Welcome Coach Badass!

[Jumbo]

This is great, great news. Nate is one of my all-time favorites, and I'm excited to have him on the bench. Does this mean Wino will return to the boards with his giant Nate avatar from the early part of the decade?

Finally, to the people who think it's somehow "wrong" to call him "Badass" -- get over it!

[Bluedawg]

Just my 2 cents, but Coach Badass rates right up there with Coach Cut.I will not join , I prefer to call him Nate James or Coach James.

I'm with you. Sorry, but I am not going to refer to one our staff members by the name of "Coach Badass."

I think Coach James will be a wonderful addition and great for recruiting. A very good choice all around, IMO.

Glad to see others are joining in. During the coaching speculation thread I tried to nip that nickname in the bud but failed.

I still think it is very disrespectful to refer to a coach in that manner.

[Stray Gator]

This is great, great news. Nate is one of my all-time favorites, and I'm excited to have him on the bench. Does this mean Wino will return to the boards with his giant Nate avatar from the early part of the decade? ...

What's the over/under on how long it takes until someone starts a "Nate James Can't Coach" thread?

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Big fan of Nate as a player and to replace Wojo or Collins I think he would have been a great choice. But to replace someone with the experience and maturity of Dawkins I would have liked to have seen us been a little more...I lack the word, but I'm apprehensive.

Perhaps the word you are looking for is ... gravitas?

I think Nate "badass" James is a fine choice.

As the future AD, privately "Coach Badass" works for me, but I won't publicly use it in future (gosh, I hate being politically correct). Coach Cut, I will use.

[Jumbo]

I still think it is very disrespectful to refer to a coach in that manner.

Uh, why? And it's okay to refer to player that way? Maybe the person with the nickname should get to decide whether he finds it "disrespectful." By all accounts, Nate loves it. Sheesh.

[Jumbo]

What's the over/under on how long it takes until someone starts a "Nate James Can't Coach" thread?

That, sir, is hilarious!

[Edouble]

That's fantastic news. One of my Bassett Hall 96-97 boys is now an assistant coach. Awesome.

I appreciate the Bassett '96-'97 shout-out. I was there too, two doors down from the basketball players room.

[RepoMan]

I still think it is very disrespectful to refer to a coach in that manner.

Perhaps we need to remind folks why, in fact, Nate is a badass. After all, there are some newer fans on this board.

[lmb]

[QUOTE=mpj96;144495]Does anyone have the picture of Nate in the locker room after we won the championship his senior year? I think that would be an extremely appropriate picture for the front page.



It's my all-time favorite Duke pic.

[Classof06]

I love the hire. This is a guy that knows what Duke is all about. I'm guessing he's the youngest coach on the staff which also helps the players because it hasn't been too long since Nate was in their shoes.

Most importantly, however, this is a guy that was a key piece of Duke's last championship team and as a fan, that speaks volumes. We all want Duke to get back to the mountain top and to hire a guy who was one of the last Blue Devils to do it is reassuring. Congrats to Nate.

[Edouble]

[QUOTE=lmb;144649]

Does anyone have the picture of Nate in the locker room after we won the championship his senior year? I think that would be an extremely appropriate picture for the front page.



It's my all-time favorite Duke pic.

Great picture of a guy that stuck it out twice... the first time when the injury bug hit him hard (I remember rumors going around that Nate was going to transfer when the Killer Bs class showed up when he was redshirting), and the second time when he lost his starting spot to a freshman a month before the end of his senior year. Although Battier and Williams were the stars of the 2001 NC team, it took amazing character and toughness for Nate to accept his role coming off of the bench, and I really doubt we would have won the whole thing if he'd taken the easy road and sulked about it.

[davekay1971]

No, the chant started in the delivery room when Nate punched his way out of his mother's womb and then slapped the doctor for not having his scotch waiting for him.

Laughing at that one...

So, who wins in a fight? Nate James or Chuck Norris? Do we need a poll here?

