LeBron James, Duquesne University confirm Dru Joyce III will take over men’s basketball team

Duquesne University and LeBron James have announced who will be taking over the men’s basketball team.

At 4:02 p.m. James confirmed on X (formerly known as Twitter) that Dru Joyce III will be the new head coach.

Duquesne’s director of Athletics, Dave Harper, released a statement on Dru Joyce shortly after the announcement was made.

“I’m very pleased to have Dru as our next head men’s basketball coach at Duquesne University,” Harper said. “Knowing of Coach Dambrot’s potential retirement, a full vetting and search process was launched. Dru exhibited a clear vision for our program going forward and understands the challenge of keeping our recent success a possibility in the years ahead. It’s now imperative that we support him, his staff and the program with all that is needed to continue to be successful.”

Joyce has been associate head coach for the team for the past two seasons, helping the team land a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1977. The team also found its first win in the tournament since 1969 after defeating BYU 71-67.

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He will replace Keith Dambrot who announced his retirement during the team’s NCAA run.

“I’ve wanted to be an NCAA Division I head coach since I was 14 years old, so I’m overwhelmed with joy to be named the next head coach at Duquesne University,” Joyce III said. “I’d like to thank Duquesne University President Ken Gormley, Director of Athletics Dave Harper and the Board of Trustees for this unbelievable opportunity. I’m looking forward to expanding on the legacy that Keith Dambrot has built the last seven years, and I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity to continue to make an impact with the student-athletes, coaches and staff to make our program one that Duquesne and the surrounding region can be proud of.”

Joyce had a professional basketball career in Europe for 12 seasons after establishing a career record for assist at Akron.

He will be formally introduced as the new head coach on April 1.

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