"Started to treat him like he had to guard Kobe in 4 years": Former Duquesne HC Keith Dambrot speaks on coaching LeBron James in high school

Former Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot spoke about how he treated four-time NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James during his high school years at St. Vincent-St. Mary's.

In the Mind the Game podcast with the four-time NBA champion and former Duke star JJ Redick, Dambrot revealed his mindset when he was handling LeBron during his tenure as the Fighting Irish coach.

He told James and Redick that he had to instill in the young mind of the basketball phenom that he had to defend LA Lakers great Kobe Bryant when he gets into the professional ranks.Dambrot said:

"I had always been a college coach, so when I had that group, I treated them like college players. And they actually had the brains of above that.

"And then once I knew LeBron was going to be a pro, because I had to have three NBA guys before him, then I started to treat him like he had to guard Kobe in four years. So, that’s really how I treated him. I treated him like a pro," Dambrot said [2:36-2:56}.

Surprised by what he'd heard from his former coach, James admitted that he didn't recognize the treatment, as he was motivated to win the state championship, so he'd had to work hard and didn't question Dambrot's orders during practice sessions and games. James said:

"We all came to St V (St Vincent-St Mary's) for a reason and we wanted to win. We wanted to win the state championship. We wanted to win.

"There were times when you be pissed off him because you're not used to this type of hard work. It's something different," James said [3:15-3:42].

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Keith Dambrot returns to college after three years with St Vincent-St Mary's

Keith Dambrot guided the Duquesne Dukes to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 47 years.

Keith Dambrot returned to college basketball after three years of coaching St Vincent-St. Mary's High School between 1998 and 2001. He worked as an assistant coach for Akron and eventually became the full-time coach in 2004.

From 2004-2017, Dambrot guided the Zips to a 305-139 record and gained three trips to the NCAA Tournament and five NIT appearances. In March 2017, he signed a seven-year, $7-million deal to coach Duquesne.

The 65-year-old coach had four winning seasons with the Dukes, including a 25-12 mark in the recently concluded season that led to the team making the NCAA Tournament. They beat BYU in the first round, 71-67 but were trampled by Illinois in the second round, 89-63.

After helping the team to its first NCAA tournament since 1977, Dambrot announced his retirement to take care of his wife who was diagnosed with breast cancer.