LeBron James fired up over surprise NCAA Tournament team

Duquesne Dukes players celebrate their Atlantic 10 title Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

LeBron James fired up over this surprise NCAA Tournament team

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated 3/17/24

The Ohio State Buckeyes are not part of the 2024 NCAA Tournament field, but LeBron James still has a major rooting interest this year.

James was excited to see Duquesne win Sunday’s Atlantic 10 title game to clinch a spot in March Madness. The reason? Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot was James’ head coach for two years at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron. In addition, one of Dambrot’s assistants, Dru Joyce, was James’ teammate at St. Vincent-St. Mary.

YESSIRRR!! Punch that to the Big Dance @DuqMBB!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! Love you Coach Dambrot & @CoachDruJoyce

— LeBron James (@KingJames) March 17, 2024

James was obviously keeping close tabs on Duquesne’s progress. It is worth remembering that the Dukes were the first school to extend a scholarship offer to Bryce James and the Dambrot connection may have had something to do with that.

Duquesne were slotted into the field as a No. 11 seed and will face BYU in Omaha on Thursday. The Lakers do not play until Friday, so James could theoretically make it to the game, though he will more than likely be watching from afar.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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