Duquesne University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DUQUESNE MEN’S Tuesday, March 28, 2017 Contact: Dave Saba (412) 396-5861

DUQUESNE NAMES HEAD MEN’S BASKETBALL COACH

PITTSBURGH – Keith Dambrot, who built Akron into one of the most successful - and most respected - programs in the Mid- THE KEITH DAMBROT FILE American Conference over the past 13 seasons, has been named head men’s basketball coach at Duquesne University, Director of Birthdate______Oct. 26, 1958 Athletics Dave Harper announced today. Birthplace______Akron, Ohio Age______58 Dambrot, who led the Zips to 10 postseason appearances, Degree______management (Akron ‘82) is the 17th head coach in the 101-year history of Duquesne bas- Masters______busines administration (Akron ‘84) ketball. High School______Akron Firestone “From the moment we started this search, it was always Family______wife: Donna; children: Alysse & Rob about finding the right person and coach to lead our men’s basket- ball program,” said Harper. “Keith’s combination of experience, AS A COLLEGE HEAD COACH leadership, and success is almost unmatched. We are blessed to YEARS____ SCHOOL______W/L have Keith leading our program. Beginning today, we will roll up 1984-86___ Tiffin (2 yrs)______40-23 1989-91___ Ashland (2 yrs)______48-13 our sleeves and purposefully work each day to ensure Duquesne 1991-93___ Central Michigan (2 yrs)______20-34 is a highly valued member of the Atlantic 10 and target competing 2004-17___ Akron (13 yrs)______305-139 at the top of the conference in men’s basketball.” Total_____ 19 years______413-209 “I am pleased to welcome Keith, Donna and the Dambrot family to our Bluff,” said Duquesne University President Ken YEAR-BY-YEAR AT AKRON Gormley. “Just as Keith’s father, Sid, helped make the Duquesne YEARS______W/L_____MAC EAST___ POSTSEASON name synonymous with in the 1950s, we look 2004-05____ 19-10____t2nd (11-7)______2005-06____ 23-10___ t2nd (14-4)______NIT (1-1) forward to Keith energizing our program as we embark on a new 2006-07_____ 26-7____ 1st (13-3)______era of Duquesne basketball.” 2007-08_____24-11____ 2nd (11-5)______NIT (1-1) Akron, under Dambrot’s guidance, is one of only four 2008-09____ 23-13____ t3rd (10-6)_____ NCAA (0-1) schools - along with Duke, Gonzaga and Kansas - to win 21 or 2009-10_____24-11____ 2nd (12-4)______CBI (0-1) 2010-11____ 23-13_____ t3rd (9-7)_____ NCAA (0-1) more games in each of the past 12 seasons. 2011-12____ 22-12____ 1st (13-3)______NIT (0-1) “I am truly honored and blessed to be the head coach at 2012-13_____ 26-7____ t1st (14-2)_____ NCAA (0-1) Duquesne University,” said Dambrot. “Today marks a new day 2013-14____ 21-13____ 2nd (12-6)______CIT (0-1) for Duquesne basketball. We are here to build a program that 2014-15____ 21-14_____ 4th (9-9)______2015-16_____ 26-9____ 1st (13-5)______NIT (0-1) our campus and community will embrace. We need to unite 2016-17_____ 27-9____ 1st (14-4)______NIT (1-1) together. Everyone from our administration, faculty and staff, Total____ 305-139______155-65______10 alums, students, and the Pittsburgh community will play a role • MAC Tournament Champions (2009, 2011, 2013) in our success. I look forward to all the great things ahead for • Akron’s 19 wins in 2005, Dambrot’s first season, were the Duquesne.” program’s most since 1989 Dambrot, whose father Sid played for Duquesne from • Dambrot led the Zips to the MAC Tournament champion- ship game nine times in his last 11 seasons 1952-54, posted a school record 305 wins at Akron. The three- • Akron, Duke, Gonzaga and Kansas are the only schools time Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year, went 155-65 to post 21 or more wins in each of the past 12 seasons in regular-season conference play and 27-10 in 13 MAC Tourna- ment appearances - highlighted by tournament championships POSTSEASON APPEARANCES