By Sam Federman
La Salle has hired Radford head coach Darris Nichols as the program's successor to Fran Dunphy, the school announced on Tuesday.
In February, the legendary Dunphy announced his impending retirement, and the Explorers moved quickly to hire a new coach before the A-10 Tournament even tips off.
Nichols, who turns 39 in May, is a surprising hire for La Salle, given that he has no experience in Philadelphia as a player or coach, and has had only moderate success in his four seasons at the helm of the Radford program.
Nevertheless, he led the Highlanders to the CBI Semifinals in 2022-23, and has finished top four in the Big South in two of the past three seasons. He went 68-63 over his four years at his hometown school.
Before that, he was an assistant for Mike White at both Florida and Louisiana Tech. He also worked at Wofford, Northern Kentucky, and as a graduate assistant for Bob Huggins at his alma mater of West Virginia.
In his four years as a Mountaineer point guard, Nichols started 75 games, and played in 141. He averaged 7 points per game, and was in the double digits in each of his last two years. He ranks 10th all-time in assists at WVU and 5th in games played.
This past season, Radford went 20-13 and finished 151st in KenPom - the highest mark of Nichols' tenure. His teams have played at a slow pace, but improved markedly on the offensive side of the ball each year.
Year | AdjO Ranking |
2021-22 | 309 |
2022-23 | 186 |
2023-24 | 149 |
2024-25 | 106 |
La Salle hasn't finished with an offense as high as Radford's this year since 2016-17 - Dr. John Giannini's second-to-last season.
The top priority for La Salle this offseason is likely to retain freshman Deuce Jones, who averaged 15.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.0 steals per game over the final 16 games of the regular season.