Duquesne coach Dru Joyce III gets back to Akron roots for game vs. Northeastern

By now, you’ve probably heard the story of Dru Joyce III.

A fascinating tale about his winding journey from boyhood phenom on the high school hardwood while playing alongside lifelong friend LeBron James at Akron (Ohio) St. Vincent-St. Mary to his college playing days as a slick point guard at the University of Akron to a professional playing career spanning 12 seasons, mainly in Germany.

And eventually to his current state as coach at Duquesne.

“Listen, he’s going to be much, much better at this than me,” Joyce’s father, St. Vincent-St. Mary coach Dru Joyce II, said of his oldest son, whom he coached in high school. “We talked about Dru at 10 years old, about how he was going to be a coach. When he did a drill, he just didn’t do the drill. He tried to perfect the drill. And then, he’d ask questions about the drill.”

While Joyce II is in his 25th season as St. Vincent-St. Mary coach, having won multiple state championships along the way, Joyce III is in just his second year of leading Duquesne.

He groomed for the job first as a Cleveland State assistant and then as associate head coach under former Dukes coach Keith Dambrot, who coached Joyce III in college and for a time in high school before giving way to Joyce II.

Duquesne is off to a 4-1 start this season, an about-face from Joyce III’s first year when the Dukes lost their first six games and seven of eight before stumbling to a 13-19 mark.

It was quite a change from the previous year’s team, which won its second Atlantic 10 championship and reached the NCAA Tournament in Dambrot’s final season as coach.

“This year, we’ve got some wins established,” Joyce III said. “I’m proud of this group and where we are. It’s cool to be a part of the building process. I’m not only excited about what my players have done, but my staff as well. Just their input, their teaching, showing up every day with the right mindset and energy to provide for our guys. We continue to put our players in a good position to be successful. It’s not over and finished yet, but I do like how we’ve been building a team.”

A return to Akron

In what’s likely to be a longstanding tradition at Duquesne — certainly, it seems, for as long as Joyce III is coach — another Akron trip awaits the men’s basketball team.

It has become a yearly ritual that’s been kind to the Dukes, who’ll be looking for their sixth consecutive victory in the city when they square off against Northeastern at 4 p.m. Saturday in the Morgan & Morgan Classic at that very same St. Vincent-St. Mary gym.

Officially named LeBron James Arena for “one of the greatest players of all time, if not the greatest player, in my opinion,” Joyce III said, the court bears Joyce II’s name.

“When we go there for practice (Friday),” Joyce III said, “my dad’s going to be the first person we see when we walk through the door. He’s opening up the gym for us.

“For me, it’s special, an unbelievable opportunity. It’s going to seem like my college days, seeing my mom (Carolyn) and dad there in the stands.”

The adrenaline rush is mutual between the parents and their son.

“I’m excited to see him this year,” Joyce II said. “Last year (when Duquesne defeated Towson, 65-47), we were traveling and I wasn’t able to get there. I’m going to get to see him walk the same sideline I’ve walked for many years. It’s going to be a special time, a nostalgic time to see that happen.”

It marks the sixth time in eight years that Duquesne will play in a neutral-site game in Akron and the fifth at St. Vincent-St. Mary.

“All of the stories about that place and that city tie into who I am and my journey,” said Joyce III, who’ll be making his fourth trip to his hometown with the Dukes. “I don’t know why coach Dambrot started it and how he was able to make it work, but I’m glad he did, and I’m glad the university and our athletics program has allowed me to continue on with it.”

Through the years

Duquesne’s previous neutral site contests in Akron have resulted in victories over Radford twice (at St. Vincent-St. Mary in 2018 and at Ellet in 2019) and UC Irvine (2021), Colgate (2022) and Bradley (2023) under Dambrot and Towson (2024) under Joyce III, all at St. Vincent-St. Mary.

“When I walk through those doors with my team and I see all their eyes start moving around, it’s special, man,” Joyce III said. “A lot of people relate, especially in the basketball world, to our story. And it’s interesting to see how much my own players kind of know what’s going on and have heard the stories and feel the tradition of, ‘Hey, man, this is where LeBron played.’

“They look forward to it. Not only us, but opposing teams, too.”

Northeastern (2-3), with a day’s rest following a 70-57 loss at Princeton on Thursday, owns a 2-1 edge against Duquesne, having won both times at neutral sites.

The Huskies beat the Dukes, 88-81 in overtime, in the 1985 Connecticut Mutual Classic in Hartford and, 71-55, in the 2021 Paradise Jam in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

The lone Duquesne win in the series came in 1999 at home, an 87-77 decision at the former Palumbo Center, behind Wayne Smith’s 20 points.

The game was part of a season-opening stretch that saw Smith average 21.2 points over the first five games. Coincidentally, senior guard Tarence Guinyard leads the Dukes this season in scoring (20.6 ppg), the first Duquesne player to average 20 through the first five since Smith did so 26 years ago.

Guinyard scored 19 points in Duquesne’s 92-78 victory over Loyola (Md.) on Wednesday at UMPC Cooper Fieldhouse. John Hugley IV led four Dukes in double figures with 20 points. Cam Crawford also scored 19 and David Dixon finished with 10.

Seems like deja vu

For Joyce III, it’s been a basketball life. Not only are he and his dad still in it, Joyce III’s younger brother, Cameron, also coaches the sport, serving the past six seasons at Cleveland’s St. Ignatius High School before taking over at Los Angeles Loyola.

Joyce II is proud of both. He’s hoping to contain his feelings Saturday when he witnesses his older son in motion.

“Some of his demeanor, I can kind of see myself,” Joyce II said. “How he may stand — he doesn’t sit very often; I never sit. He’s actively not just subbing guys in and out, but he’ll take those moments to help guys understand it isn’t personal. Whatever you did, he’ll discuss it in those brief moments.”

Much of Joyce III’s basketball life was spent in Akron around his dad. Indeed, he’s ecstatic for another chance to get that special feeling again.

“I’m going back home,” he said. “Akron, Ohio, which is always something that I hold dear to my heart. But it’s also a chance for me to connect with family and friends.”

Another Duquesne victory, of course, would ice the cake.