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[Saba Sports News] LeBron James is closely connected with one of the early sensations of this year’s March Madness. Duquesne basketball, making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1977 as the No. 11 seed, squared off against No. 6 seed BYU on Thursday. During the game, attention was drawn to intriguing facts about Duquesne’s ties to Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James.
The TruTV broadcast highlighted that Dru Joyce III, a childhood friend of James, serves as the associate head coach of the Dukes. James and Joyce played basketball together at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio, under the coaching of none other than Keith Dambrot, now the head coach at Duquesne. This connection wasn’t lost on James, who generously gifted the entire Duquesne team with basketball sneakers before the game.
Adding to the narrative, Duquesne recently extended a scholarship offer to one of James’ sons. Despite these off-court connections, Duquesne managed to secure a stunning 71-67 upset victory over BYU. They are now set to face the winner of the No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 14 Morehead State matchup in the Round of 32.