Nichols' clutch shot gives W. Virginia shot at NIT title

NEW YORK -- Three rows behind the West Virginia bench and no more than 10 feet from the three-point line where Darris Nichols caught the inbounds pass, set his feet and released a game-winning shot to push the Mountaineers over Mississippi State, 63-62, and into the NIT championship game, former Mountaineer March magician Mike Gansey was the first to throw up his hands and point at Nichols as the new starting guard wielding the shooter's wand.

"To be down two and go for the three instead of the two, that's gutsy," said Gansey who helped pioneer West Virginia's Elite Eight and Sweet 16 runs the last two seasons. "I would have thought that Frank [Young] would have gotten the ball, but Darris was with us for those runs, too. It's not like he hasn't seen this up close. But, wow, we knew he could step up."

What Gansey saw was not a shadow of his former self on the Madison Square Garden floor. Rather it was a another step out of the shadows for Nichols, who spent most of the previous two seasons watching J.D. Collins and Gansey run John Beilein's complex offense, which features principles of the Princeton offense as well as personal offshoots like creating more room for shooters to maneuver. Once a cautionary ball handler who could protect the ball and steady the offense, the lefty point man showed an ability to attack the paint to his dominant side throughout the game, and step into his own shot with 2.1 seconds left and West Virginia trailing by two.

"When I caught the ball I didn't really know where I was on the court," said Nichols, who scored 17 points and was the first option on the inbounds play and came off a screen by freshman Da'Sean Butler. "I was a little in doubt."

The play, which featured a secondary option of senior swing man Frank Young popping to the right corner for a 3-point attempt, was not dreamed up by Beilein, known to many in college basketball as a master tactician and beholder of hundreds of personally-crafted plays. First seen by the coach's eyes during a November coaching clinic hosted by West Virginia, former Nebraska coach Danny Nee revealed the inbounds blueprints during the clinic, and then implemented it during a post-clinic scrimmage with Mountaineer players.

"It didn't work the first time, but I'm glad it worked on a bigger stage," Beilein said.

Having started the season off at 13-1 and eventually finishing 22-9 in the regular season with a 69-65 signature win over UCLA on their résumé, the Mountaineers were snubbed by the NCAA tournament selection committee two weeks ago. Nonetheless, Beilein has continued to grow his team's maturity with eight freshmen in his lineup and four first-time starters in his rotation.

"I don't want to hear anyone say anything about the NIT not being good after watching that place explode with that shot and the quality of the game with the appropriate atmosphere to match," Beilein said.

For Young, the sole starter to return from the NCAA runs thru March, Nichols' shot dusted off memories of Big East tournament games at the Garden.

"Darris almost made me cry," Young said. "I was so proud with him extending my season one more game, my career one more game."

Beaming like a proud father behind the bench, Gansey, who still lives near the Morgantown campus and is currently working out and trying to catch on with an NBA team for summer league, continued to high five fans in the crowd as the current crop headed for the locker room.

"It means a lot for him to come and watch us," Nichols said. "I just hope he comes here Thursday."