Chester Nichols
August 25, 2008 05:40 PM | General
Assistant Coach
Chester.Nichols@mail.wvu.edu
(304) 293-3508
A hard-working, strong recruiter, Chester Nichols enters his seventh season on the Mountaineer staff. Known as one of the nation’s most successful recruiters, he played an instrumental role in helping the Mountaineers sign a top 20 recruiting class in 2008-2009.
He also played an instrumental role in signing Sarah Miles, the reigning BIG EAST Most Improved Player of the Year and for his efforts was recognized as one of the nation’s best assistant coaches by being invited to Nike’s prestigous Villa 7 Coaches Consortium in Beaverton, Ore., during the Summer of 2008.
In six seasons, Nichols has helped bring five Top 20 recruiting classes to WVU.
Responsible for recruiting, on-the-court instruction of the Mountaineer post players and assisting in the overall operation of the program, Nichols played a key role in WVU's 21-11 record in 2003-04, its subsequent berth into the NCAA tournament, 2005's 21-13 record and postseason WNIT championship game appearance, WVU's run to the BIG EAST championship game in 2005-06, WVU’s 21-11 record and NCAA second round appearance in 2006-07 and most recently the Mountaineers’ 25-8 record that resulted in their second NCAA second round entrance.
Nichols came to WVU seven seasons ago from the adidas/Premier Players, an AAU organization in Ocala, Fla., where he spent a year as the head coach of the Florida Starzz and chief evaluator of the Rookie Sensations. A native of Ocala, Fla., Nichols brought seven years of coaching experience with him to West Virginia. While an assistant with the women's squad at Central Florida Community College, he helped coach one NJCAA All American and three All Mid Florida conference players.
Nichols began his coaching career at Greenville (Ill.) High where he was an assistant with the varsity boys team from 1996-97. He then moved on to coach at Vanguard High in Ocala, Fla., where he was also responsible for directing the nationally recognized Kingdom of the Sun Holiday Classic.
In 2000, Nichols helped guide Dunnellon (Fla.) High to its first Final Four in school history.
A 1997 graduate of Greenville College, Nichols played three seasons of varsity football while pursuing his degree in special education. Nichols resides in Morgantown.
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