. "He is a little guy, a wirey guy. But he is tough, tenacious and he willed this team to national prominence."
While Dambrot was at Arkon, he guided the Zips to three NCAA Tournament appearances in 2009, 2011, and 2013. For his career, the 65-year-old has a 516-301 overall record.
If Duquesne looks internally for his replacement, the school could target associate head coach Dru Joyce III, who played for Dambrot in high school and college and has been on the coaching staff since 2022.
