Keith Dambrot leaves Akron for Duquesne job

Keith Dambrot, head coach at Akron for the last 13 seasons, is headed to Duquesne, the school confirmed Monday night. Dambrot is an Akron alum and native, spending 16 seasons at the school after a three-year stint at St. Vincent-St. Mary HS.

When asked about his decision to leave, Dambrot told Elton Alexander of The Plain Dealer “when you’re not happy after winning 26 and 27 games, you have to re-evaluate.” He went on to add that leaving Akron is “hardest thing [he’s] ever done in [his] life.”

Ultimately, the opportunity to jump from the one-bid MAC to the more competitive Atlantic-10 was a major deciding factor. Dambrot has had great success at his alma mater, winning four MAC titles in the last six years and leaving with an overall record of 305-139 (155-65).

Duquesne will be the third Division I head job for the 58-year-old coach, who also spent two seasons each leading Central Michigan, D-II Tiffin and D-II Ashland. His most notable player, however, came at the high school level when he coached the first two years of NBA superstar LeBron James’ prep career.

Back in Akron, athletic director Larry Williams thanked Dambrot for his “enormous contributions” and stated that he will “immediately launch a national search for our new basketball coach.”