Nate James Named Head Coach at Austin Peay

Longtime Duke assistant gets first job as head coach

Austin Peay State University Director of Athletics Gerald Harrison announced Friday the hiring of Duke University's Nate James as its 13th head men's basketball coach.

James will be formally introduced with a welcoming event on Tuesday, April 6 at the Dunn Center on APSU's campus.

"I'm extremely excited and honored to be the 13th head men's basketball coach at Austin Peay State University," said James. "To have the opportunity to lead my own program, be part of the amazing vision for a place like APSU and serve a community that embraces its university and student-athletes has been a dream of mine for quite some time. It is exactly what every coach wishes for. I will work endlessly to build a basketball culture with the type of culture that every player, alum, donor and fan will always be proud of. This is an amazing day to be a Gov! Let's Go Peay!"

Twenty years ago to this date, James played 20 minutes for Duke in the 2001 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship game win against Arizona, earning the first of three national title rings he'd pick up as a Blue Devil -- one as a player and two as an assistant coach under one of college basketball's most legendary names.

"I've known Nate since he was 18 years old, and he's been on our campus for nearly 20 years," said Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski. "I've seen him grow from being a high school center, to becoming one of the most selfless leaders in Duke Basketball history to being an outstanding assistant coach. Austin Peay is getting a remarkable man, who is married to a remarkable woman, Bobbi. I could not be happier for them and their family, as I am for Austin Peay. Nate is a leader, a terrific worker and a trustworthy friend. You can count on anything that he says. He earned the respect of his teammates as one of the captains of our 2001 national championship team, and has since brought that championship mentality to our coaching staff. I will miss Nate immensely. Austin Peay has one of the great people in college athletics in Gerald Harrison as its director of athletics and he has made an amazing hire. I'm looking forward to seeing the success they'll have together."

James becomes the 11th former Duke player or staff member under Coach K currently serving as a head coach at the Division I level or the NBA.

"I am excited to welcome Nate, Bobbi, Nate III and Dash to Austin Peay and introduce them to the Clarksville community," said Harrison. "Nate is a man of incredible integrity who has been a huge part of one of college basketball's most successful programs for much of the last two decades. He is committed to the student-athlete experience and the principles of the 'Total Gov Concept.' His depth of experience, his ability to recruit and retain outstanding young men, and his desire to help them excel on and off the court will make him a huge asset to our university and our department. Simply put, Nate James is a champion and a leader. I am proud to say he is the head coach of the Austin Peay Men's Basketball team."

"Euphoric congratulations to Nate, Bobbi and the children on this well-deserved leadership opportunity," said Duke Vice President and Director of Athletic Kevin White. "To be sure, Nate's championship experience -- both as a student-athlete and coach -- is elite and he leaves Duke well-prepared to transition into the head coaching role at Austin Peay. The best is yet to come for Coach James."