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Darris Nichols

Darris Nichols

Darris Nichols enters his third season as the Radford head basketball coach in 2023-24. The native son of Radford, Va. was named the eighth head coach in program history on April 21, 2021.

Nichols' plan to return the Highlanders to their winning ways came to fruition in just his second season at the helm, leading the program to a 21-15 overall record, including a 12-6 mark in Big South play, during the 2022-23 campaign. Radford came one point away from playing in the conference championship, but still earned a bid to the College Basketball Invitational.

With wins over Tarleton State and San Jose State in the CBI, the Highlanders won multiple postseason contests in the same season for the first time in program history. The team's success can, at least partially, be attributed to the incredible recruiting effort Nichols and his staff displayed in the offseason.

With just three returners coming back from the 2021-22 roster, the Radford coaching staff secured commitments from a number of difference-making players - former 5-star All-American Bryan Antoine (Villanova), DaQuan Smith (Murray State), Justin Archer (Florida SouthWestern), Madiaw Niang (Florida Atlantic), Onyebuchi Ezeakudo (Pittsburgh) and Souleymane Koureissi (Richmond).

A 11-18 record in his debut season (2021-22) represented the most wins and best winning percentage for a first-year head coach at Radford since Ron Bradley lead the Highlanders to a 20-9 record in 1991-92. After a slow start to the season, the Highlanders came on strong late, including winning four of their last five regular season contests to end the season on a positive note.

In October 2021, Nichols was inducted into the Radford High School Hall of Fame alongside his brother and Radford Men's Basketbal Assistant Coach Shane Nichols. Then, in November 2021, The Athletic included Nichols on their "40 under 40" list, the 40 most influential people in the game of college men's basketball under the age of 40.

Before returning to the New River Valley, Nichols spent six seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Florida. While at Florida he helped coach the Gators to a 123-75 record that included four straight 20-win seasons. Nichols and the Gators also tallied four straight NCAA Tournament bids.
 
The 2016-17 season was one of the best, while Nichols was at UF. Florida earned a 27-9 record and reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. The Gators finished second in the SEC with a 14-4 record, matching the second-most conference wins in team history. Florida climbed as high as 12th nationally in both the AP and coaches polls and hit No. 3 in RPI and KenPom rankings.
 
Nichols, a member of Coaches 4 Change, garnered a spot in ESPN.com's 40 Under 40 in the summer of 2020, rated #17 on the national list that included both head coaches and assistant coaches. He was also rated the #2 assistant coach in the SEC in a Stadium poll of coaches around the league. He has coached three future NBA players at Florida in Dorian Finney-Smith, Devin Robinson and Chris Chiozza.
 
Prior to his six-year (2015-21) stint at Florida, he was an assistant at Louisiana Tech coaching under Mike White during the 2014-15 season. He helped guide Louisiana Tech to the 2015 Conference USA championship as guard Kenneth "Speedy" Smith garnered C-USA Player of the Year and AP All-American honors. The Bulldogs went 27-9 on the season and advanced to the NIT quarterfinals. The 2014-15 season also produced a 15-3 conference mark and a perfect 17-0 home record.
 
In one season at Wofford (2013-14), Nichols helped guide the Terriers, who were picked to finish sixth in the league by the coaches, to a 20-win season and a Southern Conference Tournament championship, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. In that NCAA Tournament game, Nichols was on the opposite bench from his former head coach, as Beilein's Michigan team topped the 15-seed Wofford. The Terriers finished 20-13, including 11-5 on the SoCon.
 
Prior to joining Wofford, he spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Northern Kentucky where he helped transition the Norse from Division II to Division I. In 2012-13, Nichols was the defensive coordinator, and the squad ranked second in the Atlantic Sun in scoring defense, while also being two wins shy of tying the record for most ever by a Division I transitional team. In the process, Nichols developed Eshaunte Jones who was named Atlantic Sun all-conference first team. The team finished with an 11-16 mark, including 9-9 in the A-Sun.
 
In his first year at Northern Kentucky, the team went 23-7, tying the school record for best start in school history (13-0) along the way and participated in the Division II Tournament. The guards, coached by Nichols, led the GLVC conference in 3-point field goal percentage and 3-point field goals made.
 
Nichols shined as a player in the Big East. A four-year letterwinner at West Virginia under Bob Huggins and John Beilein, Nichols helped the Mountaineers to a 26-11 record and a trip to the 2008 NCAA Sweet 16 his senior season. He scored 993 career points and dished 399 assists, while shooting at a .375 clip from 3-point range. He averaged 10.7 points per game, as well as 3.2 assists per game, as a senior on the way to WVU's Sweet 16 run. He was also a member of the 2007 NIT Championship, 2006 Sweet 16 and 2005 Elite Eight teams and finished his collegiate career as a top five most winningest player in Mountaineer history.
 
As a junior in 2007, Nichols dished out 4.6 assists per contest and averaged 10.9 points per game as WVU posted a 27-9 record. He led the Big East in assist-to-turnover ratio and was named to the NIT All-Tournament Team. The team reached the NIT final thanks to Nichols' game-winning 3-pointer in the semifinals versus Mississippi State.
 
Nichols was also twice a recipient of the Big East Academic All-Star and Sportsmanship Award and earned the 2008 Fred Schaus Captain Award for WVU intercollegiate athletics.
 
After graduation, he played professionally overseas with Atomeromu SE Paks of the Hungarian League's A Division. He returned to his alma mater for one season, working with the basketball staff throughout the season and coordinating summer basketball camps.
 
Nichols earned his bachelor's degree from West Virginia University in sociology and is married to the former Courtnie McKinney.
 
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT DARRIS NICHOLS….
 
"Darris is many things. A former great player, a leader, a great teammate, an old soul, a consistent grinder, an ethical worker, a commanding presence on the court and an awesome human being. It's a big-time hire by Radford! He's more than ready to come home."
– Mike White, Florida Men's Basketball Head Coach
 
"Congratulations to Darris. I'm extremely proud of him. I've always known he was going to be a head coach, basically when he knew all the sets better than I did. I want to wish him good luck, and I'm hoping he'll come to Morgantown and see us, along with his team."
– Bob Huggins, West Virginia Men's Basketball Head Coach
 
Darris Nichols is a lot of things. He is a wonderful man. He is an excellent basketball coach and will be a terrific ambassador, not only for Radford University basketball but for Radford University as a whole. I've known Darris for many years. I've had the opportunity to work with him back in 2014. His mother and father are exceptional people. I know he's thrilled to have the opportunity to be a Division I men's basketball head coach and do it in a city that he's very familiar with. I'm happy for him and for Radford University. He's going to do an excellent job, and I look forward to following his progress."
– Mike Young, Virginia Tech Men's Basketball Head Coach
 
"Darris Nichols is a rising star in the world of coaching college basketball. We have remained in close contact from the time he played for us at WVU. He has always had a thirst to learn the game and was one of the smartest players I ever coached. His recruiting skills are exceptional, and he will bring the right people to Radford. Darris really knows the game and how to develop talent too. Student-athletes will love playing for him as well. This is a great match for both Radford University and Darris, and I look forward to following all his success in the years to come."
– John Beilein, Former Richmond, WVU, Michigan, and Cleveland Cavaliers Basketball Head Coach