CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — Austin Peay has named former Duke associate coach Nate James to his first head coaching job with the Governors.
The school announced James’ hiring on its website Friday and will formally introduce him on Tuesday. James, 43, has spent much of the past two decades under Mike Krzyzewski as a player and staffer, helping the Blue Devils win NCAA championships in 2010 and ’15 as an assistant before becoming associate head coach in 2017. He also logged 20 minutes in Duke’s 2001 national championship game victory against Arizona.
Austin Peay athletic director Gerald Harrison said in a release that James’ experience and ability to recruit and retain players “will make him a huge asset to our university and our department.”
James said he was “excited and honored” to be the Ohio Valley Conference school’s 13th head coach and will work to build a culture that players, alumni, donors and fans “will always be proud of.”
He replaces Matt Figger, who resigned on Monday after going 76-51 in four seasons to coach Texas-Rio Grande Valley.
James was a 1,000-point scorer and two-time captain in Durham, North Carolina, as Duke won or shared five Atlantic Coast Conference regular season titles and three tournament crowns. He also played professionally from 2002-07 with a 2004 training camp with the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers between multiple international stops and league titles in the Netherlands and Hungary.