Darris Nichols takes Radford head coaching position

Florida assistant coach Darris Nichols is heading back home to become the new head coach of the Radford Highlanders.

"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," UF head coach Mike White said. "It's a big-time hire by Radford! He's more than ready to come home."

Nichols graduated from Radford High School before going to play at West Virginia, where he played from 2004-08. He scored 993 career points and dished 399 assists while shooting at a .375 clip from beyond the arc. He averaged 10.7 points per game as well as 3.2 assists per game as a senior on the way to the Mountaineers' 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 Mountaineers history.

"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," UF head coach Mike White said. "It's a big-time hire by Radford! He's more than ready to come home."

After his collegiate career, Nichols played briefly overseas before pursuing coaching. His career began back at West Virginia, where he was a graduate assistant for Bob Huggins. Nichols then coached as an assistant at Northern Kentucky, Wofford, and Louisiana Tech before coming to Florida to take the vacancy left by Dusty May.

This will be Nichols' first head coaching position and he is the second assistant from the Florida staff to get a head coaching position this offseason (Jordan Mincey - Jacksonville). Florida has not hired Mincey's replacement and is now tasked with finding two new assistant coaches.