Darris Nichols (born May 20, 1986) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

coach and former player who is currently the head coach at

Radford University Radford University is a public university in Radford, Virginia. It is one of the state's eight doctorate-granting public universities. Founded in 1910, Radford offers curricula for undergraduates in more than 100 fields, graduate programs incl ...

, a role he has held since 2021.

Playing career

College

Nichols played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

, where he was a four-year letterman who played in 144 games during his four-year career.

Professional

After going undrafted out of college, Nichols went on to play professionally for

Atomerőmű SE Atomerőmű SE, sometimes shortened to ASE, is a Hungarian professional basketball team based in Paks. The team plays in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I/A, the highest professional league in Hungary. The team was founded in 1979 and has won the Hungari ...

, a professional team in Hungary for one season that went 10-1 and won the Hungarian cup before suffering a knee injury that ended his playing career.

Coaching career

After one season playing professionally overseas, Nichols turned to his former college coach

Bob Huggins Robert Edward Huggins (born September 21, 1953) is an American college basketball coach. Nicknamed “Huggy Bear,” he is currently the head coach of the West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team. Huggins previously held the head coach ...

to begin a coaching career, starting at his alma mater

as a graduate assistant. He was named an assistant at

Northern Kentucky Northern Kentucky is the third-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington, and its cities and towns serve as the de facto "south side" communities of Cincinnati, Ohio. The three main countie ...

in 2011 and spent two seasons with the team before spending a season each with

Wofford Wofford may refer to: People with the surname *Toni Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford, 1931–2019), American writer *Dan Wofford, American politician *Harris Wofford (1926–2019), U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania, 1991-1995 *James C. Woffor ...

and

Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activi ...

. He joined the coaching staff at

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

in 2015 as an assistant on former Louisiana Tech head coach Mike White's staff.

Radford

Nichols was named the head coach at

Radford Radford may refer to: Places England * Radford, Coventry, West Midlands * Radford, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire * Radford, Plymstock, Devon *Radford, Oxfordshire * Radford, Somerset *Radford, Worcestershire *Radford Cave in Devon *Radford Semele, ...

on April 21, 2021. In year two, Radford went 21-15, finishing tied for second in the

Big South Conference The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non- football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). ...

and advanced to post-season play, participating in the

CBI Tournament The College Basketball Invitational (CBI) is a men's college basketball tournament created in 2007 by The Gazelle Group. The inaugural tournament occurred after the conclusion of the 2007–08 men's college basketball regular season. The CBI ...

. Radford had a 9 game winning streak in league play.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Radford Highlanders profile

Florida Gators profile

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs profile

West Virginia Mountaineers profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols, Darris 1986 births Living people People from Radford, Virginia Basketball players from Virginia Basketball coaches from Virginia Point guards Shooting guards West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball players Atomerőmű SE players West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball coaches Northern Kentucky Norse men's basketball coaches Wofford Terriers men's basketball coaches Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball coaches Florida Gators men's basketball coaches Radford Highlanders men's basketball coaches