Duke’s Nate James has been hired as Austin Peay State University’s new head basketball coach.

James, who has served as served as Duke’s associate head coach since 2017, has been part of the Blue Devils’ coaching staff since 2008 when he was first hired as an assistant strength and conditioning coach.

By 2009, he was an assistant on the bench staff at Duke.

James will be introduced as Austin Peay’s new coach at a 2 p.m. CT welcoming event on Tuesday, April 6.

"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.”

James is now the 11th former Duke player or staff member under Krzyzewski who holds a head coaching position in Division I college basketball or the NBA.

Former Duke administrator Gerald Harrison, now athletics director at Austin Peay, is excited to bring someone of James’ background and history as a player and coach to Clarksville, Tenn.

"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."

Former Marquette head coach and Duke associate head coach Steve Wojciechowski is a likely candidate to replace James on the Blue Devils’ staff.