Radford HC Darris Nichols Talks Importance of Win Over WVU

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Former WVU G Darris Nichols has worked his way up the coaching ladder, leading him back home to Radford. Nichols, in his third season with the Highlanders, coached Radford to a last-second win over his alma mater, 66-65.

“I’m not going to lie, it means a lot. I basically grew up here, special place, a lot of people that helped me grow as a person,” Nichols said after the win. “Just to come back here with your own program is special.”

Nichols’ guard DaQuan Smith nailed a mid-range shot with 0.6 seconds remaining to give West Virginia another home loss. This was the second time Nichols took Radford into Morgantown as head coach. The last time, Bob Huggins was coaching at WVU was in 2021.

“It was definitely different,” Nichols said. “Obviously they’ve been through a lot in the last year. It was different but it was good to see your college teammates [Alex Ruoff and Da’Sean Butler.]”

“It was really good to see them in that element where they pivoted to their new purpose, life after playing,” Nichols added.

Radford is now 10-4 and will play another Power-6 program in Clemson next. Nichols and his staff look to compete at the top of the Big South Conference and get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018.