[NYC Duke Fan]

I know nothing about Nate James as a coach or whether he can coach big men. If he can then it is a very good hire. I have read on previous threads that wasn't it time that Coach K hire a coach who can effectively teach big men, and that Wojo really wasn't the ideal coach to do this.

Incidentally, why is the Nate James hire , "awesome " ? Good choice possibly but , " awesome ". If Coach K had hired say Patrick Ewing to coach big men, then that would be , " awesome "

[Chicago 1995]

[QUOTE=lmb;144649]

Does anyone have the picture of Nate in the locker room after we won the championship his senior year? I think that would be an extremely appropriate picture for the front page.



It's my all-time favorite Duke pic.

THANKS!

This is one of my all time favorite pictures too, and I lost the copy I had of it when I lost a hard-drive a while back. Couldn't find it to replace it.

You've made my day!

[tbyers11]

Does anyone have the picture of Nate in the locker room after we won the championship his senior year? I think that would be an extremely appropriate picture for the front page.



It's my all-time favorite Duke pic.

Thank you for this picture. I agree that it is my all-time favorite picture.

I had a copy on my old computer, but lost it when the hard drive crashed a few years ago. I've searched for it and have never been able to find it again.

[ugadevil]

I know nothing about Nate James as a coach or whether he can coach big men. If he can then it is a very good hire. I have read on previous threads that wasn't it time that Coach K hire a coach who can effectively teach big men, and that Wojo really wasn't the ideal coach to do this.

Incidentally, why is the Nate James hire , "awesome " ? Good choice possibly but , " awesome ". If Coach K had hired say Patrick Ewing to coach big men, then that would be , " awesome "

This is assuming that what you read on previous threads is accurate.
You seem to be working off the premise that Nate was hired to coach the big men. There haven't been any reports indicating Coach K lacks confidence in Wojo's ability to coach big men.

[tbyers11]

THANKS!

This is one of my all time favorite pictures too, and I lost the copy I had of it when I lost a hard-drive a while back. Couldn't find it to replace it.

You've made my day!

Thank you for this picture. I agree that it is my all-time favorite picture.

I had a copy on my old computer, but lost it when the hard drive crashed a few years ago. I've searched for it and have never been able to find it again.

That's spooky. I hope that Nate isn't so badass that he makes hard drives crash

[camion]

I know nothing about Nate James as a coach or whether he can coach big men. If he can then it is a very good hire. I have read on previous threads that wasn't it time that Coach K hire a coach who can effectively teach big men, and that Wojo really wasn't the ideal coach to do this.

Incidentally, why is the Nate James hire , "awesome " ? Good choice possibly but , " awesome ". If Coach K had hired say Patrick Ewing to coach big men, then that would be , " awesome "

I hear that Nate will be assigned to coach point guards... just to tick off the people who think only big can coach big.

I'm only joking. I really heard that we're waiting a year and plan to hire a big big big man coach, Kenny George from UNC-A. He's going to to coach them how to be 7' 7" and defend the lane. "Just stand there with you hands above the rim like I do."

Okay, that's not true either. Actually, we were going to offer Andre the Giant, but there was some problem with him being too close to Generalissimo Francisco Franco.

[davekay1971]

Okay, that's not true either. Actually, we were going to offer Andre the Giant, but there was some problem with him being too close to Generalissimo Francisco Franco.

Not to mention, dead.

Though Fezzik's will live forever in our hearts...

[kinghoops]

This is great, great news. Nate is one of my all-time favorites, and I'm excited to have him on the bench. Does this mean Wino will return to the boards with his giant Nate avatar from the early part of the decade?

Finally, to the people who think it's somehow "wrong" to call him "Badass" -- get over it!

jumbo, i totally agree with you, nate was a badass as a player, and i fully expect him to bring that badass attitude to the bench as our new assistant. and the prudes on here that thinks its wrong to call him coach badass, just think about the last two losses we have had in the ncaa torney, vcu out badassed us, west virginia outbadassed us, and as bad as i hate to admit this, to be a certian first round draft pick, to jump in a 4 foot pool from a balcony, although silly is badass, so let the badassing begin!!!!