La Salle basketball names Radford coach Darris Nichols as Dunphy’s successor

PHILADELPHIA — La Salle named Darris Nichols as its new basketball coach on Tuesday, succeeding Fran Dunphy, who will retire from coaching at the end of the season.

Nichols went 68-63 in four seasons at Radford from 2021 through this season. Radford went 20-13 this season, the second time in Nichols’ four seasons he won at least 20 games. Radford finished 9-7 and in fourth place this season in the Big South conference.

“Darris’ coaching philosophy is grounded in building team chemistry and supporting the development of student-athletes with an expectation of excellence on and off the court, La Salle athletic director Ashwin Puri said in the announcement. ”It is no surprise his coaching philosophy matches his former playing style, one anchored in toughness and tenacity. It’s a brand of basketball that will be an exciting new chapter for the Explorer community and Philadelphia.”

The 76-year-old Dunphy will become special assistant to the president at La Salle. Dunphy won more than 600 games and made 17 NCAA Tournament appearances in 33 seasons as coach at Penn, Temple and with the Explorers.

The Explorers have not had a winning record since 2015.

Nichols was a standout player at West Virginia and a member of its 2008 Sweet 16, 2007 NIT Championship, 2006 Sweet 16 and 2005 Elite Eight teams. Nichols’ coaching experience includes stints as an assistant coach at Florida, Louisiana Tech, Wofford, and Northern Kentucky.

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