Atlantic Ten Basketball

Former ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski has provided more insight into why he chose to leave his gig for the general manager role of the men's basketball program at his alma mater, St. Bonaventure, where he graduated from in 1991.

Wojnarowski reportedly walked away from "around $20 million" to pursue this new opportunity, per The Athletic's Andrew Marchand. He explained to Derek Heid of 7 News WKBW why he left money on the table.

Per a press release, Wojnarowski's general manager role has various tenets, "including name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities and as a liaison with collectives; transfer portal management; recruit, family and alumni player relationships; professional player programs; and program fundraising."

Things have been going well thus far, per Wojnarowski.

"Since our announcement last week, I've been absolutely blown away with the incoming opportunities coming our way from national sponsors and entities who want to be in the NIL business with St. Bonaventure basketball," he said, per Adam Zagoria of NJ Advance Media. "Game-changing opportunities to help us recruit and retain our student-athletes."

Wojnarowski is helping a St. Bonaventure team that is looking to build off a 20-win season. Under head coach Mark Schmidt, the Bonnies have enjoyed 11 winning campaigns since 2011, including NCAA tournament appearances in 2012, 2018 and 2021.

Indiana State star Robbie Avila is transferring to Saint Louis, he announced Saturday. Avila will follow his head coach Josh Schertz, who was hired by Saint Louis following the end of the season.

Avila, a sophomore, averaged 17.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game for the Sycamores last year, leading the team to a 32-7 record and an NIT championship game appearance.

The Billikens went 13-20 last year before firing head coach Travis Ford.

Coming out of high school, Avila was a 2-star prospect according to 247Sports, but his outstanding play during the 2023-24 season made him one of the top transfers. He was considered to be a 4-star transfer prospect and the No. 43 overall player in the portal by 247Sports.

While Avila likely had his choice of Power 6 schools, he said his relationship with Schertz ultimately led him to Saint Louis, per the St. Louis-Dispatch's Stu Durando.

"I believed in him when he recruited me to Indiana State and it went well there, so I didn't see a reason to change it up," Avila said. "I was convinced from the beginning to follow him here. The biggest thing that draws me to him is he's up front and honest and we've had a good deal the last few years."

The fan favorite among college basketball fans will be a big part of Saint Louis' rebuild. He was the runner-up for the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year and will have a good chance to take home the A10 Player of the Year award in 2024.

The news of Avila's transfer comes after the Billikens' star player from last season, Gibson Jimerson, announced he would return for his final season after entering the transfer portal. Jimerson averaged 15.8 points per game last year.

With Jimerson returning and Avila joining, Saint Louis could make a run at the NCAA tournament next season.

Duquesne associate head coach Dru Joyce III, who was LeBron James' teammate at St. Vincent-St. Mary, is getting his first opportunity as a head coach at the college level.

Per CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein, Joyce is being promoted to the role after Keith Dambrot retired following the team's loss to Illinois in the NCAA tournament.

James confirmed the news via X:

Dambrot was a head coach for 22 seasons with three different programs. He spent seven seasons with the Dukes after being hired in March 2017. The 65-year-old was the coach at St. Vincent-St. Mary for the first two seasons Joyce and James were on the team.

After the 2000-01 high school season, Dambrot took an assistant head-coaching job at his alma mater, the University of Akron. He was promoted to head coach starting with the 2004-05 season.

Joyce played for the Zips from 2003 to '07. He had a 13-year career playing professional basketball in various leagues overseas, including Basketball Bundesliga, the Polish Basketball League and ProA.

After his playing career ended, Joyce returned to his home state after accepting a job as an assistant on Dennis Gates' staff at Cleveland State in August 2019.

Dambrot announced before the start of the NCAA tournament he was going to retire at the end of the season.

"I didn't want to cheat [the job]," Dambrot said. "And I just felt like I could see myself losing that edge at some point. And that's why I said, 'I don't want to end like that.' I'm not built that way."

The Dukes defeated BYU in the first round for the program's first tournament victory since the 1968-69 season when there were only 25 teams in the field. They lost in the second round to Illinois on March 23.

Joyce just wrapped up his second season as the associate head coach on Dambrot's staff. He is taking over a program that has won at least 20 games in consecutive years for the first time since 1970-71 and 1971-1972.

Duquesne's NCAA Tournament run has come to an end.

The No. 11-seeded Dukes fell to the No. 3-seeded Illinois Fighting Illini 89-63 on Saturday night in the second round, ending their Cinderella run.

Illinois was dominant from start to finish to secure a berth in the Sweet 16, heading into halftime up 50-26 thanks to strong play from Terrence Shannon Jr., Marcus Domask and Coleman Hawkins.

Shannon led the Illini with 28 points, four rebounds and four assists. Domask also notched 22 points, three rebounds and seven assists.

Duquesne, coached by Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James' high school head coach Keith Dambrot, was paced by Jimmy Clark III, who finished with 14 points, one rebound and four assists.

With Duquesne's run coming to an end and Dambrot now entering retirement, college basketball fans shared their disappoint in how the Dukes' run ended:

Duquesne beat No. 6-seeded BYU in the first round to clinch a berth against Illinois. The Dukes even securing an NCAA Tournament berth was an accomplishment, but getting past the first round was impressive.

The program will now aim to reach the tournament again in 2024-25. It has never accomplished the feat in back-to-back seasons, and it will be difficult to do so under a new head coach.

