Duquesne’s annual St. Vincent-St. Mary game is homecoming for Dru Joyce III – The Athletic
On Saturday, Dru Joyce III will take part in a game at the gymnasium of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. However, he won’t be playing alongside LeBron James and the rest of the Fighting Irish’s “Fab Five.” This time, he’s back as the coach of the Duquesne Dukes as they face off against Northeastern.
“Akron holds a special place in my heart,” Joyce III said. “I don’t get back as often as I used to, but the city has meant so much to us. The support has been there since day one. It’s really a feel-good moment. That’s a city that raised me, and I get to be in front of them. It’s like a throwback moment in a lot of ways. The city means so much to me because of just the support and love and how it raised and developed me into who I am.”
In 2018, then-Duquesne head coach Keith Dambrot began the annual tradition of hosting a game in his hometown of Akron. Five of the six matchups during that time have been played at LeBron James Arena on the campus of St. Vincent-St. Mary.
#Northeastern takes on #Duquesne on Nov. 22 at 4 PM — right here at #STVM 🏀
Free admission, and we’re excited to welcome Duquesne Head Coach #DruJoyceIII (VM03) back home. ☘️
Come pack the arena for a great afternoon of college basketball!#IrishPride #STVMFamily #ForeverIrish pic.twitter.com/aGiJl9WeYH
— St. Vincent-St. Mary High School (@stvmirish) November 15, 2025
From 1998 to 2001, Dambrot was the coach of St. Vincent-St. Mary, mentoring James and Joyce III on their way to two state championships. He left to take an assistant coaching job at Akron in 2001. After 16 years with the Zips, including 13 as a head coach, he was hired by Duquesne in 2017.
Dambrot hired Joyce III as his associate head coach in 2022. When he retired in 2024, Joyce III took over the program. The annual game at St. Vincent-St. Mary now continues with a man who starred for the school over two decades ago.
Joyce III, known as Little Dru growing up, was a childhood friend of James. Joyce’s father, Dru Joyce II, coached the duo with the Northeast Ohio Shooting Stars in AAU ball, pairing them with Sian Cotton and Willie McGee. They were just 10 years old when they started playing together.
“I took a group that hadn’t played but seven or eight games together down to the AAU nationals,” Joyce II said. “We finished ninth out of about 72 teams. I can definitely remember saying to Dru, LeBron and Sian, ‘I don’t know what it is, but you guys are going to do something very special.’ Wow. And, you know, those words just rang true. And then the next year, we started saying, ‘Hey, we’re going to win a national championship.’”
As their reputation grew, James, Joyce III, Cotton and McGee became known as the “Fab Four.” With the strong bonds they developed in AAU, they decided to play together in high school at St. Vincent-St. Mary. Joyce II was hired by Dambrot as assistant coach in 1999, coaching the quartet he brought together when they were children.
In high school, the crew was joined by standout Romeo Travis, and they subsequently became known as the “Fab Five.” The group went 103-5 during their time with the Fighting Irish from 1999 to 2003, winning three state championships and a national title in 2003. Their story was documented in the 2008 documentary “More than a Game” and the 2023 Peacock movie “Shooting Stars.”
When Dambrot left St. Vincent-St. Mary in 2001 for an assistant position at Akron, Joyce II took over as head coach, leading the program to a national title in 2003. He has remained in that position ever since. Cotton and Travis are now assistant coaches on Joyce II’s staff. The annual Duquesne game provides opportunities to relive the memories.
The Fab Five reunited at SVSM in 2022. Karen Schiely / USA Today Network
“I can’t really describe how special they were,” Joyce II said. “Because it was a dream that took eight or nine years to come true, that started out with believing that we wanted to win a national championship. We talked about it for a lot of years, and then to have it unfold the way that it did, with LeBron’s stardom rising to the heights that it has risen to, and then to do it with my son on the bench, it was the best seat in the house.”
When Joyce III finished his high school career in 2003, he followed Dambrot to Akron. He became the starting point guard his sophomore year when Dambrot was hired as coach of the Zips. Joyce III set the program assist record (503) and was a two-time All-MAC performer. He then embarked on a 12-year playing career in Europe before retiring in 2019.
After three seasons with Cleveland State as their recruiting coordinator, Joyce III was reunited with Dambrot in 2022 at Duquesne. In 2023-24, they led the Dukes to their first NCAA tournament appearance since 1977. Before March Madness, James provided a pair of his signature shoes for each Duquesne player, an ode to his former coach and teammate.
