LSU coach Will Wade hired former Howard head coach Kevin Nickelberry as assistant to the head coach, LSU announced on Tuesday.
Nickelberry spent nine years at Howard and helped the Bison reach the College Basketball Invitational this past season but was forced to resign following the conclusion of the season.
Nickelberry worked as an assistant at Clemson from 2003 to 2006 when Wade was also a student manager there. Nickelberry accepted the head coaching job at Hampton University before moving to Howard.
“We are very happy to have Kevin Nickelberry join our basketball staff here at LSU,” said Wade in a press release. “I have been friends with him for some 15 years and know that he will be a tremendous mentor and resource for our players with his years of college basketball experience.”
Nickelberry joins LSU as a member of its support staff after the departure of coordinator basketball operations Brian Merritt left for Morgan State and Tasmin Mitchell was elevated to a full-time assistant coach after Tony Benford accepted a job at TCU.
“I am excited to get back to a Power 5 conference and to join the LSU Basketball program,” said Nickelberry in the release. “I have had some exciting career opportunities so far. It has been a bucket list item of mine to work on a program that can get to a Final Four and Coach Wade has done an outstanding job in making this LSU program nationally relevant with a bright future ahead.”