‘HE’S A CLASSIC OVERACHIEVER’

On the third floor of Duquesne’s sparkling new UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, the office of men’s basketball coach Dru Joyce III remains a space in transition.

A few books and basketballs occupy the shelves adjacent to his desk. There’s a signed piece of the floor from Mr. Joyce’s high school, St. Vincent-St. Mary, plus two championship rings sitting next to an Akron Hall of Fame plaque. To the left of Duquesne-themed Christmas lights encased in glass is an empty picture frame hanging by the door.

Mr. Joyce apologizes for the spartan appearance, saying he needs to prioritize decorating, but no explanation was necessary. Hired in late March to succeed his mentor, Keith Dambrot, Mr. Joyce has been busy with recruiting and laying the groundwork for how he wants the program to look.

It’s also not smart to doubt him when it comes to putting in the work. Whether it has been high school, college, a pro career overseas or climbing the coaching ladder, Mr. Joyce thrives on a good challenge.

“He’s a classic overachiever,” said Mr. Dambrot, who coached Mr. Joyce in high school and college and paved the way for him to join Duquesne as an associate head coach in May 2022. “He has basically overachieved his whole career. He’s had a chip on his shoulder, and I’m sure he’ll have one as a head coach, too. Just to show people that he can succeed at this as well.”

Mr. Dambrot, of course, did not mean that in a negative way. It’s more that Mr. Joyce takes pride in handling any situation, which can be the hallmark of a great educator or coach. The 39-year-old has been around plenty of those. He is also best friends with LeBron James, another element framing his perspective on the new job.

As Mr. Joyce continues to mold Duquesne’s program, maintaining the momentum Mr. Dambrot created but also putting his own subtle spin on things, I sought out Mr. Joyce to learn more about how he got his start, as well as what drives him.

Mr. Joyce is smart, engaging, humble and easy to like. It’s also easy to see why Mr. Dambrot so ardently advocated for Mr. Joyce to become his successor.

In addition to a warm personality and the sharp sense of humor that led to his viral tweet mimicking Mr. James’ chalk toss — and causing the world to think LeBron’s son, Bronny, could be transferring to Duquesne — Mr. Joyce has always embraced the work, obsessing over ways to get better.

“To see [Mr. Dambrot] this year at 65, with the same energy and intangibles ... someone who’s been coaching 40 years could’ve been like, ‘Man, this thing runs itself.’ Not coach Dambrot,” Mr. Joyce said.

“As [the transition occurs], we’ll be just as competitive because me and him, that’s how we work. That’s how we bonded. That’s how we connected. As a program, we just have to continually set high standards and strive to exceed expectations.”

‘Groomed for this’

Although he grew up in Akron, Ohio, Mr. Joyce spent a few weeks every summer in Pittsburgh. His mother, Carolyn, is from Mount Washington and graduated from the old South Hills High School.

Dru, his three siblings and a group of four cousins would swim at the Ream Park pool, ride the Incline and watch Fourth of July fireworks from Grandview Avenue.

When Dru was around 6 or 7, his father began to see how much his son loved basketball. With a football background, playing wide receiver at Ashland University before transferring to Ohio University and giving up sports, Dru Joyce II began signing up for any sort of camp he could find.

At one, the director said Dru III could play with the older kids as long as his dad coached. The older Joyce’s journey into basketball coaching, researching and video, became Dru III’s first exposure to the job.

“As a kid, you’re very observant,” Dru III said, smiling.

The desire to create opportunity for Dru III led to a Sunday night skills camp at the local Jewish Community Center, where attendees paid $1, and Mr. Dambrot led two sessions: an early one for younger kids, then a more advanced one that followed.

Dru III refused to miss either one. Mr. Dambrot respected the passion and continued to challenge Dru III.

“I wanted to be there because I knew I was improving,” Mr. Joyce said.

That burning desire to get better took him out of Mr. Dambrot’s camp and to a surprise decision for high school. While his dad was an assistant at the neighborhood rival, Mr. Joyce concluded that he wanted to play for Mr. Dambrot at St. Vincent-St. Mary.

“My dad didn’t know,” Mr. Joyce said. “My friends didn’t know. There was a little backlash. ... But I’ve always felt, the better player you want to be, you have to be challenged. You have to be in a highly competitive environment. I knew we needed to learn. I thought [Mr. Dambrot] was the best teacher for us.”

Back home, he enjoyed another learning-friendly environment.

One of his older sisters, India, wanted to be a teacher so bad that she created her own classroom. As an adult, she taught for 17 years and now guides teachers with such things as classroom management and strategies for lesson plans.

Meanwhile, the oldest daughter of Dru II and Carolyn Joyce, Ursula, became a life coach. Dru III’s younger brother, Cam, coaches another Ohio powerhouse, St. Ignatius in Cleveland, and recently led his team to a Division I state championship.

“Dru has been groomed for this,” said Dru II, who succeed Mr. Dambrot at St. Vincent-St. Mary, has been a part of state titles and is known as one of the best high school basketball coaches in the country. “We always knew he was gonna be a coach. I couldn’t see him doing anything else in life but coaching.”

