Radford Basketball: The Difference Between Playing and Competing

The outdoor courts that used to sit beside Peters Hall on Radford University’s campus taught me the difference in playing vs. competing. Growing up in Radford, my brother Shane Nichols and I always watched our Dad, Bill Nichols, compete against the locals and Radford students.

He would be on the court for hours and after every game we would ask him if it was time go yet. He would always respond, “One more game.” A few times we saw them try to sneak another game in before we would ask.

Back in the day if you had “Next” in pick-up games (meaning you picked the next team -- winners always stay), you turned into a General Manager and a scout, evaluating the previous game to see who could help you win.

You made sure you picked guys and sometimes girls (shoutout to my cousin Crystal Hubbard) who could help you win. At Peter’s Hall in late July and August when students started to come back, if you lost that day you may have to wait 20-30 minutes until you got back on the court ... or may not get back on at all.

There were many times you would lose and have time to make a run to the old Deli Mart and back.

This weekend is the 25th anniversary of the Radford Championship team and many of those players are the ones who were on the court with my dad. They helped teach me the difference between playing vs. competing.

For that I thank you guys!