Lebron James doesn't have any games to play at the moment due to the suspension of the NBA season in response to the novel coronavirus outbreak — but he's still putting in that work, and he's still showing love to those who helped him along the way.
In a recent video, James was spotted in Duquesne gear — shorts, a cutoff shirt and shoes — on the practice court:
The connection here for James is Duquesne men's basketball coach Keith Dambrot. While at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio, James was coached by Dambrot for two years before Dambrot left to coach the University of Akron Zips.
Since that time, James has repeatedly checked in on Dambrot and the Dukes, most recently with that video above and also earlier this month with a retweet of a speech by Dambrot posted by the official Duquesne Basketball Twitter account:
Duquesne had itself a fine season in 2019-20 before the coronavirus shut down ... well, everything.
The Dukes finished 21-9 (11-7 Atlantic 10), good for fifth in a conference also featuring No. 3 Dayton. The suspension of the NCAA Tournament might hurt Dayton fans the most, though, as their team went 29-2 with a perfect 18-0 conference record, led by 6-foot-9 forward Obi Toppin, an NBA-ready forward who led the team in points (20.0 per game), rebounds (7.2 per game) and blocks (1.2 per game).
For now, Duquesne will have to cherish a significant upgrade over last year's 16-16 season and some glowing endorsements from the King.
Not too bad, all things considered.
To continue reading, log into your account: