Nolan Smith Named Duke Assistant Coach
Duke Men's Basketball Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski has announced the promotion of Nolan Smith to assistant coach. Smith, a national championship player for the Blue Devils on the 2010 squad, has served as a member of the basketball staff since 2016.
Smith's promotion comes following the departure of Associate Head Coach Nate James to Austin Peay State University as its head coach.
"Nolan is a rising star," said Krzyzewski. "To get him on the court with our players on a day-to-day basis will mean so much to our program. Our players will benefit immensely from his enthusiasm to teach, but also the fact that he's young enough, he can show them. He can still play. We're very fortunate that he and his wife Cheyna are so involved in our program and our community. He is a national champion and has been such a great member of my staff as director of basketball operations, but he's done so much more for our school and our community. Nolan has always used his platform for the good of others. We are so lucky to have him and Durham is even luckier. The staff I'm fortunate to have of Jon Scheyer, Chris Carrawell and now Nolan Smith is a truly special one."
Smith joined the men's basketball staff in February 2016 and spent two seasons as the team's special assistant before his promotion to director of basketball operations and player development in March 2018.
"The game of basketball has been a blessing in my life, and so has Coach K and Duke University," said Smith. "Duke Basketball has meant the world to my family and me and I'm honored and humbled to be named an assistant coach. So many coaches, including Coach K, have meant so much to me and made such a positive impact on my life. I can't wait to help teach and develop the young Brotherhood stars and hopefully have a similar impact on them. I look forward to working with and learning from the great staff that we have at Duke with Jon and Chris and I can't wait to get started."
Duke's current coaching staff of Smith, Scheyer and Carrawell have all served as Duke captains, while Krzyzewski's assistants have been exclusively former Duke players since the 1998-99 season.
