UNIVERSITY CENTER - Saginaw Valley State University head men's basketball coach Randy Baruth has announced the hiring of Cameron Nichols to be the program's assistant coach. Nichols joined the program late last week to begin his duties for the Cardinals.
Cameron joins a program that is fresh off the most successful in program history, which resulted in the team's first-ever Midwest Regional Championship and trip to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. The 2015-16 Cardinals tied a school record with 25 victories and had a record 18 GLIAC wins. The team claimed the GLIAC regular season championship as well, the fourth-ever for the program and first since 1984-85. This past year's title also was the first since joining the ranks of the NCAA Division II level.
"It is with great pleasure that we welcome Cam back to his alma mater as our assistant coach," stated Baruth. "Cam brings an 'all hands on-deck' attitude and work ethic, which blends well with our program. He is someone who can help us continue to grow our program."
Nichols joins SVSU after serving as the associate head coach at Detroit Country Day School, where he was on the staff for three seasons.
While at Country Day, he helped lead the Yellowjackets to a pair of Class B District Championships. Nichols helped mold the games of three different players who have gone on to play at the NCAA Division I level.
Prior to coaching at Country Day, Cameron was the head coach at Detroit Renaissance High School for six years, where was named the MHSAA Region 2 Coach of the Year in 2008 after leading the team to a district crown. The Phoenix claimed two PSL West League championships under his direction. Thirteen of Nichols's players from Renaissance played collegiate basketball, including 10 of whomh competed in the GLIAC.
During his high school coaching tenure, Nichols coached elite travel team basketball with the REACH Legends youth basketball program. Nichols has been involved with Elite basketball camps around the state, including the Michigan Elite 25 camp and the Reaching Higher Showcase. He has run Coach Cam's Elite 90 Shooting Session, which is one of the top tier shooting camps in the midwest.
Nichols, an alumnus of Saginaw Valley State University, played four years for the Cardinals from 2000-2003. He was named the Thoroughbred Award winner his junior season. Cameron was honored with the Senior Award in 2003 and was named the GLIAC Player of the Week in February of that year. Nichols was also named the team's Most Improved Player in both his freshman and sophomore seasons.
During his high school playing days at Detroit Cass Tech High School, he led the team to a pair of district titles, a regional championship and a PSL city championship in 1998.
Nichols graduated from Saginaw Valley State University in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Systems.
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