Darris Nichols Returns to the Coliseum in a new Role

As the No. 11 West Virginia Mountaineers host the Florida Gators in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, they will be welcoming in one of their own in Florida assistant coach and former Mountaineer point guard Darris Nichols makes his way into the WVU Coliseum for the first time since spending two years as a graduate assistant under WVU head coach Bob Huggins.

For Nichols, coming back to Morgantown as one of the rising young coaches in the country has special meaning.

“It means a lot just for the simple fact that a lot of the people that will be on the other side of the court, on the other bench, are people that helped me get to where I am today. So, to me, that is a homecoming,” he said.

He later added. “I haven’t been to Morgantown in a few years. I think the last time I was there, maybe 2017, for an alumni game. So, a lot of people that’s going to be in the stands are going to be friends and family to me, but my mom and dad, they can’t make it.” My dad actually has a game. It’s just going to be special just being able to see people I haven’t seen in a long time.”

During his playing days, the Radford, VA native spent his first three years under former head coach John Beilein, who took the program to heights it had not seen in 46 years after a magical run in 2005, reaching the Elite 8 of the NCAA tournament including knocking off the two-seeded Wake Forest Demon Deacons. During that postseason run, he was a freshman and spent his first two seasons as the backup to point guard JD Collins.

Nichols took over the starting role as a junior and averaged 10.9 points and 4.6 assists per game after help guiding West Virginia to a 22-7 regular season record, including a 9-7 Big East Conference record. However, the Mountaineers were snubbed by the NCAA selection committee and accepted a bid to the NIT. West Virginia dominated the first three games with wins over Delaware State, UMass and NC State to move onto the Final Four traditionally hosted inside infamous Madison Square Garden.

West Virginia was facing elimination in the semifinals against Mississippi State when, trailing by two, Nichols released a three off the right side that came up short, bounced off a Mississippi State player, and went out of bounds, giving the Mountaineers one final shot with just over two seconds remaining in the game. He would get another opportunity and off the inbounds pass from Alex Ruoff, Nichols got a free release on the opposite side and buried a three as time expired to pulled off the 63-62 victory and moved into the championship game to defeat Clemson comfortably, 78-73.

Nichols spent his senior year under Huggins after Beilein departed to become the head coach at the University of Michigan, and Huggins quickly had West Virginia was back on the national stage with a 24-10 record, registering a win over No. 10 Marquette and defeating No. 15 Connecticut in the Big East Conference tournament quarterfinals ahead of being selected to the NCAA tournament. In the second round, the Mountaineers defeated Duke before a four-point overtime loss to Xavier in the Sweet Sixteen ended the 2008 season. Nichols was fourth on the team in scoring 10.7 ppg and 3.2 apg, and according to Huggins, Nichols was the “quarterback” back of the Mountaineers that featured Joe Alexander, averaged a team-leading 16.9 ppg, Alex Ruoff, and Da’Sean Butler.

“We played a lot of different defenses back then, and Darris was the guy who really helped get people where they were supposed to be,” explained Huggins. “He had a great understanding of what we needed done. I think from the beginning, he really wanted to learn. He was obviously very well versed in what John did and what we do is different - there's similarities obviously, but it’s kinda different than what John was and did, and Darris picked it up very quickly, and I think the great thing was, not only did he pick it up, but he helped other people pick it up.”

Nichols had a stint playing overseas before suffering an injury, and while debating on whether or not to return to the hardwood, he returned to Morgantown and while working at the Waterfront Hotel and would venture over to the basketball facilities and got to take a peek behind the coaching scenes.

“It’s funny because as a player, you don’t really understand what all goes into coaching,” he said with a smile before later explaining, “I got a good look at it and I didn’t know what all went into it. I kind of just thought coaches recruit, and then they show up to practice and then play basketball, but there is a lot more that goes into it.”

Nichols stated he has taken different styles from different coaches he’s worked with, but one thing he took from Huggins was his relentlessness.

“The biggest thing with him was, he was just always relentless whether it was practice, whether you just won a big game and moving onto the next game,” said Nichols. “With him, you just never really comfortable that he’s not going to let anything slide. That’s the main thing I took from him.”

Nichols is in his sixth year at Florida, and the two programs have met twice since his arrival in Gainesville, and the Gators have bitten the Mountaineers both times, with both wins coming by double figures.

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