Duke basketball product Nate James gets fired

Former four-year Duke basketball player and 13-year Blue Devil assistant Nate James is no longer the head coach at Austin Peay, according to reports on Sunday night from Stadium's Jeff Goodman and ESPN's Jeff Borzello.

Despite being at the helm for only two seasons, in which he compiled a 21-39 record, the school fired him over the weekend.

Austin Peay has parted ways with head coach Nate James, source told @stadium.

The former Duke assistant was 21-39 in two seasons at the helm.

Carl Little will be named interim coach.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 6, 2023

Nate James' first group of Governors went 12-17 overall, including an 8-10 clip in Ohio Valley Conference games. But they moved to the ASUN Conference before this season, finished last in the standings with a 3-15 mark, and came up short of earning a spot in the conference tournament.

And Austin Peay ended up with a 9-22 overall record this go-round after losing 13 of its final 14 games. The Governors' ugly Senior Night brawl against North Florida likely didn't do any favors to James' job security.

Before James arrived in Clarksville, Tenn., Austin Peay had recorded four consecutive winning seasons under the direction of Matt Figger. However, the Governors have not reached the NCAA Tournament since 2016.

It'll be interesting to see where the 45-year-old Nate James, a 2001 national champion as a senior forward and co-captain under Mike Krzyzewski, goes from here.

Perhaps first-year Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer, an assistant under Coach K alongside James for seven seasons, will find a role for the beloved Blue Devil back in Durham.

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