DURHAM - Nate James, a captain on the 2001 NCAA title-winning Duke men's basketball squad, will be named the new assistant coach for the Duke men's basketball team, four sources confirmed for The News & Observer on Monday.

James will fill the spot on the Duke bench left empty after associate head coach Johnny Dawkins left to become head coach at Stanford on April 26.

James, 30, will join assistant coaches Steve Wojciechowski and Chris Collins, who have nine and eight years of service, respectively, with Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski.

James spent five years at Duke from 1996-2001 and finished with 1,116 career points. Duke fans remember him as one of the best role players Krzyzewski ever had. The fans appreciated James most for how, during the 2001 title run, he accepted a demotion.

Krzyzewski opted to insert then-freshman Chris Duhon into the starting lineup in place of James to create a quicker team.

At the time, James, a 6-foot-6, 200-pound forward, admitted it was a difficult pill to swallow. But the way he handled it, keeping his ego in check while making several huge plays in critical tournament games, is likely one of the reasons Krzyzewski picked James for the job.

Duke reached two Final Fours (1999, 2001) during James' time there. He was a third-team All-ACC selection in 2001.

He is a strong link for Duke's players and fans to the school's most recent title. The program needs that with the Blue Devils exiting in either the first or second round in the two most recent NCAA Tournaments.

James' playing career as a professional included stops overseas in the Philippines, France, Hungary, Japan and Holland.

His most recent attempt to crack the NBA came in October 2004 when he participated in the Philadelphia 76ers' training camp; he did not make the team.

This winter, James returned to the Duke program after being hired to oversee operations at the team's new practice facility.

During that time, he also sat on the Duke bench at games -- gaining handy experience. He already has a feel for what Wojciechowski and Collins do to aid Krzyzewski and the Duke players during games.