Yessir!! 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾 Best of luck guys!! https://t.co/ngxGghmCd7
— LeBron James (@KingJames) March 21, 2024
As a No. 12 seed, the Dukes earned their first NCAA Tournament victory since 1969 with an upset win over BYU.
Dambrot announced his retirement following the conclusion of Duquesne’s tournament run, which is when Joyce III replaced him as head coach.
“I used to tell him he was a coach when he was 10 years old,” Joyce II said about his son. “He always had that mental side of the game. The IQ was always high.”
As they have gone on to successful basketball careers, Joyce III and James continue to support their communities. In 2012, James made a $1 million donation to help fund renovations for St. Vincent-St. Mary arena, which were completed in December 2013. The gymnasium was also renamed LeBron James Arena. Renovations included 200 additional seats and new locker rooms, as well as a “dedication wall” honoring the “Fab Five.” Joyce II said that James has donated at least $50,000 each year in equipment to the St. Vincent-St. Mary program ever since he’s been in the NBA.
During the trip to Akron, Joyce III took his players to visit James’ I Promise School and the House Three Thirty community center. He remains close with his childhood friend, even though it’s harder to see each other these days.
“We’re getting older now, so there’s some exaggeration with the stories that are starting, how we remember things,” Joyce III joked. “It’s cool for him to still be a part of what I do. But more importantly, I think it’s the support, and the cheering, the rooting for my success. I think that’s more important than anything. And we’ve always been like that, man. We want the best for each other.”
As James has marched on to a decorated 23-year NBA career playing into his 40s, Joyce II remembers one conversation with a young LeBron that stuck with him.
“I can remember one time when he was 10 years old, because he could really score the ball,” Joyce II said. “And I just said to him one time, ‘You know Bron, if you pass the ball, everyone’s going to want to play with you.’ And he got it. I never had to say anything else to him about sharing the ball. That’s who he’s become and that’s how he recognizes the game.”
James ranks fourth all-time in NBA history with over 11,500 assists, trailing only John Stockton, Chris Paul and Jason Kidd.
The opportunity to play in an arena with a capacity of 1,831 is a nostalgic experience for Duquesne players, taking them back to their high school days. With fans so close to the court, it creates a very intimate atmosphere. It’s particularly special for Cleveland native John Hugley IV, who played multiple games at LeBron James Arena growing up.
“It’s amazing to be able to go back close to home and play a game where I once played in high school and had great moments,” Hugley said. “Just being able to go back and my family being able to come see me play, that’s a big blessing for me. I feel like it’s a dream come true.”
Joyce II also ensured his St. Vincent-St. Mary’s team would be in town this year for the game, after being on the road when it took place last season. It creates a rare opportunity for a college program to arrive right at your door.
“My guys need to see this,” Joyce II said. “I have some three or four, maybe five or six players that want and believe they can play at the next level. They need to see not just the game, but the practice, so they can begin to understand what is required of them. Most colleges don’t offer you those kinds of opportunities to come in and to see a practice, but we get the benefit of not having to go anywhere but out to our floor and get to watch it.”
When the “Fab Five” departed St. Vincent-St. Mary in 2003, Joyce II decided to stay on as the Fighting Irish head coach. He fell in love with the job.
“I don’t want to say he’s a legacy, because he still is a living legacy,” St. Vincent-St. Mary Athletic Director Kyle Susala said. “He’s a great role model, a great individual. A great teacher of the game, but I think also a great teacher of life in general. We want you to be great basketball players, but we want to teach you how to be great people in general, and to take whatever you learn from basketball into the next stage of your life.”
It has never felt right for Joyce II to leave St. Vincent-St. Mary, he said.
“I never expected to be here for 25 years,” Joyce II said. “That was never my plan. It’s been too hard to walk away from this. I’ve enjoyed coaching the young men and using basketball to help them grow into men, and that’s what has been my purpose in doing this. The winning is great, but it’s even more important to recognize who those young men become five, 10 years after they leave the program.”
Like so many others who have come through his program, Joyce II has watched his son’s growth since he graduated in 2003, from thriving at Akron to playing overseas for over a decade to finding a home in coaching. As Joyce III returns home, he said he is filled with gratitude.
“It’s really a special moment,” Joyce III said. “It’s awesome. I’m excited to be able to go back, a lot of memories, right? It’s a stage in my journey, in my life, where things developed and took off in a way that myself, my friends, even my dad. We never expected it to unfold this way. But we were just a group of young kids trying to play basketball and trying to win a lot of games, and it just turned into so much more.”
