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Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot announced Monday that he will retire after the conclusion of his team's run in this year's NCAA Tournament.
The former University of Akron coach will leave on a high note as he guided the Dukes (24-11) to their first Atlantic 10 title since 1977. Dambrot lifted the conference title on Sunday, a day before he decided to call it a career at the end of the season.
"This is it for me," Dambrot said at a news conference.
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"I appreciate all the people of Pittsburgh," the Dukes coach 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 strong. We're going to try to win."
As Dambrot made the massive announcement, it set social media ablaze. Several fans flooded X with a torrent of comments.
"CINDERELLA STORY TO CHAMPIONSHIP WILL FEED FAMILIES," a fan posted.
In seven seasons under the leadership of Dambrot, the Dukes amassed a record of 115-96. He guided Akron to three NCAA Tournament appearances (2009, 2011, 2013). He compiled an impressive 305-109 record with the Zips before he left in 2017 after 13 seasons.
LeBron James reacts as Keith Dambrot announces retirement plans
LA Lakers star LeBron James took to X to give his high school coach, Keith Dambrot, a shout-out as he made the big announcement.
"THE BEST!!!!!!" James wrote.
Dambrot coached James when the four-time NBA champion was making a name for himself at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. With Dambrot at the helm, he led James and the school to two state high school championships.
He coached the Lakers superstar for three years (1998-2001) until leaving for an assistant coaching gig at Akron.
James also congratulated Keith Dambrot as he led Duquesne to the conference title.
The Dukes have earned the No. 11 seed in the Selection Sunday special. They will lock horns with No. 6 seed BYU (23-10) in a first-round matchup on March 21.
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