Darris Nichols
Darris Nichols collage

Darris Nichols enters his third season as the Radford Men’s Head Basketball Coach in 2023-24. There is a lot of excitement around this team as the community has rallied behind their beloved coach, selling out season tickets for the regular season at the Dedmon Center. 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, a postseason appearance in the CBI, and first-ever multiple wins in school history knocking off Tarleton and San Jose State. Last season he improved winning by 10 games and his team broke a school record for the most points scored as well as the most times being featured on national TV in a single season. They ended with a 12-6 record in the conference tied for second and led the league in defensive efficiency.

In his debut season, the 11-18 record represented the most wins and best win percentage for a first-year head coach at Radford since Ron Bradley led 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. Then in November 2023, The Athltci included Darri on their 40 under 40 list of the most influential people in the game of college Men’s Basketball.

Darris Nichols was named Radford University's eighth men's basketball head coach on April 21, 2021. A Radford, Va., native, Nichols had spent the previous six seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Florida.

"Darris Nichols is a star," Radford Director of Athletics Robert Lineburg says of Nichols. "He was an outstanding student-athlete at Radford High School and at West Virginia University. He has climbed the ranks as an assistant coach all the way to the University of Florida in the SEC. At each stop, he has made a tremendous impact. He has played for and worked with some of America's best basketball coaches, which is so important. He is prepared and ready for this moment, and we are thrilled to welcome him home."

Darris Nichols coaching at Radford University
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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.

Coach Darris Nichols and Coach Bob Huggins

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Nichols shined as a player in the Big East. A four-year letter winner 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.