and NCAA tournament bids in 2009, 2011 and 2013. NCAA (3) (2009, 2011, 2013) The 58-year-old Dambrot brings a 413-209 overall record NIT (5) (2006, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2017) in 19 seasons as a head coach to the Bluff. CBI (2010) • CIT (2014) In his 13 seasons at Akron, Dambrot’s Zips finished no worse than third 12 times in regular season play. His teams aver- aged 23.5 wins in annually contending for the MAC title. KEITH DAMBROT The Akron native took over at his alma mater prior to the by the numbers 2004-05 season and immediately put his stamp on the program by leading the Zips to a 19-10 record. The 19 wins were the 1 Number of NBA MVPs coached by Dambrot. program’s most since 1989. Dambrot coached Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary - led by a young LeBron James - to consecutive In year two, UA posted 23 wins and in 2006-07 Dambrot Ohio state championships in 2000 & 2001. began a stretch of seven-straight MAC Tournament championship game appearances. 2 Number of former Dambrot assistants cur- In 2015-16, Akron set the MAC record for the longest rently serving as head coaches at the Division streak of consecutive semifinal appearances in MAC Tourna- I level: Shaka Smart at Texas and Jeff Boals at ment history at 11. The Zips made it 12 in a row in 2016-17, on Stony Brook. the way to a program-best 27 wins (27-9). Dambrot, who was named MAC Coach of the Year in 2013, 9 Number of times Akron reached the cham- pionship game of the Mid-American Conference 2016 and 2017, coached a total of 18 Akron players who earned Tournament in 13 seasons under Dambrot. The first, second or third team All-MAC honors. Zips won at least one game in all 13 tournaments Dambrot coached the MAC’s all-time leading shot blocker, in posting a 27-10 record. Akron made it to the Pittsburgh native Zeke Marshall (368 blocks), Akron’s all-time title game seven consecutive times between assists leader Dru Joyce (503), UA’s all-time winningest player 2007 and 2013. Chris McKnight (97 victories over a four-season span) and Ak- ron’s all-time games played leaders in Steve McNees and Nikola 10 Dambrot ranks 10th among active coaches with 12 consecutive seasons of 20 Cvetinovic (141). or more wins. Dambrot’s 12-straight 20-win Nationally, Dambrot brought attention to the Akron pro- seasons was the seventh-longest streak at gram with a Division I-best 19-game winning streak in 2012-13. the same program. Only one coach, Mark The Zips earned the No. 24 ranking in the Feb. 25 USA Today Few, Gonzaga (18, 2017), had a longer run Coaches Poll that season, marking the first national ranking in of 20-win seasons solely at a non-Power program history. Five program. In 2014-15, Akron posted a 2-2 record against Power Five conference opponents, marking the first time in program his- 18 Number of Dambrot-coached players who earned First, Second or Third Team All-MAC tory that Akron had at least two wins over Power Five members honors (a total of 20 times). (Southern California and South Carolina) in the same season. Dambrot led Akron to its first-ever victories over schools 21 Akron was one of four schools - Duke, from the Atlantic Coast Conference (at Florida State in the 2008 Gonzaga and Kansas are the others - to win 21 NIT) and Southeastern Conference (vs. Mississippi State in or more games in each of the past 12 seasons. 