"Best sophomore in the country, my a**": LeBron James reveals what his HS coach Keith Dambrot told him to “set the tone”

The third episode of LeBron James and JJ Redick’s “Mind the Game Pod” dropped on Wednesday morning, and as expected, the two shared some great stories. One of the topics discussed in the episode was James’ high school coach Keith Dambrot’s influence on him.

Redick asked Bron whar he learned from Dambrot. James replied:

“Oh my goodness! I think the No. 1 thing that I learned from him right away is how to not only approach the game but also how to think the game. And also play at a level that was a lot harder and determined than the AAU tournaments.”

LeBron James also spoke about the transition from middle school to high school and what it was to be coached by someone who had previously coached at the collegiate level:

“The one thing that I learned from Coach D is that, ‘We are going to practice perfection every single day. Every single day.’ He always used to tell us, ‘The practices are going to be way freaking harder than the games.’"

James talked about how Dambrot was strict and demanding to the point where he would call out his players. Even the kids whose parents used to come to practice were not sparred.

James then got to an incident from his sophomore year and how Dambrot made an example out of him:

“My freshman year, we went to state championship. We go 27-0. I was MVP of the tournament. … My sophomore year, the first practice, I came in as the projected No. 1 player in the state of Ohio.

"I was projected to be an All-American as a sophomore, projected to be Mr. Basketball as a sophomore, which had never been done in Ohio high school history.”

LeBron James continued:

“And the first practice we had our sophomore year in the Winter State Championship, I did absolutely nothing wrong coming out of football. He kicked me out of practice. I had no idea why the f**k he kicked me out of practice.

“And I think he was just setting the tone for the season. ‘Wherever the f**k or wherever you think you are, I have heard of all this stuff of how great you are. ... Nope, I am gonna humble your ass right now.’ He kicked me out of practice and the last thing he said, ‘Best sophomore in the country, my ass.’”

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How did LeBron James fare in high school?

The hard love that Keith Dambrot showed for James did do the trick. When the Chosen One graduated from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, he had 2,646 points. At the time, it was the third-highest points in Ohio boys basketball history.

LeBron James led the team to three state championships and a 101-6 record. He also led the school to a national title in 2003. Among many other accolades, he was a two-time Gatorade National Player of the Year, a two-time Mr. Basketball and a two-time USA Today High School Player of the Year.

After he graduated, he arguably became the most highly touted prospect the NBA had ever seen. Even today, any top prospect in the NBA draft is compared with LeBron James. Recent examples of the trend includes Zion Williamson in 2019 and Victor Wembanyama in 2023.