Illinois, meanwhile, will take on No. 2-seeded Iowa State in the Sweet 16.

Seventh-seeded Dayton's late surge helped power the Flyers to a narrow 63-60 victory over No. 10 Nevada in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Thursday.

Head coach Anthony Grant's team was dangerously close to losing, trailing 56-39 with just under eight minutes remaining in the second half. Dayton responded with a 17-0 run to tie the game, though.

The teams traded baskets before junior forward Nate Santos finished a tough layup in traffic to give the Flyers a 61-60 advantage. After getting a stop, Santos canned two more free throws to push the lead to three before a potentially game-tying three-point attempt by Nevada missed at the buzzer.

Dayton finished the game by outscoring the Wolf Pack 24-4 over the final seven-and-a-half minutes in regulation, leaving college basketball fans amazed.

Nevada's lack of offensive production down the stretch was surprising, as the team initially scored 34 points in the first half. However, turnovers and missed three-point looks proved to be the difference as the team gave the ball away 12 times compared to 13 assists.

As for Dayton, the win represented the program's first March Madness victory since 2015, which came under former head coach Archie Miller. The Flyers are now set to face off against Arizona in the second round on Saturday at 12:45 p.m. ET.

Duquesne has pulled off the first upset of March Madness.

The No. 11-seeded Dukes took down sixth-seeded BYU 71-67 in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Thursday behind 19 points from senior guard Dae Dae Grant. Duquesne will now face the winner of No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 14 Morehead State.

The victory gave the Dukes their first tournament win since 1969 when they reached the Sweet 16. The game drew plenty of reactions from college basketball fans, including LeBron James, who played under Duquesne head coach Keith Dambrot at St. Vincent-St. Mary's High School in Akron, Ohio. James also played alongside Duquesne associate head coach Dru Joyce III in high school.

Riding the high of a big upset in the first round, Duquesne will be looking to keep its Cinderella run going in the round of 32.

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James was impressed with Duquesne's 71-67 upset victory over BYU in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Thursday.

The NBA's all-time leading scorer congratulated the team as well as head coach Keith Dambrot for the historic win in a post on X.

Dambrot was previously James' head coach during his days at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, while Duquesne associate head coach Dru Joyce III was James' high school teammate as well.

James has been a vocal supporter of his former coach's team, congratulating the Dukes on X when they punched their ticket to the NCAA tournament by winning the Atlantic 10 tournament on Sunday. He also sent the team pairs of his Nike LeBron 21 shoes ahead of their matchup with BYU.

Duquesne earned its first March Madness appearance since 1977 by winning the Atlantic 10 tournament, while Thursday's win represented the school's first NCAA tournament victory since 1969. It's surely a special moment for Dambrot, who previously announced his retirement at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season.

His career isn't over just yet thanks to the heroics of his team against BYU. Senior guard Dae Dae Grant led the way with 19 points, three rebounds, and two assists while shooting 3-8 from behind the arc. Freshman forward Jakub Necas also performed admirably in his tournament debut, scoring 12 points and blocking three shots in 30 minutes off the bench.

The Dukes racked up seven total blocks as a team, holding the Cougars to a field goal percentage of just 39 percent. On the other hand, Duquesne shot 39 percent from three while taking 18 total attempts from behind the arc.

Dambrot's team is now headed to the second round, where they'll face the winner of Thursday's matchup between Morehead State and Illinois.

Duquesne head coach Keith Dambrot's coaching career will come to an end after the 2024 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament.

Dambrot, who was notably LeBron James' head coach at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, OH, announced Monday that he would be retiring following the Dukes' run in the tournament.

He has been the Dukes' head coach since 2017-18 and led the team to three seasons with more than 20 wins.

Dambrot 40-year coaching career included 22 years coaching at the Division I level, as he had stops at Central Michigan and Akron before becoming the Dukes' head coach. He compiled an overall record of 440-268 and has led four teams into the NCAA Tournament.

The 2023-24 Dukes team is his most recent entry and his only team to reach March Madness during his time with the program. Prior to this season, Duquesne had not reached the tournament since 1977.

Duquesne earned an 11-seed and will face BYU in the first round. The program has not won a tournament game since 1969

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Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James took some time to congratulate the Duquesne men's basketball team for earning a 57-51 victory over VCU to win the Atlantic 10 tournament on Sunday.

Although he skipped college to declare for the NBA draft back in 2003, James shares a special connection with Dukes head coach Keith Dambrot. Dambrot coached the four-time MVP during his teenage days at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. Duquesne associate head coach Dru Joyce III was also James' high school teammate.

Dambrot previously served as the head coach of Akron, leading the program to a record of 305-139 before he joined the Dukes ahead of the 2017-18 season. After bouncing back from a rough 6-24 record in 2022, Duquesne has surpassed 20 wins in each of the past two seasons.

James has given shoutouts to his former coach in the past, congratulating Dambrot when he reached 500 career wins in Feb. 2023.

"Coach D, my guy, oh my goodness," said James (h/t Adam Bittner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). "Five hundred? Five hundred wins is ridiculous. Man oh man. Never cease to amaze me. I want to congratulate you on an incredible feat and many more wins coming in the near future. Enjoy this moment, you deserve it, love you, and you're the best."

Now, the Dukes will be headed to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1977.

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