‘A deep, genuine friendship’

Getting to know Mr. Joyce is impossible with mentioning the elephant in the room. Or maybe it should be the GOAT in the room: LeBron James.

High school teammates, they remain best friends. They’re on text threads. They also irritate their wives — Savannah James and Lanae Joyce — when they won’t shut up about basketball during get-togethers.

“Our wives will literally get up from the table and say, ‘This is not how the dinner was supposed to go. We’re done. We’re moving over here,’ ” Mr. Joyce said.

It’s been wild having LeBron James as a Duquesne super fan, but there’s also an important truth here. Mr. James challenges Mr. Joyce in a way no one else can, and he could be a key component to what the latter does with Duquesne’s program.

Don’t believe it? Check out a Joyce tweet from April 24, when Duquesne landed a transfer and Mr. Joyce celebrated by throwing a handful of white powder in the air like LeBron does at the beginning of NBA games. Everyone thought Bronny James was transferring from Southern Cal to Duquesne.

After suggesting the idea to his staff as a way to keep things light and generate some publicity, even Mr. Joyce was surprised at the stir it created. Still, he didn’t budge, refusing to let anyone know — even his own players — that he was messing around for nearly 40 minutes.

“I just smiled and let it all play out,” Mr. Joyce said.

The moral here is twofold.

Mr. Joyce feels strongly about ensuring his approach never becomes rote. He might introduce a quote he read or part of an Inky Johnson podcast he recently consumed. For Mr. Joyce, there’s a balance between consistency with your work and also “keeping things fresh.”

“It’s part of keeping a program alive,” he said. “I never want to feel like they’re tuning me out.”

Having someone like LeBron James in your corner doesn’t hurt.

“When you go out and recruit people and have a relationship with the best player in the world, people like that,” Mr. Dambrot said. “It will help him get players. That’s the bottom line.”

Duquesne President Ken Gormley joked that he’s still waiting on his shoes from LeBron’s NCAA tournament gift, but he does look forward to sitting next to the NBA’s biggest star at a Dukes game soon. But knowing Mr. Joyce and how he acts about it all, Mr. Gormley also knows the larger role the relationship serves.

“This is not something manufactured for publicity,” Mr. Gormley said. “There’s a deep, genuine friendship there, two guys who look out for each other and have been close friends since childhood. It’s really a beautiful thing to see.”

‘Coaching in his blood’

In addition to playing basketball and some football as a kid, Mr. Joyce was also a talented tennis player. Though he no longer plays, he loves that it taught him self-awareness, among other things.

The only problem was, he was forced to choose around sixth grade and put down his racket.

“I still love the sport and watch it on TV,” Mr. Joyce said. “It taught me a lot about work ethic and challenging yourself because you don’t have any teammates. There’s nobody to blame. It has helped me with basketball, realizing what I did well and what I can improve on.”

Applying something from one area of his life to another has been a consistent driver. It’s also something that will be required of him at Duquesne as he navigates the loss of seven seniors and the ongoing need to make friends with the transfer portal.

After setting the career assists record at Akron, Mr. Joyce played in Germany, Poland, Russia and France for a dozen seasons before returning to the United States. Oddly enough, it’s one of the things that may prepare him most for taking over Duquesne’s program.

The multitude of one-year deals in that market led to constant roster shuffling. Mr. Joyce also understands programs having to raise money to fund things because he did it routinely overseas.

“The budgets, roster, how you raise money, NIL ... everything in Europe relies on stuff like that, as well,” Mr. Joyce said. “There are a lot of similarities on the business side.”

In that sense, he fits Duquesne’s situation in the new era of college athletics.

He’s accessible and enjoys representing the university when it comes to charity work or engaging with Dukes fans. Not that Mr. Dambrot avoided it, but there’s certainly a way Duquesne can connect Mr. Joyce with younger fans.

There’s also a ton of excitement and momentum for the program, thanks to the work of Mr. Dambrot and others.

“At the [Atlantic 10] championship game, I cut down a piece of the net and have been carrying it around in my wallet,” Mr. Gormley said. “I told Dru recently, ‘I do not plan on carrying this around for another 47 years. We’re counting on you to bring more success to this program so we can be proud every year of the men’s basketball program.’

“He has all of the wind at his back to move forward. ... I think we’re going to get to know Dru Joyce very quickly as he assumes this new role, and it’s all going to be positive.”

Given his bloodlines and the relationships that he has already brought to Duquesne, it’s why Mr. Joyce was such a natural pick to succeed his mentor and carry on a couple different legacies.

“You can tell he has coaching in his blood,” Mr. Gormley said. “He’s intense ... but in a different way than Keith. He grew up with it. He studied his dad. He studied Keith as a high school player, then at Akron. You can tell that this has been his life’s dream — to be the head coach at a major college program. For Dru, it’s just part of the family business.”

Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and @JMackeyPG on X.