Dru Joyce III burst onto the national basketball scene nearly 20 years ago as a teammate of LeBron James at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. As a four-year member of the varsity team, Joyce helped LeBron and company compile a 103-5 record during his time at St. Vs while crisscrossing the country to compete against the top-ranked prep programs in the nation. As a pivotal member of the legendary “Fab Five,” Joyce helped LeBron win the High School National Championship in 2003.
After earning All-State honors as a senior, the point guard went on to distinguish himself in the Mid-American Conference as a member of the Akron Zips. He appeared in 123 games for Akron and started in 101 of them. Earlier this week, Joyce was named an assistant coach on Dennis Gates’ newly-assembled staff at Cleveland State University. Upon release of the news, LeBron shouted out his former lead guard and friend with a congratulatory message on Twitter.
Joyce played for University of Akron coach Keith Dambrot for two seasons in high school and then throughout his four-year career in college. During his other two high school seasons, he played for his father, Dru Joyce II, who is still the boys basketball coach at Akron. Joyce’s younger brother, Cameron Joyce, also is a head basketball coach at Cleveland powerhouse, St. Ignatius High School.
Since 2009, Joyce has played professionally overseas, spending eight seasons in Germany and one in France. In Germany, he is the Basketball Bundesliga League all-time leader in assists. But in addition to his experience as a player, his deep ties to Northeast Ohio hoops helped make him an appealing candidate for this position from a recruiting standpoint.
With a recognizable figure like Joyce on board, Cleveland State now hopes to land some of the top local talent they’ve been missing out on over the last several years.
