The Virginia men’s basketball team was expected to face a year of rebuilding after the 2015-16 season. After all, key cogs such as guard Malcolm Brogdon, forwards Anthony Gill and Evan Nolte and center Mike Tobey will all be seniors this year.
But Virginia received welcomed news when former Memphis forward Austin Nichols announced Sunday that he would be transferring to the University. The program made the news official Monday.
As required by NCAA transfer rules, Nichols will sit out the 2015-16 season, although he can still practice with the team. He will then have two years of eligibility starting with the 2016-17 season.
“We are certainly fortunate and excited to add Austin to the Virginia basketball family,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. “The experience he brings will be invaluable. His redshirt year will be an opportunity for him to improve and be more ready to step in the following season and help our team. Austin is a great fit for our program and system.”
The 6-foot-9, Collierville, Tennessee native started 60 of 61 games during his two-year stint with the Tigers. Nichols has accumulated 35 double-figure scoring games in addition to 34 multi-block games in his brief career.
After winning All-American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year following the 2013-14 season, Nichols earned All-AAC first-team honors last year after averaging 13.3 points per game, 6.1 rebounds per game and an impressive 3.4 blocks per game — the last good for third nationally.
Nichols — a consensus five-star recruit rated as high as the No. 28 player in his class by Scout.com — was the 2012-13 Gatorade Tennessee Player of the Year. He was recruited heavily by Virginia but chose to stay close to home and play at Memphis.
Nichols’ addition to the frontcourt — along with the expected improvement of underclassmen such as sophomore forward Isaiah Wilkins, redshirt freshman center Jack Salt and freshman forward Jarred Reuter — should help ease the transition into the 2016-17 season after longtime big men Gill and Tobey exhaust their eligibility this year.
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