Keith Dambrot
Keith Dambrot (born October 26, 1958)
Current position: Head men’s basketball coach
Current team: Duquesne Dukes
Current conference: Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10)
Tiffin record^: 40–23 (.635)
Ashland record^: 48–13 (.787)
Central Michigan record: 20-34 (.370)
Akron record: 305-139 (.687)
Duquesne record: 116-96 (.547)
Overall record^: 529-305 (.634)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 4 (2009, 2011, 2013, 2024)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 5 (2006, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2017)
- CBI Appearances: 2 (2010, 2023)
- CIT Appearances: 1 (2014)
- MAC Regular Season Champion: 6 (2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017)
- GLVC (Div II) Regular Season Champion: 1 (1991)
- Atlantic 10 Tournament Champion: 1 (2024)
- MAC Tournament Champion: 3 (2009, 2011, 2013)
- NCAA Division II Tournament Appearances: 2 (1990, 1991)
Awards:
- MAC Coach of the Year: 3 (2013, 2016, 2017)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 2017-2024 | Duquesne |
| 2004-2017 | Akron |
| 2001-2004 | Akron (asst) |
| 1991-1993 | Central Michigan |
| 1989-1991 | Ashland |
| 1986-1989 | Eastern Michigan (asst) |
| 1984-1986 | Tiffin |
Keith Dambrot Facts
- Keith Brett Dambrot
- Born October 26, 1958
- Hometown: Akron, Ohio
- Alma Mater: University of Akron (BS, 1982 & MBA, 1984)
- First head coaching jobs were at Division II Tiffin and Ashland, going 88-36 overall after two years at each school
- In between, Dambrot spent three seasons as one of Ben Braun’s assistants at Eastern Michigan
- Hired as the head coach of Central Michigan in 1991, but was fired after two seasons due to some controversial comments that he made to his team before a game
- After five years out of coaching, Dambrot was hired as the head coach at St. Vincent-St. Mary HS in his native Akron; in his second and third seasons there, he coached future #1 pick and NBA superstar LeBron James and won two Ohio State Championships
- Dambrot was instrumental in James’ early development as a player, first working with James as a 13-year-old when he was holding clinics at a local Jewish Community Center
- Hired at his alma mater Akron in 2001 as an assistant to Dan Hipsher and took over as head coach three years later
- Won 19 games in his first season as head coach, then won at least 21 in each of his remaining twelve seasons at the helm
- Won four MAC regular season titles and three MAC Tournaments, going to three NCAA Tournaments and five NITs
- In March 2017, Dambrot was hired as the new head coach at Duquesne in the Atlantic 10
- Over seven seasons at the helm, Dambrot went 115-95 overall with two postseason appearances
- In 2024, he led the Dukes to their first A-10 Tournament title and NCAA Tournament since 1977 and first NCAAT win since 1969
- Just before the 2024 NCAA Tournament, Dambrot announced that he would retire at the end of the season
Keith Dambrot Coaching Tree
- Jeff Boals (Ohio, Stony Brook)
- Dru Joyce III (Duquesne)
- Lamont Paris (South Carolina, Chattanooga)
- Shaka Smart (Marquette, Texas, VCU)
- Carl Thomas (Cleary)
^ overall record includes head coaching positions at both NCAA Division I and Division II levels