May 14, 2008

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Providence College Head Coach Phil Seymore announced that Jonath Nicholas will join the women's basketball staff as an assistant coach on Wednesday, May 14. Nicholas spent the last four seasons as an assistant coach at BIG EAST foe St. John's in Queens, N.Y.

While at St. John's, Nicholas helped to guide the Red Storm to some of the most successful seasons in program history under the direction of Head Coach Kim Barnes Arico. The Red Storm qualified for the BIG EAST Conference Tournament each of his four seasons with the team. The squad earned two WNIT invitations (2005, 2008) and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship in 2006. That year, the Red Storm finished the year with a 22-8 overall record. The Red Storm posted two, 20-win seasons during Nicholas' tenure. Last season, the Red Storm finished the year with an 18-15 overall record (7-9 BIG EAST) and earned two victories in the WNIT, defeating Iona (65-59) and Boston College (65-56) before falling to NC State (63-61).

Nicholas was the Red Storm's top recruiter during his time at St. John's. He was responsible for signing the likes of Monique McLean and Sky Lindsay, along with other key members of the Red Storm program. McLean earned BIG EAST Honorable Mention accolades in 2007 and led St. John's in scoring a year ago with an average of 14.7 points per game. She also added 5.4 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.5 assists per game. Lindsay was named to the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team in 2008 after tallying 8.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Nicholas also signed two exceptional players for St. John's who will begin their careers with the Red Storm in 2008-09. Da'Shena Stevens, a 6'-1" forward out of Trinity Catholic is rated one of the top-50 players in the country. Britney Murphy is a Class A First-Team All-State selection, Most Valuable Player of the Saginaw Valley League (Mich.) and is rated a top-100 player in the country. As a senior she averaged 16.7 points, 6.5 assist, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game for Arthur Hill High.

Prior to his arrival at St. John's, Nicholas spent two seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Alabama-Birmingham with the women's program, where he was responsible for guard development, recruiting and video coordination. Nicholas was responsible for signing former UAB stand-out Carmen Guzman `07. Guzman was a four-year starter for the Blazers and went on to earn Conference USA Player of the Year honors and was a finalist for the KODAK/WBCA All-America team. Nicholas also recruited Crystal McFadden, who recently finished her career at UAB. She was an All-Conference USA selection, and averaged 13.4 points and 5.1 rebounds during the 2007-08 season.

Nicholas also served as Associate Head Coach at Southwestern Community College in San Diego, Calif. from 1988-99. While at SCC, he helped develop 10 Junior College All-Americans and 16 student-athletes who went on to play NCAA Division I basketball.

Nicholas also enjoyed a stellar playing career at UAB from 1980-82. As a junior, he helped his team advance to the Sweet 16. The following season, the Blazers posted a 25-6 overall record and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight. He remains among the top-10 at UAB in free throw percentage. Prior to UAB, he played two seasons at Mesa Community College, where he set single season and single game scoring records.

He completed his bachelor's degree in physical education at Trinity University in 1997. Nicholas and his wife, Roz Ervin, have two sons, Branden and Courtney.