NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – Niagara men’s basketball head coach Joe Mihalich has announced the hiring of Shane Nichols to the coaching staff.

“We are very happy to welcome Coach Shane Nichols to our staff,” Mihalich said.  “Coach Nichols was a very good player (MAAC Rookie of the Year in 2004 at Saint Peter’s and All-Conference at Wofford) and comes highly recommended in his role as an assistant at Wofford.  Wofford has been extremely successful in the Southern Conference over the last 3 years. He will help us on the floor and on the recruiting trail.”

Nichols comes to Niagara after spending the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Wofford where he worked extensively with film exchange, scouting, and recruiting.

During Nichols two seasons at Wofford, the Terriers went 40-27 while making two postseason appearances, including a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2011, and had five players earn Southern Conference honors.

“I’m really excited to be at Niagara and to work for Coach Mihalich,” Nichols said. “I played at Saint Peter’s so I’m familiar with the league and the success coach Mihalich and Niagara have had. I’m really excited to continue that success.”

A 2008 graduate of Wofford with a degree in sociology, Nichols played three seasons for the Terriers after transferring from Saint Peter’s.  He scored 1,176 points in his career and holds the school record for three pointers made in a season with 93. He is fourth in career three pointers made and attempted, along with third in three-point percentage at 40.9%.

As a senior, Nichols started 18 games and led the team with a 13.5 points per game average and was second with 324 total points. During his junior season he started all 29 games and led the team in scoring with 452 points (15.6 ppg) and led the team in three pointers (85). During his sophomore season and first at Wofford, he set the school record with 93 three-point field goals. As a freshman at Saint Peter's he was the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year and averaged 10.6 points per game.

After graduating from Wofford, he played one season of professional basketball in Israel. Prior to joining the Wofford staff, he served as an assistant coach at Radford High School.

A native of Radford, Virginia, Nichols scored over 1,800 points at Radford High School, earning All-State honors as a junior and senior. His younger brother, Darris, played four years at West Virginia.