2005-06). Dambrot got his start in coaching at Akron, where he spent Wins per season Akron averaged 23.5 two years as a graduate assistant and one season as a full-time under Dambrot. assistant before taking the head coaching job at Tiffin. In his 28 School record (at the time) number of second season (1985-86), he led the Dragons to the most single- times Dambrot, a three-year starter, team cap- season wins in school history (24). tain and team MVP at third base, was hit by a In 1986, he made his first venture into the MAC, starting pitch during his undergraduate baseball career a three-year run as an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan where at Akron. he worked under head coach Ben Braun. In 1988, the Hurons won their first-ever MAC championship and made their first NCAA 155 Number of Mid-American Conference tournament appearance. wins Akron posted in its 13 seasons under Dambrot. The 155 league wins were the most Dambrot returned to northeast Ohio in 1989 as head of any MAC school. coach at Ashland where, in two years, he led the Eagles to a 48- 13 overall mark, two final national rankings and their first-ever 305 School record number of wins posted conference and regional championships. by Dambrot in his 13 seasons at Akron. In 1991, he returned to the MAC and took on his first Di- vision I head coaching role at Central Michigan where he spent 1952-54 Seasons Keith’s father, Sid, two seasons. His 1992 recruiting class was ranked 15th in the played at Duquesne. Sid was part of three nation by Hoop Scoop Magazine. Dukes teams that finished ranked in the- As sociated Press Top 10 - including a 1954 team In his 19 years as a head coach, Dambrot has seen a that made it to No. 1 in the poll for two weeks in number of his former assistants enjoy success at the Division I February of 1954. level, including Wisconsin associate head coach and Stony Brook head coach Jeff Boals. Shaka Smart, a Dambrot assistant from 2003-06, played a major role in Dambrot’s early years. made stops at Clemson (2006-08) and Florida (2008-09) His late uncle, , played for the 1950 before taking his first head coach position at VCU in 2009. City College of New York (CCNY) squad, which is the Smart, who went on to lead VCU to the 2011 Final Four, only school to win both the NCAA Tournament and NIT was named head coach at Texas in April of 2015. in the same season. Irwin was the MVP of the NCAA Prior to beginning his assistant coaching tenure at tournament that season and the No. 1 draft pick (selected Akron in 2001, Dambrot compiled a 69-10 record in three seventh overall) by the that same year. seasons as head coach at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High Keith’s father, Sid, was part of Duquesne teams that School. In his final two seasons, the Irish - led by freshman finished ranked in the Associated Press Top 10 in 1952 then sophomore LeBron James - were state champions (No. 4), 1953 (No. 9) and 1954 (No. 5). The 1954 team, and earned national rankings from USA Today. which went 26-3, made it to No. 1 in the AP poll for two Dambrot played a role in the development of James weeks in February of 1954. who, at the age of 13, participated in $1 clinics Dambrot The Dukes played in both the NCAA tournament conducted at the local Jewish Community Center. and NIT in ‘52 and the NIT in both ‘53 and ‘54. In 2010, Dambrot was inducted into the Summit Dambrot and his wife, Donna, have two children, County Sports Hall of Fame for his contributions at Akron daughter Alysse and son Rob. St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, and at the University Alysse earned her undergraduate degree as well of Akron as both a student-athlete and head coach. as an MBA from Akron. Rob is currently a junior on the A native of Akron, Dambrot graduated from UA Pitt soccer team. with a degree in management in 1982, and added a mas- Professionally, Dambrot is a member of the NCAA ter’s in business administration from his alma mater in Men’s Basketball Rules Committee and was named the 1984. committee chairman in August 2015. He was a three-year starter, captain and team MVP as a third baseman for the Akron baseball team as an undergrad. A testament to his grit, Dambrot finished his career as the school record holder for hit by pitches (28). Although he played baseball in college, basketball

