LeBron James sends Duquesne men's basketball team gear ahead of NCAA Tournament game

Duquesne men's basketball earns NCAA tournament bid for first time since 1977

Duquesne men's basketball earns NCAA tournament bid for first time since 1977 00:35

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The Duquesne men's basketball team received a special gift from NBA star LeBron James.

In a video posted to the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, the Duquesne men's basketball account shared the team's reaction after James sent the squad new sneakers on Wednesday. 

"Yessir!! Best of luck guys!!," James posted on X in response to the team's post.

The care package came one day before the team's NCAA Tournament game against BYU. The No. 6 seed Cougars and No. 11 seed Dukes play on Thursday in the Round of 64 at CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska. Duquesne earned a spot in the tournament after winning the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament over the weekend. 

James, a small forward for the Los Angeles Lakers, sent the shoes due to his ties to Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot, who coached James at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Ohio. When Duquesne won the conference tournament, James congratulated the team on social media. 

Thursday's NCAA Tournament game will be Duquesne's first since 1977 and could be Dambrot's last on the sidelines. Earlier this week, he said he is retiring at the end of the season. 

"I just decided before the season that this is going to be it for me, and so, at this point, this is it for me," he said on Monday. 

Dambrot has led the Dukes to a 115-95 record in his seven years with the team. In his 26 years as a head coach, he has an overall record of 528-304.

Duquesne and BYU tip off at 12:40 p.m. on Thursday. You can watch the game on truTV. 

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Michael Guise

Michael Guise is a web producer for KDKA-TV. He has worked for the station since 2019.