Robert Austin Nichols (born September 20, 1994) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. He played college basketball for the

University of Memphis } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering, the Center for Ea ...

and the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

Early years

Nichols attended

Briarcrest Christian School Briarcrest Christian School is a private, coeducational, Christian school in Eads, an unincorporated area of Shelby County, Tennessee. The school was founded as a segregation academy during the racial integration of public schools in Memphis, Tenne ...

Eads, Tennessee Eads is an unincorporated community in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, named after Civil War engineer James Buchanan Eads. Some parts of Eads (and some surrounding areas) have been annexed by the city of Memphis. Some of its area is curren ...

. While there, he was a four-time letterwinner and helped lead his team to the state championship game. Nichols averaged 22.7 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots his senior season en route to being named the Gatorade Player of the Year for Tennessee. On November 5, 2012, Nichols committed to the

. He had also received offers from

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, Vanderbilt, and

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

College career

Memphis

Nichols started in all 34 of the Tigers' games his freshman year. It was the first time a Memphis freshman had done so since Darius Washington, Jr. during the 2004-05 season. Nichols was named AAC Rookie of the Year at the end of the season. During his sophomore year, Nichols would be limited to just 27 games because of several ankle injuries. Despite the injuries, he led the Tigers in scoring (13.3 PPG), was second on the team in rebounds (6.1 RPG), and third in the country in blocked shots (3.4 BPG). At the conclusion of the season, it was announced that Nichols had earned a spot on the All- AAC First Team, becoming the first Tigers player to do so since the reorganization of the American. The summer following his sophomore season, Nichols requested to be released from his scholarship. The Memphis staff initially refused to let Nichols leave, but eventually granted him a conditional release. The conditions would apply if Nichols transfers to the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...

, any school in the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (The American or AAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference, featuring 11 member universities and five affiliate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) ...

, and any out-of-conference schools that play Memphis during the 2015–16 and 2016-17 seasons. Transferring to one of these schools meant that he would have to pay for his

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after ...

season before becoming scholarship eligible again once reinstated. The Nichols family hired a lawyer to petition for an unconditional release, and on July 14, 2015, Memphis removed all conditions from Nichols' release.

Virginia

On July 28, 2015, Nichols announced that he was transferring to the University of Virginia. He had also received interest from Notre Dame and Marquette. After sitting out the 2015-16 season as a

, Nichols was scheduled to have two years of eligibility remaining once reinstated. After being suspended for the opener, Nichols appeared in one game. He was then dismissed from the team on November 18, 2016.

College statistics

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;",

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, 34 , , 34 , , 22.8 , , .589 , , .000 , , .536 , , 4.3 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , 1.2 , , 9.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;",

, 27 , , 26 , , 29.5 , , .497 , , .222 , , .607 , , 6.1 , , 1.0 , , 0.8 , , 3.4 , , 13.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 1 , , 0 , , 16.0 , , .571 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 3.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 11.0

Personal life

Austin's parents are Mark and Kim Nichols. He has a twin sister named Ashley and an older sister Natalie. Nichols was majoring in drama.

References

External links

Virginia bio

DraftExpress.com profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols, Austin 1994 births Living people Basketball players from Memphis, Tennessee Memphis Hustle players Memphis Tigers men's basketball players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Power forwards Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball players American men's basketball players