AKRON ACCOLADES EARNED UNDER KEITH DAMBROT Mid-American Conference

Coach of the Year Second Team All-Conference (11players, 11 times) 2013 Keith Dambrot 2005 Romeo Travis 2016 Keith Dambrot 2007 Dru Joyce 2017 Keith Dambrot 2008 Jeremiah Wood 2009 Brett McKnight Player of the Year 2011 Nikola Cvetinovic 2007 Romeo Travis 2012 Zeke Marshall 2017 Isaiah Johnson 2012 Alex Abreu 2013 Demetrius “Tree” Treadwell Defensive Player of the Year 2014 Quincy Diggs 2009 2016 Reggie McAdams 2010 Jimmy Conyers 2017 Kwan Cheatham 2012 Zeke Marshall 2013 Zeke Marshall Third Team All-Conference (began in 2012) 2012 Nikola Cvetinovic Sixth Man of the Year 2105 Pat Forsythe 2007 Cedric Middleton 2009 Brett McKnight All-Freshman Team (8 players) 2012 Quincy Diggs 2005 Bubba Walther 2014 Jake Kretzer 2006 Nate Linhart 2016 Isaiah Johnson 2008 Steve McNees 2009 Anthony “Humpty” Hitchens First Team All-Conference (5 players, 7 times) 2010 Zeke Marshall 2006 Romeo Travis 2013 Jake Kretzer 2007 Romeo Travis 2015 Noah Robotham 2010 Jimmy Conyers 2016 Josh Williams 2013 Zeke Marshall 2014 Demetrius “Tree” Treadwell 2016 Isaiah Johnson 2017 Isaiah Johnson WHAT THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT KEITH DAMBROT ...

“Man if it wasn’t for Big Frank, Bruce Kelker, Willie Earl, @CoachDambrot @CoachDruJoyce I wouldn’t be the player/man I am today! As a kid they showed toughness and stayed on me every single day!” – LeBRON JAMES, NBA CLEVELAND CAVALIERS via Twitter Coached by Dambrot at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School

“What a hire for Duquesne!!! In Keith Dambrot, the Dukes are getting a proven winner and program builder. Keith has a phenomenal way with young people and he’s a terrific teacher of the game. Keith is an absolute home run.” – SHAKA SMART, HEAD COACH, TEXAS Served as an assistant coach under Dambrot at Akron

“Coach Dambrot is a proven winner. As one of the outstanding Division I coaches who has posted 20-plus win seasons over the last decade, I am excited to welcome him to the A-10. His teams have advanced to multiple NCAA and NIT postseason appearances, establishing a consistent benchmark for success on and off the court.” – BERNADETTE V. McGLADE, ATLANTIC 10 COMMISSIONER

“Keith is the perfect hire. He is a terrific person and a proven winner on the court who will build a championship program - a program that will win games the right way and represent Duquesne University in a first-class manner. The foundation is his commitment to developing young men on and off the court and holding them accountable to succeed in all areas of life. The Duquesne family/community will love Keith, Donna and their family.” – MACK RHOADES, VICE PRESIDENT AND ATHLETIC DIRECTOR, BAYLOR Former Director of Athletics at the

“I’ve known Keith since we were young coaches. He has long earned the respect of the basketball coaching community. He’s a person of great character who’ll do things the right way. This challenge at Duquesne University is perfectly suited to his background and experience. Duquesne has hired a quality person and a proven winner.” – FRAN FRASCHILLA, ESPN COLLEGE BASKETBALL ANALYST Former assistant coach at Mid-American Conference member Ohio University

“Keith Dambrot is a proven coach who has been one of the most consistent mid-major guys in the country. He is able to develop talent. This is a major coup for Duquesne.” – JEFF GOODMAN, ESPN COLLEGE BASKETBALL WRITER

“I have known Keith Dambrot since he was LeBron’s high school coach. Coaching firsthand against Keith, I can tell you he is one of the best and brightest coaches in the game. His teams are extremely prepared and always compete with passion. A big part of his success lies in his and his staff’s ability to develop their players over time. On the recruiting trail, he works tirelessly with a sharp eye to bring in the talent needed to win. In time he will move Duquesne to the upper echelon of the Atlantic 10. This is without a doubt one of the best hires of the year.” – PAUL BIANCARDI, ESPN NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF RECRUITING Former Horizon League Coach of the Year at Wright State University