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LeBron James came into the national spotlight as a high school standout out of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. James was drafted straight out of high school in 2003 by the Cleveland Cavaliers and went on to become one of the greatest players.
In his first two years with the Fighting Irish, James was coached by Keith Dambrot. They won two straight state titles together, and St. Vincent-St. Mary was ranked nationally. Dambrot was a native of Akron and had several stints as a coach in several colleges.
Dambrot was fired as coach of Central Michigan in 1993 for using a racial slur. He returned to coaching five years later at St. Vincent-St. Mary. James, and his family met with him before committing to the Fight Irish. It should be noted that "The King" does not believe Dambrot was a racist in his book Shooting Stars.
Keith Dambrot left St. Vincent-St. Mary in 2001 before LeBron James' senior year. Dambrot signed with Akron University to be an assistant coach. He spent three years there as an assistant before becoming in-charge of the program from 2004 to 2017. He's now the head coach of Duquesne University.
Meanwhile, St. Vincent-St. Mary High School assistant coach Dru Joyce II took over Dambrot after he left in 2001. Joyce had a rough start to his coaching career, but the Fighting Irish came back stronger in James' senior season. They won the Division II Ohio State Boys Basketball Championship and were named USA Today's Nation Champions.
Joyce was born in East Liverpool, Ohio, which is about an hour and a half away from Akron. His son, Dru Joyce III, is part of St. Vincent-St. Mary's Fab 5. He remains the coach of the Fighting Irish, and the school honored him by naming their home floor as the Coach Dru Joyce Court.
LeBron James' film 'Shooting Stars' received mixed reviews
LeBron James' high school basketball career was told in the film Shooting Stars released on June 2 on Peacock. It stars Mookie Cook as James, Stranger Things' Caleb McLaughlin as Dru Joyce III and Dermot Mulroney as Keith Dambrot.
The movie received mixed reviews from critics, including a 52% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It has a score of 65 out of 100 on Metacritic. Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEgbert.com praised the film for embracing the characters.
"When a movie loves its characters and story as much as this one and dedicates every aspect of filmmaking and performance to doing them justice and consistently puts virtuosity in service of meaning, the result conjures a feeling that's close to what you experience when someone you adore has a great and richly deserved success," Seitz wrote. "And you're privileged to be able to witness it and cheer them on."
