Kevin Nickelberry addresses role Darius Days can play with Will Wade fallout

Kevin Nickelberry is ready to coach his first game leading the LSU Tigers, and it’s on the biggest stage in college basketball. Luckily, he has veteran LSU power forward Darius Days to lean on.

To illustrate, Days was with LSU when former coach Will Wade was suspended for the 2019 NCAA Tournament. Then, interim coach Tony Benford led the Tigers into battle. Now, with Wade being fired and Nickelberry taking over days before the NCAA Tournament, the coach of the Tigers is hoping LSU can benefit from Days’ experience.

“He was the first person I talked with, first player I met with last night,” stated Nickelberry, regarding Days. “I’m going to lean on him a lot. It’s easier for me to get the attention of guys because they know I’ve been a head coach. A lot of the guys I recruited. They know I have a relationship with them. So, the same is for Darius.

“Darius has been through this before. So, I asked him to speak to the team. He spoke to the team, and he’s going to continue to. Mentor these kids, and prepare them for this moment. Again, they call it a shining moment for a reason. This is a moment. I think Darius has been through it. He’s very prepared to prepare these young guys for this moment.”

While LSU has been thrown a curveball, it isn’t anything Darius Days hasn’t seen before. The Tigers will attempt to overcome their obstacles under the leadership of Kevin Nickelberry in the NCAA Tournament.

More on Kevin Nickelberry, LSU Tigers

Kevin Nickelberry has taken over at the helm as the interim head coach for the LSU men’s basketball program after the school fired former head coach Will Wade. The news of his termination broke on Saturday just a day after he coached LSU in the SEC tournament against the Arkansas Razorbacks. The Tigers lost that game 79-67 which will go down as Wade’s final game as their head coach.

Wade was abruptly fired on Saturday after the school received a notice from the NCAA that they were investigating allegations of major rules violations. Wade is accused of five major rules violations. Among them include making cash payments and job offers to help lure recruits to LSU.

During an interview on Sunday, Nickelberry addressed the team’s expectations going forward and even shared what Wade’s parting message to the team was, or lack thereof. When asked whether Wade had spoken to the team since the news broke, Nickelberry had one simple reply.

“No,” said Nickelberry at LSU’s press conference for the upcoming NCAA tournament.

LSU is in the Midwest region of the bracket for the 2022 NCAA tournament, and face off against Iowa State in the Round of 64 in Milwaukee. A lot has happened over the past couple of days, but Nickelberry is ready to get LSU ready to play postseason basketball.